What does your home office look like?

 Whether you are moving, starting a new career, or just ready for a change, getting organized is a necessary, and often overlooked starting point.

Getting organized contributes to a sense of well-being. It increases efficiency and productivity. It lowers stress and helps individuals find more time and energy for the things that matter most. It makes a home or office appear more spacious and inviting.

Lack of organization is draining, makes it difficult to focus and affects productivity. Clutter interferes with our sense of tranquility and the smooth flow of energy in the space. This contributes to lethargy and procrastination. Disorganization can cause feelings of frustration, anxiety and can even lead to depression. It makes a space seem small and inefficient.

Many Home Offices are not utilized properly and not conducive to a productive positive working environment.

Some professionals have the following challenges in their home office…

• The desk seems too small and the working space has expanded to the floor for the paper flow.
• The filing cabinets are never used for filing, they might be empty, or stuffed with obsolete paper, or other paraphernalia.
• The desk is so cluttered with pictures, dishes, clothes and paper that you have branched out to other areas of the home to do work.
• Boxes and more boxes are filled with old papers that you are afraid to throw out because you think you may need them someday.
• Panicking, not being prepared for business calls because you can't find what you need.
• Perpetual lateness for your meetings, interviews and appointments because of dis-organization.
• Can't find slips of paper on which they wrote important phone numbers.
• They know they received information they sent for, but it's buried in a pile of paper.

Not to worry...

Organization is a skill that can be learned. The most difficult part is breaking a lifelong habit (like letting paperwork pile up). The key to getting more organized is to start with one small step and then take others one at a time. You may find that what you've put off for years takes only an hour to do. And once you see the benefits in one part of your life, you'll be motivated to go on.

When you have been disorganized for a while it is difficult to stand back and take an objective look at your surroundings. If you feel overwhelmed it is hard to know where to begin. Here are some tips to get you started.

HOME OFFICE ORGANIZING TIPS

1. Address your desk problems in blocks of time. You may be able to straighten out the clutter in a few hours, or you may need a weekend. Sometimes it's better to devote a couple of hours a day to the job until you're done.
2. Have on hand a trash can, a pen, file folders, labels and the other desk organizational aids mentioned above that suit your needs.
3. Clear the space you want to organize (the desk surface, one of the drawers, etc.). Then make a big pile of all the paper.
4. Evaluate each item, categorize it and put it away (in the desk drawer, in a file, in one of the desk organizers, etc.), throwing out as much as possible.
5. Even when you are feeling overwhelmed, just keep sorting and categorizing. If you devote the necessary time, your desk can be cleared.
6. Enlist the help of a partner, a spouse, a secretary, someone who can help you keep going.

What are you waiting for? Organize your home office.