Higher efficiency and less stress are just two of the benefits of not being ‘all mixed up’. If you are an office worker, you likely work an average of 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, for 48 weeks of the year, which means approximately 1,920 hours at the office. That’s a lot of hours spent trying to get things done! Right now your 'office' might not be what it was a few weeks ago, however keeping the same sort of organisational behaviours will help you feel productive. We asked some of our most organised staff for their top tips to share with you, to help you avoid getting all mixed up!
1. At the end of each day, clear your desk, then when you arrive each morning take 10 minutes to plan your day. When it’s time to start you’ll be on top of what needs to be done.
2. Set up rules in your e-mail to save time manually sorting them all and avoid clogging your inbox. For example:
- Anything you get CC’d on, can go to a ‘CC folder’ to check once daily
- Anything from friends, family, or that is personal can go to a ‘Personal’ folder
- In the same vein, anything from IT goes into the ‘IT’ folder
- Once a month move all sent and deleted items into an archive folder.
3. Keep your desk tidy and free of paper by having a good filing system. Store work in progress in manila folders, and label everything from files to inbox trays. Check out our Avery range.
4. Use a written to-do list and cross items off as you go. It’s old school but it really works!
5. Use coloured Post-it® Notes and flags in your notebook/diary to highlight key reminders and easily carry them over when the deadline moves.
6. When things get a bit overwhelming, take a moment, re-organise your desk and review your priorities list. This helps with an action plan to keep moving forward.
OfficeMax has all the tools you need to keep your home office organised. For more information contact your Account Manager or visit our Working From Home page.