| This month our member, Inspiration for Organization, offered some great advice on the importance of staying ORGANIZED in your business.
Well you may be quick to jump on the band wagon for Spring Organizing in your home, but do you do the same for your home office or business office??? For some this may be an elaborate space in an office building, a small store front with a nook for an office, a home office or for some it literally may be wherever your phone or computer is at any given moment! We all have different organization systems and physical constraints we work within. The important thing to examine is what works for you! So, grab a pen and paper (maybe that goal journal) and let’s get to work on planning your office organization! Obviously, this looks different for everyone but here’s a few guidelines to get you going in the right direction:
- Answer, why being Organizing is important to you? (Think about how being organized will make you feel. An organized space=A productive mind!)
- Set Goals, then Prioritize them! Write down your TOP THREE areas you want to work on. (For example: email management, paper clutter, appointment calendar, filing system, etc.)
- Once you write down your goals then list which is the most important. This would be the one that enables your business to operate more smoothly (and profitable), not necessarily the easiest or quickest goal.) Start with ONE goal at a time!
- Create an Action Plan! Is this goal going to be a weekend job or something you’ll do an hour a day for a week? Literally mark your calendar for this organization time or IT WON’T HAPPEN if you just do it when you get the time (because we never have time)! Also schedule maintenance organizing time….it doesn’t maintain itself so stick to your guns and keep it up!
- Set a budget, if you have a budget! Now this depends on what you’re doing. If one of your goals is to organize your 3000-emails with email folders, you don’t need a budget, just a lot of time and the will power to hit “delete”. If your goal involves a new filing system, storage items, product management, ordering or office décor then give yourself a budget and stick to it. First, look for things around your office or home that you can repurpose first or buy yourself something NEW as a reward for getting organized.
- If purging and clearing CLUTTER is on the list, then CREATE THREE PILES -Keep, Donate/Sell or Trash. Invest in good scanning software to eliminate paper documents you may need for your records. If you create a donate pile, then take it to a donation center, don’t let it sit in a box in your office for six months.
- Incorporate décor with Organizing! These days you don’t need to buy cardboard boxes for storage (especially if they’re doing to be visible in a open space). Treat yourself to functional and decorative organizing products (don’t buy bright blue storage bins if you intend to store them where they are visible in your home office which may be in the corner of your dining room). Aim for “pretty” functional!
- Incorporate co-workers and/or family members to join you, especially if it’s a shared space!
- Management -Check in with yourself once a day or once a week to make sure you’re keeping it tidy. Pretty soon it’ll become a habit! Again, if you don’t schedule time for organizing, it won’t happen (kinda like going to the gym)!
- Continue to purchase products that simplify your life in staying organized (tax time file folders, receipt envelopes, excel spreadsheet for finances, QuickBooks, etc.) Just don’t overdue it with five calendars that you don’t know which one to look it!
- Communicate your organization systems to your staff or office mates, so everyone helps!
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