productivity
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H O ME OF F ICE ORGANI ZI N G by Esmi Gonzales – Sort It Out
A home office can easily stray from its tidy, organized and structured state. It happens to all of us. These tips and instructions are for the person who works out of the home. First make this project an appointment on your calendar. Remember, no other interruptions. Devote the time you feel you can apply yourself to get as much done without getting burned out or overwhelmed. Set your deadline goal but be realistic. This may be a day’s work or broken out into three different dates, your choice but keep your true deadline. Second, have all your organizing tools available for office before you get started. Last, when going through your belongings remember to ask yourself “Do I really need this? Have I used this in the last year?”
1. Break room (or area) down into 4-Zones
• So basically this is 4 corners of the room or space you are working in • Do not stray from one area of the room to another even if you are tempted. Stay focus on one zone at a time. (This strategy will help you to really get some work done. You will have a real visual of your labor. This will be a true motivation to help keep you going because you are seeing actual results.)
2. Start with Zone 1 – if there is furniture in any Zone focus on
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B oerne B usiness M onthly | June 2020
one piece at a time
• If you have a bookshelf, a printer table, a file cabinet, stick with one piece until you are completely done and satisfied. TIP: Decorative items like boxes and bowls are a “catch-all” for you to unknowingly place paper clips, loose change, pens, pencils and odds and ends. This creates clutter. Truly use these decorative items for just that. The less of these types of items you have around the less likely you are to use them as storage and a catch-all. • Tackle each piece of furniture from top to bottom. Make sure to use the Organizing Signs – Keep, Donate, Other Room, Discard, Recycle, Sell. Use cardboard boxes or bins to collect the different categories. This will make things easier for you to haul off to appropriate destinations.
3. When going through your file cabinet or file drawers, make sure to shred/recycle any outdated paperwork. TIP: If space allows, place file cabinet and printer table close to desk for ease of use. You don’t want to have to walk across the room to pull a file or take something off the printer.
