9 Simple Tips on How to Organize Your Home Office

Many of us have faced a new challenge in the past year – how to do our job well from home? Sticky notes are multiplying and accumulating on your desk, and your inbox is flooding with new messages faster than you can reply to them. When we devote our energy only to the most important tasks assigned to us, we often neglect other areas.

Work organization is often directly related to productivity. When there is clutter in the home office, our will and endurance at work suffers. However, when our thoughts, time, and workspace are organized, we find it much easier to cope with a greater number of tasks. Here are some tips on how to organize your home office.

Organize Your Thoughts

1. Don’t Forget to Rest

We all know that our productivity throughout the day depends on the amount and quality of sleep. Lack of the latter can lead to reduced concentration, laziness and poor attitude towards everyday tasks. These qualities are not desirable in the workplace, whether you work in an office or from home. To get rid of them, you need to ensure at least eight hours of uninterrupted sleep – after all, most of our brain functions related to focus or productivity are powered by the energy we get from sleep.

2. Focus on One Thing at a Time

Although you are probably overwhelmed with many tasks, switching from one to another is not an effective way to get the job done. Jumping from task to task can blur our thoughts and slow down the brain process. It’s true that there are some people who are able to multitask and still somehow manage to do everything right. In reality, doing more than one thing at the same time can release stress hormone into the brain, which can influence decisions and actually distance you from your goals.

3. Treat Yourself to an Active Break

Breaks actually help improve your work performance as they allow your mind to rest, which can lead to creativity! Here are some ideas on how to spend your breaks:

• With meditation, you will temporarily forget about your work worries, clear your mind and relax.
• Physical activity will help your blood flow to the brain, which will positively affect your focus.
• By learning or playing boardgames, you will feel confident and increase your motivation.

Organize Your Time

4. Organize Your Goals

Short-term goals can be defined as goals you want to achieve in the near future – which can mean today, this week, this month, or even this year. Long-term goals are usually those we plan to achieve in more than a year. When setting goals, choose the ones that are most important at the moment and focus primarily on them. By setting goals, you create a long-term vision of what you want to achieve and short-term steps that will motivate you to get there.

5. Make a Priority List

Once the goals are defined, your list of priorities will become more than obvious. Prioritization is an important step in an organization – it puts the most important tasks first and gives them the right attention, time and energy. This can help you plan your day and is a good way to stick to deadlines.

6. Organize Your Time

By effectively scheduling tasks, you can actually achieve your goals in the time available. At the beginning of each week, simply set a time for each task you want to complete in the next seven days. You can choose from many different tools – a simple and easy way to manage your schedule is using a pen and paper, or software like Google Calendar.

Organize Your Workspace

7. Organize Your Email Inbox

To make it easier to navigate through countless emails, mark them as priority or time-sensitive, and organize the rest into folders. It’s also important to check your emails regularly – that’s the only way to make sure you’re up to date without having to deal with a whole host of messages.

8. Get Rid of Unnecessary Clutter

Sticky notes and drafting paper are almost unnecessary today due to the different types of technology that lies at our fingertips. You can now type notes into your phone, computer, iPad, and more. Make sure you also have the files stored on a USB stick in case your PC breaks down. Also, organize your desktop – create different folders for each project. When you create a new document, immediately save it to the folder where it belongs, and delete the ones you no longer need.

9. Keep the Essentials at Your Fingertips

Organize your desk so that the items you use regularly are in your immediate vicinity. This goes for anything – important documents that you can keep on your computer (and thus avoid unnecessary clutter), a planner, a cell phone, and a water bottle. When you feel comfortable at your desk, the work will be much easier and more efficient.

Work life organization will benefit not only you but also your clients, co-workers and boss. An organized workspace means competence and dedication that promotes a strong work ethic.