The next topic in our series this month as we continue to celebrate “Get Organized (GO) Month” (For more information on “GO Month” activities, visit www.napo.net) is a focus on the office space in your home.
The home office space has become more and more important as the current job climate has forced many of us to work out of our homes on a part-time to a full-time basis. This space may be a room unto itself or simply a sectioned off area of your home; both concepts benefit greatly when designed to maximize efficiency which will reap rewards like increased productivity; reduced stress levels and organized time-management.
The following guidelines will help you in the process of organizing, designing storage solutions and creating efficient work areas in your home office space.
Separate Personal and Work Items: You need to establish a clear separation of your work items and your personal and family items. This step will help you by removing distractions while increasing your ability to focus and stay organized in both areas of your life as well as reduce your frustration when researching files. Invest in streamlined and accessible storage solutions that allow you to file in two distinct areas; always be sure all files and folders are clearly identified for future reference.
Design to Fit Your Business: Take a moment to really think about the space and the needs of your business as you start designing organizational solutions. Are you in a financial or medical industry or are you a creative designer or photographer? Each of these businesses requires unique work areas and storage solutions that work best for them.
Expert Tip: When designing the space, be sure to add your own personal touches and include things you love. This will make going to “work” at home more enticing and effective for you in the long run. Invest in comfortable seating and lighting and don’t forget to choose a wall color to adding balance and calm creating the most efficient and productive environment possible each and every day.
Clean Desk, Clean Computer: The concept here is to unclutter in both places; there is nothing more stressful than a desk filled with piles of paper, sticky notes, old files, etc. as well as an email inbox with hundreds of emails and old files floating around. Make time to file client papers and projects away daily and archive folders from 2011, making ample space for 2012 projects to come. Clean up your email folders in the same fashion; file client emails, delete emails and clean out your sent and old file folders while creating new folders for 2012 projects.
Expert Tip: To ensure these areas do not get overly cluttered and disorganized in the future, make a task for yourself at month’s end, for example, to review files and folders and put everything in it’s rightful place. This time-saving tip increases your productivity levels, as you will find yourself spending only 5-10 minutes cleaning up vs. an entire day lost.
Get the home office of your dreams today! Call us and let’s start working on organizational and storage solutions and don’t forget to check out all our storage and organizational products to help you with this one-of-a-kind creative design process.
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Reminder: Don’t forget to join us on January 25th from 6pm-9pm for the “Wine, Women and Shoes Event” benefiting CAN (Cancer Alliance of Naples) at the Ritz Carlton in Naples. For more details and to purchase tickets please visit the event site at: http://www.winewomenandshoes.com/naples2012
