Welcome to the final part of our ‘home-working’ series. It’s time to take a look at your home office/desk/table/corner of the living room (delete as appropriate) and see if you can get it to work better for you.
Having a well-organised workspace will help you become more productive as you have everything you need at your fingertips. There are a few tips here to follow and you can either put them into practice as you go along, or have one big blitz on your workspace implementing everything you think might apply. Be mindful over the next few days of how you’re working and if you find yourself searching for something you need, designate a new home for it there and then.
If you can set aside some time to look critically at your workspace, you might start by grabbing a clipboard and making a note of everything you see in your immediate working environment. Put any papers to one side - mail, notes, notepads, ‘research’, invoices, client files etc. so that you can focus firstly on equipment and office supplies.
Then ask yourself the following questions:
Is there anything missing? Is there a piece of equipment or some stationery that would make life easier when you’re working - if so, write it down on a shopping list.
Does anything need repairing or replacing? If things don’t work they’re annoying. Little irritations that you can do without. If you want to work in a peaceful environment it’s cheap and easy to eliminate this kind of stressor.
Does everything I’ve listed deserve to have a place on my desk? That means, does everything I’ve listed need to be used at least every other day? With most stationery supplies you only need a small amount to be readily available at your workspace.
If you have the storage, consider designating a cupboard in your home to store bulk stationery and office supplies - headed paper, computer supplies like printer cartridges, spare discs, leads, desk accessories such as paperclips and staples, spare pens/pencils, labels. This is out of sight and won’t clutter up your main workspace, but when supplies start to dwindle at your desk you’ll know exactly where to go. When storing things I put as much as possible into transparent plastic containers and label the fronts, placing them in the cupboard with the labels visible. If your cupboards are deep you might consider labelling the inside of the cupboard door with a list of contents (Top right: headed paper, comps slips, business cards; Bottom left: labels, stamps, plastic wallets etc). The containers keep everything neat and tidy.
Once you’ve amended your list, put those things you need in your immediate workspace into logical places. I don’t know how your desk works, whether it has drawers that are easily accessible or if it’s just a table. Containers and organisers can help, particular if your drawer space is limited. I have some desktop drawers (about £10 from Asda) which are labelled as follows:
1) Filing - contains papers ready to be filed (my administrator does this every Monday)
2) To do - contains papers or items that relate to unfinished tasks which are not urgent (I look at this at least once a week)
3) Comps/envelopes - contains a few envelopes of different sizes (A4, A5, DL) and my compliments slips which I use regularly
4) Paper - contains plain and headed A4 paper for use in the printer
I also use an Avery desk organiser which contains scissors, pens, permanent marker, noticeboard pins, staples, paperclips, memory sticks, business cards, labels and post-it notes.
Other than that I have only my computer on the desk, and a box file which I haven’t actually opened for about two months - since I last re-organised my workspace. I think that’s a good sign that whatever is in there can live elsewhere. Now, what on earth is in it I wonder???
Together with my printer, stapler and hole punch that live on a small table to my left, that’s really all I need in my workspace every day. Hurray - more space!
Which brings us on to piles of paper:
It’s worth now having a look at the paper mountain you’ve lifted from your desk. Paper mountains start with a simple decision. You say ‘I’m not sure where to put that so I’ll put it there for now and deal with it later’. I do that too, which is why I’ve limited myself to two trays of ‘filing’ and ‘to do’. When they’re full there’s no more space and as I like my desk to be clear it’s just not an option to dump it there.
So, back to that mountain. Why not look at each piece of paper and decide the appropriate course of action (and therefore, place) for each one. Have four piles:
1) Throw away - a bit obvious - this is where the junk mail, envelopes, scrap paper etc goes. Be ruthless.
2) Action this week - this pile should contain anything you know you can achieve this week. Once it’s done the paper can be dumped or filed. For the timebeing, store it in a box file or folder with dividers. Group like items together.
3) Future projects - sometimes we keep things because it’s something we want to work on in future. The thing to do with this pile is split it up further and consign papers to labelled project files or boxes. That way you will be able to place everything you pick up in future straight into that box or file. Be ruthless when sorting through this pile. Often you keep an article which you have an internet link to on the computer - why?
4) File - in a logical order. I have client files, project files and admin files in my office, all of which are clearly labelled. I haven’t found a system which works perfectly yet but i’m getting there. It’s a case of being flexible enough to tweak things as you go along. What you’re looking to achieve is to be able to locate what you need in the least possible time.
Then, when you’ve cleared your workspace and put systems in place that make it easier to keep your desk clutter-free, take a look at the ambience and ergonomics of your workspace:
Ergonomically you should have a good office chair positioned so that your computer screen is at eye level. Check that anything you regularly use is on the correct side of you - if you’re right handed try putting your phone on the left so that you can write any notes easily with your right hand. Your telephone pad or notebook should then be placed to your right. Think about what works for you in the situations you encounter during the day.
Ambience is a very personal thing. I have a great view from my window. Others use plants and flowers around them, or pictures or posters to make their environment less clinical. To others anything of that sort would be a distraction so they keep all walls clear and minimalist.
If you have very little space (as I do) walls are really important. They are extra storage spaces. For example - you can use them for white boards or cork boards. Reminders, shopping lists (for the office!), post it notes can all go here and you can take it down once a month to ensure everything has been dealt with or decide if it’s appropriate now to file some of it or record the information elsewhere.
Whatever you do, make sure that your workspace is somewhere you enjoy looking at and enjoy being in because it will encourage you to spend more time there. If you find yourself avoiding it, assume there’s something wrong and make a change. Even the smallest change can bring new energy into a work environment.
That’s all for now on working from home, but if this does prompt you to make some changes in your own home-office please let me know how you’ve got on and share any tips that have worked for you. You can email me at fiona@perspexconsulting.com.
