Some days you'll come into your home office, sit at your desk and wonder what on earth you are going to do first. You've got a stack of paperwork covering every square inch of that desk and it seems like a million things to do. The rest of the office is probably not much better with lever arch files competing with jackets, kids toys and stuff put there just until you figure out what to do with it. Switch off your computer. Unplug your phone and start tidying and organising. Clearing your home office and making it a pleasant place to work can really do good things for your head. Removing the clutter and getting a bit of organisation will actually make you more efficient. First off, get rid of the junk from everywhere except your desk. Old magazines, tools, boxes, toys etc. If it's stayed there long enough to get spiders web on it then it could probably go to the skip without anyone noticing it. Clear a bit of space an make sure you can walk to your desk from the door. Be ruthless though, simply moving stuff around probably isn't enough to change things and the mess will reappear quickly. Next is your desk. How can you concentrate on one task at a time when you've got a hundred bits of paper, post-it notes CD's and other junk littering your desk. Take one piece of paper and a pen. Go through the pile of stuff on the desk and make a note of what needs done. Bin everything else and put all the required papers etc in a drawer. Then you'll just have one bit of paper which, if you're ultra organised you'll even input that to-do list into your computer. Right, now it's tidy take a look around. What would improve your quality of life in your home office. Try some new pictures on the wall, maybe a moving feature like a water feature or a windmill outside the window. And plants - I know they just site there and suck your water, but they are good for the mind, and being organised enough to keep a plant alive might just keep your head in the right place for keeping your business ticking over efficiently too. Now you've done all that, go make a coffee, come back to your desk and get started on that list. You'll get through it much faster. |
