Simple Tips to Organizing Your Home Office

If you’re privileged enough to work from home you already know of the great many benefits to be had, but without having a well organized space to work in, you really won’t be making full use of all those perks.

Or, maybe you have a home office where you pay the bills and take care of paperwork and similar duties. In any case, whether your workspace is a separate room all on its own or set up in just the corner of the kitchen, plain and simple organization is the key to making the most of your precious time, for increasing productivity and also for decreasing stress and anxiety.

A thoroughly organized home office that’s pleasant to be in will also give you a great sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, benefits that simply can’t be measured tangibly.

The very first step to getting organized is considering what your office is used for the most. Do you work from home full time for yourself or someone else? Is it used to take care of business after hours? Is it a place to take care of the details related to running the household?

The answers to these questions will help you to make the most of the space you have as well as your time.

Essential Needs for the Home Office

There’s no written rule that says you have to max out all of your credit cards at the local office furniture store just to get your workspace organized and functional. The two most important things you must have, however, are a comfortable chair and a desk of ample size.

If possible, set your desk and file cabinet up in an L shape to give yourself the most space to work with. Use the top of a file cabinet or short bookcase for keeping your printer nearby or for containers to hold paper, pens, files, or whatever it is you use most. Speaking of printers, those that are also scanners, copiers, and fax machines cut down considerably on space.

You’ll also need containers of some type to keep everything neat and in its place and a dry-erase board hanging near the desk is perfect for reminding you of the day’s or week’s tasks instead of 100 post-it notes taking over the office.

4 Quick Tips for the Well Organized Home Office

1. A good old fashioned paper calendar, the kind that sits flat on the desk, is perfect for jotting down notes while on the phone and for keeping track of appointments.

2. Each and every day should have a new to-do list that you create either the night before or first thing in the morning to refer to throughout the day.

3. If it took two years to accumulate the clutter and chaos you’ve amassed in your home office, don’t expect to get things back under control in a few hours. Set aside an entire day or two that you can devote to getting down to the nitty gritty by starting over from scratch.

4. Use task lighting in the form of two or three smaller lamps instead of one large overhead light to not only help reduce glare on your computer screen, but also cut down on fatigue.