For most people, the central place of their home is the living room. It is the place where all the family gathers after having spent all day apart. However, this isn’t the case with remote employees. For them, the hub of their home is their home office. In this room, specially designated for work purposes, they keep all their data, attend video conferences, and communicate with clients and the management. To stay on top of things at work, they have to work in an organized workspace. Otherwise, they might experience low efficiency. If you are looking for ways to organize your home workspace perfectly, here are some steps to follow.
Keep it clean and tidy
If you want to have an organized workspace, you should keep it clean and tidy. The best place to start with is your desk. Your work desk occupies the central place of your home office. Also, it is the place where you spend the largest part of your workday. If you can’t see your desk underneath all of the files and post-it notes, then you should definitely spend some time decluttering. While you are doing this, think about every item that was on your desk. How often do you need those office supplies and files? If you don’t need them every day, put them aside, let’s say, on a shelf or in the drawer. This way, your desk will be more organized and every item in the home office will have its place.
Move personal things
Although home offices are a part of your house or apartment, they should still be used only as a workspace. For that reason, as much as you are tempted, or think personal things might be motivating, you should keep them in some other room. Framed pictures of your family shouldn’t stand at your desk or on the shelves. If you want, you can hang that photo on the wall where it occupies less space. Stuff like magazines or souvenirs also doesn’t belong on your work desk. What you can keep are plants, but make sure to keep them on the windowsills, so you have more space for work-related items.
Invest in digital storage
Since the world has gone digital, you should make use of highly advanced tools to stay organized. Instead of printing out all of your files, you should store them in the cloud. This way you will get rid of unnecessary piles of paper while still keeping all of your files stored digitally. In case you are using some sort of an employee app for work, you can use it as a storage unit too. All the files you exchange with your coworkers are saved, so you can access them whenever you feel the need to. More importantly, make sure to back up all your files. This way, in case of a data breach or malicious software, all your files will be safe.
Throw away unnecessary items
At the end of the workday, what most of us only want to do is unplug and relax. That is why most remote workers forget to declutter and throw away unnecessary items. As a result, their workplace is unorganized. Old newspapers, broken office supplies, pens that have run out of ink take too much space in the home office and serve no purpose. That is why you should throw them away and replace them with new and functional ones. As far as official documents are concerned, you should keep them if you aren’t sure whether or not you might need them in the future. But if you do, then keep them filed neatly.
Keep a clear message board
Chances are your home office contains a message board or a bulletin. They are great for keeping employees up to date with events. However, more often than not, they are a complete disaster because no one takes the time to declutter them at the end of the day. Decluttering isn’t just about erasing messages on the board. It helps you organize your workspace and become more productive. That is why you should take a few minutes at the end of the workday and take off old messages and post-it notes, to make room for new ones. You will quickly realize how efficient you become with this simple trick.
Hang a wall calendar
For better performance at work, you have to manage your time and tasks well. One simple yet effective trick can help you control your time better and keep all objectives in sight. All you have to do is hang a calendar on your wall. Furthermore, you can customize it, so it serves as a decoration too. Having a calendar on your wall will remind you to complete due projects, don’t miss out on a meeting with a client, and don't forget your mom’s birthday or wedding anniversary.
On the whole, keeping your workspace organized and neat isn’t hard. It just takes some time and effort. With our tips, you will spend your days in an organized and tidy workspace.
