Creating a Productive Home Office Environment

For those of us who work at home, we know how essential a productive environment is for focus and drive. Oftentimes, home office spaces can become cluttered, whether by unorganized paper or office supplies without a dedicated home. No matter the reason, clutter in your work environment can hinder focus and productivity. Did you know, clutter in a home office significantly reduces work efficiency, with 77% of workers finding they concentrate better and work more efficiently in a clean, organized space. So, let’s look at how to get your home office organized and productive!

Getting Started

The first step to any organizing job is, of course, decluttering. Decluttering means deciding what items stay and what go. Start in sections of your office and work in only one section at a time. For instance, you can start in one area of the floor space until you move onto a desk and then papers. Take it one step at a time and take as many breaks as you need, remember, progress over perfection. Want to know all the basics of decluttering, how to implement it, and how it helps? Click here!

Only the Essentials

Once you have the office decluttered and you know what you’re keeping, it’s time to start the organizing process. When it comes to the desk, make sure only the essentials are on top, such as computer, monitor, and keyboard/mouse. Everything else, we can find another home for it. This ensures a cleared desk for anything that may need to sit on the desk at the moment and nothing continuously interrupting your space!

Functional Furniture

Clutter doesn’t always mean little things taking up space, it can also mean furniture too! Maybe your office is full of furniture taking up space without enough room for enough storage options. Having a room that is functional means everything has a home, even the furniture. Make sure that any furniture that you have in your home office serves a purpose related to your space. Arrange it in a way that allows you to easily walk through and find whatever you need. This ensures that your office not only feels good, but is functional for all your needs!

Vertical/Drawer Storage

One of the best tools for organization in a home office is the use of storage options, mainly vertical and drawer organization. There are a lot of small items used in an office such as paperclips, thumbtacks, and rubberbands. By using drawer dividers, we can store these items away so that they are easily accessible and out of the way. Vertical storage is also a great option for home offices such as cabinets to keep supplies off of the desk!

Filing Systems

 If you’re someone who utilizes paper within your home office, you know how piled up they can become without a system. Use trays or baskets to create a landing zone, where all new paper will be kept. Create spaces for papers that are short-term, like another section of a tray or another basket, that are only needed for a week or so. Those that need to be saved for months or years such as tax documents can have a designated storage area in a cabinet or filing cabinet/drawer. Knowing where your papers go when you get them means piles of papers not being in your space, causing clutter, and causing stress too!

Maintenance

Now that the home office is decluttered, organized, and we have filing systems in place, we need to make sure it stays like that. Take 15 minutes out of the end of your day to put your office back in order. Any supplies that were moved, anything on the desktop, and all other items can go back to their designated home. Make sure only the essentials are on the desk and you’re ready to have a fresh, organized workday when you walk back into your office!

Home office organization is so important for less stress and to let creativity and productivity flow throughout your workday. No more interruptions, no more cluttered desk space, no more papers with nowhere to go. Following these strategies can take a cluttered office and turn it into one where you feel focused the moment you walk in.

Are you ready to take the next step and create an organized at-home work environment?
I would Love to Organize for you!