3 Tips for Better Organizing Your Office
November 10, 2022 | NECS
An excellent goal to set for yourself in the upcoming new year is to organize your office space. Organizing your office will not only keep your space looking tidy, but it can also boost productivity. A clean office and desk space will help you and your team work 7.5 minutes longer without losing focus on your tasks (KMC). So, if every member of your team is working productively for 7.5 minutes longer per day, they're gaining almost a full work week's worth of hours per year (7.5 minutes per day x 260 work days per year = 1,950 minutes or 32.5 hours gained).
While organizing your office is a great idea, it might seem like an overwhelming task, and maybe you’re not sure what can be done. But don’t worry! Organization isn’t an insurmountable goal. In fact, we believe that with the right tools, organizing your office can be both uplifting and enjoyable!
Your desk is the hub for all things you’ll be working on, and keeping it tidy is essential to staying productive. Then there’s working with teams on large group projects. It calls for more space, and wouldn’t it be nice to have a free office to work creatively?
It might seem like you have too much clutter, too many important devices or documents to make this a reality. The worst of it is not knowing where to start. So why not try implementing some of our tips and tricks in your office?
Here are three helpful things you can do to declutter your workspace.
1: Have Designated Workstations
Having designated areas on your desk will serve to clean up any mess and help you stay focused. Try organizing your desk by task, creating specific zones on your desk for specific activities.
A helpful tip for carving out these sections is to use desk mats. Work with your team to come up with color-coordinated mats that will clearly map out different “zones” on each of your desks. These sections will determine where each person will work on specific projects. Each desk should have a zone for paperwork, for their computer, and even one where they can conduct their break if they wanted to. Moving from space to space on your desk can help establish excellent routines, keeping you and your team better focused on tasks by eliminating distractions.
You should also consider investing in desk organizers for your team. Sorting out your pens, papers, and other stationary into small jars or drawers will help declutter your desks. This will make it easier for everyone to work and designate areas on their desks as specific work zones. Since you’ve mapped out your desks with mats, you can further keep up color-coordination with your stationery. For example, if you’ve set up blue desk mats for your paperwork zones, keep blue pens there, so as not to create confusion or mess while you work.
For team activities in-office, consider creating separate communal workstations. Having one desk or office for group activities will lower the risk of distracting other members of your team, boost your productivity, and keep your main desks free of clutter.
2: Combine Your Electronics
While working in an office, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll be working with paper at some point. Each task requiring paper might require a different device to create your documents. You could need to make photocopies for meeting handouts, or maybe you need to fax something to another office.
In the past, each of these tasks would have required a separate device to perform. Copies would be made on photocopiers, scanned documents would be uploaded using a scanner, and so on. Having all those devices would then take up space in the office. If you’re trying to carve out workstations, as we suggested earlier, then you’d need a separate “station” for each device.
Luckily, there’s an easy fix to this problem. To help you organize, it’s a good idea to consider investing in an all in one printer. These multifunctional devices combine all the functions you could need together. Instead of having to designate specific spots in your office to each device, you’ll have one zone to complete the required task, and then your desk’s zone to review your documents.
All in one printers are a great option for both large teams, serving to streamline processes within the office and keep documents secure, or for a small home-office where you’ll be collaborating with teammates in-office.
3: Declutter by Digitizing
One of the most effective ways you can eliminate clutter is to digitize your documents where possible. Just as using an all in one printer will reduce space occupied by devices, deciding to go digital with as many of your documents as you can will help to declutter your office.
Most offices have designated rooms or filing cabinets full of important documents. These documents might not be used much, or even reviewed all that often, as it could be hard to find what you’re looking for. And while there are some instances where you’re going to need to review a physical document, digitizing when you can will tidy up your office space more than anything else.
You’ll also be optimizing your internal processes, allowing for further collaboration on team projects since everyone will have access to all files wherever they’re working from. This is especially crucial for teams that have adopted the hybrid work model, as it will decrease the chance of downtime and improve efficiency while working from home.
One of the best available options for document digitization is ScanOptics, who will work with your team to understand your business processes and its unique pain points.
With the help of ScanOptics, your files will be digitized in four easy steps:
- Physical documents are picked up from your premise to be scanned by the ScanOptics team.
- Documents are appropriately indexed and read through using easy.forward.
- All data is verified for accuracy.
- Digital documents are made ready to use with your system!
The process is expedient and will free up tons of space in your office. After the digitization process, duplicate files can be eliminated, and your paper documents won’t need to be stored in your office.
Looking for More Information on Digitization?
Our team at NECS is happy to say that we’re in a strategic alliance with ScanOptics to bring digital solutions to our customers. We believe that converting your paper documents to digital ones is the best solution for organizing your office. Whether you’re in a company building looking to create more space for group activities, or you want more collaborative options while working from home, ScanOptics is the right solution for you!
Want to learn more about how you can better organize your office by digitizing? Contact us today.