Your office is probably one of the few places you spend your most time apart from your home. Making sure it’s the best place to work can significantly improve how you work.
Here are just a few ways to turn things around in your office and cultivate a newer, more productive you.
1. A better ventilation system can make a big difference
A good indoor climate creates a great environment for employees. Your office environment can make a big difference for the overall productivity of the company. Studies have shown that a poor indoor climate can affect productivity by as much as 15%.
In an open-plan office with a lot of workers, heat emissions will be high, not to mention the heat given off by computers, etc. There also may be large sunlit glazed areas which also help to make the air hot and heavy.
A better Ventilation removes the air pollution caused by people and machines and replaces it with new, fresh air. You could even use certain kinds of plants to keep your air clean and clear. This gives a greater feeling of well-being and can boost productivity.
2. Create a simple filing system
Everything should have a place. Everything should be organized based on use, symmetry and on what works better for everyone. For example, your inbox can be on the left side of your desk while your outbox can be on the right. Your paper products can be stored near the actual paper. Filing can improved to make records easier to find to reduce time spend on searching for past documents. Once you’ve created your simple filing system, you just need to learn to use it regularly.
Make quick decisions: trash them, file them immediately, or make a note of the action required and put them in an “action” file. Don’t put anything back on the pile, and don’t put them anywhere but in a folder.
3. Toss Out the Unessential
Office desks with lots of clutter makes it easy for germs to hide closer to you than you think. Go through your entire catalogue of books, papers, supplies and office furniture. Throw or give away anything that you haven’t used in a month. If it isn’t necessary for your day-to-day operations, it’s just taking up space and encouraging you to be sloppy. It also allow germs to breed easily at hidden places. Declutter once in while to make sure your immediate environment at the office is safe, clean and free from everything that could be hampering your productivity.
4. Find other spaces for things.
If there are things within sight that you need, find a place out of sight for them. Really, there’s nothing that needs to be on your desktop (besides an inbox and your electronic equipment like phone and monitor). Everything else can be put in a drawer. The key: find a place for things, and always put them there. That way, they will be easy to find when you need them. Put the things you use most in the drawers closest to you.
5. Start creating a clutter-free zone in your office space
Papers often account for a lot of clutter. This is because we put them in different spots — on the counter, on the table, on our desk, in a drawer, in our car etc. No wonder we can’t find anything! Designate an in-box tray for important stuff you are currently working on. Wherever you start, make a rule: nothing can be placed there that’s not actually in use.
Allocate a clutter-free zone or spot at your office for and don’t put down papers anywhere at the spot. Once you have that clutter-free zone, keep it that way. Start appreciating simplicity for better productivity.
These are just a few ways to declutter and organise your office. Whether you’re deep-cleaning for spring or just looking to be a more organized employee, these tips should get you started on a better, more productive life.