Unless you have mega organizational tendencies, working from home can lead to a lot of clutter. You don’t have anyone watching over you to keep your work-space clean, and it can be very easy to fall into some bad habits that kill your productivity. Before long, you could find yourself surrounded by clutter!
Yes, clutter can put a serious damper on your success level.
Working in a clean, organized space allows you to find things you need quickly and avoid frustration. Instead of having piles of paperwork, files, and other junk in every nook and corner, imagine having everything in it’s designated place and never having to stress when looking for a particular item because it is exactly where it is supposed to be.
Take a quick look around your working area. Does it need some help? Once clutter has taken over it can be difficult to get back on track, but you can do it. Here are some tips to get you started:
Decide You Want A Clutter-Free Work Environment
It makes no difference whether you work in a designated room of your home or at the kitchen table, you can choose to keep that area free from clutter and disorganization. Make a decision right now to spend time every day putting things back where they belong instead of leaving them out, telling yourself you’ll “get to them later.”
Start With The Paper Clutter
Paper mess is by far, the most common type of clutter in any home office. Commit to a filing system that you are comfortable with; one that you can manage easily and enables you to find what you are looking for without a lot of trouble. Get rid of any paperwork that you don’t need. Many people choose to scan their documents and store them on their computer. This might be something you decide to do, but make sure you allow yourself a good amount of time to accomplish the task and have a way to keep your scanned files organized as well.
When you get your paperwork under control, you’ll be amazed at how much of a difference it will make in your work area. Not having all that paper around will change the entire look and feel of your space.
Get Rid Of The Garbage
Most people don’t have full-time maid service. Working from home means that you can’t rely on a cleaning service to come around and empty your trash bin every day. Don’t allow garbage to pile up and overflow. Empty your trash at least once every day. Having an overflowing trash bin is distracting and leads to even more hassle when it spills out onto the floor.
Say No To A Messy Computer
Do you take the time to properly ‘put away’ everything you scan, create, or download on your computer? Or do you have a bunch of files in random places? What if you needed to find one particular article, video, or MP3 at a moments notice? Would you be able to do so?
If your computer is a mess, spend some time organizing it and putting things where they belong. It is just as frustrating having a disorganized computer as it is a messy workspace. Remove any unused icons from your desktop, empty your recycle bin, be sure to have your antivirus up to date and scan regularly! Virtual clutter slows you down and makes product creation and other marketing tasks much more challenging.
Commit To Making Organization A Habit
It can take some time to create the new habits that will lead to your having a clutter-free office, but with dedication and commitment you will soon be seeing many benefits. The time and effort you put into making your work area clean and organized will help you to do your job much more efficiently, get tasks done in less time and boost your productivity level significantly.
As an entrepreneur, productivity equals money, so do everything you can to give yourself a working environment that promotes a productive workflow.
