Getting Organized- 7 Simple Schemes

Does your work space look like a storm just passed through? Do you have to delve through vast piles to get the stuff you want? Have you ever been late for a meeting because you weren’t able to find a relevant document? You’re exactly unique, my friend. We all need to put up with lapses like this.

Disorganization is the raw state of order. It takes time to clean up the chaos you have.

I like making accounting websites for a living. Time spent organizing can feel like it’s taking away from your work, but this really isn’t true. Organizing allows you to get more done in less time in the long run, and that’s good.

Hiring an assistant is, I suppose, the standard solution. If your business is like most, however, hiring someone just to keep you organized is a waste of money. All you need to do is adopt a few simple work habits.

• Remember when your mom used to tell you to wash the dishes as you use them? Apply this discipline to your office, too. Whenever you are done with something, put it away, clean it out, and wash it, whatever it is, put it where you found it, so things don’t keep piling up.
• Missing or being late for appointments can REALLY hurt your professional relationships. Use a calendar to keep track of events. I use the Google Calendar Application, but there a a score of online or desktop calendar apps that do the same things. My calendar allows me post schedules and availability online. This comes in really handy. It also reminds me of upcoming events by email and with on-screen pop-ups. Of course it’s easy to use, and it allows me to shuffle my schedule and change event times by dragging and dropping. It really helps me keep my tasks straight.
• Organize one aspect of your office at a time. Get it cleaned up and organized, then try to keep it clean.
• Don’t let your stuff out pace your available storage. If you don’t have enough storage space organization becomes impossible. Once you run out of shelf space there’s not much you can do except pile stuff up on your desk and (gulp) floor. Take some time to buy the stuff you need, and while you’re at it, get a place for temporary storage. Usually people have a tray or a hanger near their front door of their home, which they hang all their things there when entering, so when leaving they know where their belongings are. You can do the same thing in your office. If you’re going to have a meeting or important task that day go ahead and pull the stuff you’ll need and put it on this desk!
• Constantly forgetting and resetting passwords and login information can become a vicious time sink. Keep your password and login information in a single text document, a wiki, some other type of system.
• Using an inbox and emptying it weekly, at least, will never have you lose a piece of paper again. You may need to use multiple inboxes. You might want one for home and one for work, or have separate boxes for sales, product development, and employee issues.
• In order to put everything in it’s place, everything has to HAVE a place to be put. Designate a place for everything in your office. You can label those places, so it’s easier for you to remember. Whenever you use something, you’ll know exactly where they belong because of the labels. You won’t need the labels for long. Over time it will all become second nature.

There are many ways to get and stay organized. The best trick I’ve suggested is to put things back whenever you use something.

Guest Poster
Brian O’Connell is the owner and founder of CPA Site Solutions, one of the country’s leading edge website companies dedicated solely to accounting websites.