Making your Home your Office – Ten Top Tips (back to articles menu)
 

 

1. Plan - Before loading up on snazzy organisational devices you really won’t ever need - work out what goes where, what you are going to keep and what you are going to throw out – and then decide what to buy

2. Time - Most offices take at least three days to create – it is not just about clearing clutter, its also about establishing priorities. Identify what's important to you and make sure you can access it easily

3. Location - Before you start organising, make sure your office is in the right place. Don’t forget, you're going to spend most of the day here so don't banish yourself to a room you don't like. People often plan to put their office in a spare bedroom they never use and end up doing all their work on the dining room table

4. Activity - Once you've decided where your office is going to be separate it into areas. Each area has everything needed for a specific activity. For example; printing, research, writing, getting stuff ready for mailing etc

5. Organise - When organising what to put where, focus on finding them, not storing them. Ask yourself, "when would I need this and where would I go to look for it?" not, "what box would this fit in?"

6. Filing – Do not use the old A-Z system because it tends to separate related materials. Instead, create separate filing drawers or areas for the categories of your home business – i.e. finances, clients, admin, marketing

7. Customise - There is no ‘correct’ organisational system. Your system needs to make sense to you.

8. One Thing at a Time - That coffee cup on your desk belongs in the kitchen. You bring it to the kitchen, and realise you need to do the washing up - don't do this! Focus on one room at time. Within that room, complete one section before moving to the next. You need to see results to feel inspired enough to continue.

9. Do not give up - Organising is such a huge task, people often give up before finishing. Invariably, those remaining little piles of clutter take over the office, reducing it to chaos again. Plan strategies ahead of time to keep yourself motivated. For your new system to stick, you need to see it through to the end.

10. Organise Time to Get Out in the World - The goal of all this planning is not only have a successful business but also to enjoy a fulfilling life. Make sure to plan time to get out of your fabulous new office and into the world too

 

(back to articles menu)