Organized space for organized work: here’s how I control it all within my office.
My office is my sanctuary. When we moved into our current apartment, I was so grateful for Joe’s generosity. You see, for two years we were living in a (super adorable!) modern one-bedroom condo unit, but we were quickly outgrowing it. We decided to upgrade and move into a place with a spare room. Through his usual act of selflessness, Joe allowed me to make the entire room my very own.
I do a lot of thinking in my office. It’s also the one place that I can call mine. I love my family to bits, but I have always been an introvert, so having personal space is necessary for my well-being.
I maintain my office with a certain expectation of neatness and cleanliness. An organized space means organized thoughts. Between baby, blog and (for the moment), bridesmaid duties, I need to keep a clear focus on everything I do.
Here are my tips on how to stay organized in the office:
- Everything has its place – From pens to notebooks down to random scribbles and notes: I always make sure that my belongings have designated spots on my desk. This way, I know where to grab for them – especially if I’m in a rush or if a good thought comes to mind.
- Make daily lists – It’s great to have an idea of what you’d like to have done within a week or a month. Daily lists can help you accomplish your long-term goals. I get hyped-up in motivation when I cross out small and effective tasks.
- Invest in an agenda – Appointments, meetings, and reminders: my agenda is my go-to reference for what’s going on in my life.
- Color-code – When I’m writing notes, I use a collection of highlighters and colored pens to have certain points pop out. It helps me remember important facts from meetings and conferences.
- The trashcan – Keep your trashcan close by! I avoid clutter by getting rid of unnecessary documents right away.
Great ideas, I love the colorful agenda. I need to get more organized and find those magazine things to organize the office and file away papers so they are not all over my desk. I also need to start making a daily list. I keep forgetting to do so.
My office is a disaster right now. Can you help? LOL. I blog and people send me product all the time. I am not complain gin about that but that means there are boxes everywhere all the time. That is hard to keep organized. Any ideas? I need to purge again soon.
Hi Paula,
I suggest unloading the boxes of product you have and use them to whip up your next editorial calendar. Based on which products are more time-sensitive for review, what you’d like to try out first, etc. This eliminates boxes scattered all over the place and it helps you come up with new content for your blog!
Your office looks great! 🙂 xx
I wish that I had an office space. My space is mobile and is wherever I can find a place to work. Do you have any suggestions for a super small mobile type office space?
Melanie,
When I lived in a studio apartment, I managed to fit a small IKEA desk with my laptop into a part of my wall that acted a bit like an alcove. It served as my mini office space and a divider between my kitchen and living room. It’s hard to imagine and even harder to describe but it served me well for 2 years! If you’re limited on space, take a look back and analyze your rooms. See where furniture can be moved around so that a simple desk and a small computer can fit in. Hope it helps!
I love all of the fun and colorful ideas! My office, it seems, is the first to feel the effects when I’m disorganized. The worst part is when it’s disorganized .. I feel even more so! I’m definitely going to try the color-coding idea .. haven’t ever thought of it!
I could not live without being organized! My colleagues laugh at me (yet express their envy) because my desk is always so perfect organized!
I recently got organized with my office/art supplies by purchasing different colored bins and baskets that I labeled to store similar items. It really helps cut down on the time it takes to find items that I need for a project. The one thing I do need is a trash bin nearby, that would really come in handy.
Great advice, colour coding is so helpful plus brightening up my notes keeps me in a good mood!
Abigail Alice ????
Great Tips!! My daily To Do lists get me through every time. I love being able to check things off when I complete a task!