Organize + Energize: You’ve Organized Your Office. What’s Next?

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Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Kristin MacRae, GoLocalWorcester Organizing Expert

You’ve decluttered and organized your entire desk, drawers and file cabinets. You may think you’re finished with this project, but the work has just begun. Getting organized isn’t just about clearing a space once a month.  Once you get organized, you need to think about creating an efficient work flow to your day.

Here are 5 things you need to do after you organize your office:

Get acclimated to your new space. Now that you’re clutter-free and organized, take a step back and evaluate your space. Clutter may have been in the way before and you weren’t able to get a good feel of the room.  Take a look at the furniture placement and décor. Re-arrange and repurpose what you have to create a better flow to your office. Office supplies may have been moved to different areas. Get a feel of your new space and take inventory of where things are now placed in the room.

Think about functionality.  Now that you have new systems in place, think about how you want to function with these systems and develop daily routines. Think about how you grab items throughout the day. You want to be as efficient and productive as you can be and you want to be able to grab items in a moment’s notice and continue on with your day.   Try not to fall back into your old habits. You’re going to have to put some work into maintaining these new systems. Work at these routines every day and they will become habits.

Streamline processes.  Do you perform the same tasks every day? How many steps does it take you to complete that task? Take each task that you perform on a daily or weekly basis.  Talk yourself through the process of how you’re functioning and try to cut those steps in half. There’s always a simpler and more effective way to complete a task. Take the time to evaluate how you’re functioning. You’ll be amazed at how much time you save.

Utilize a to-do list and a calendar.  Get rid of the mental clutter.  If you want to be efficient and effective, it’s crucial that you use a daily to-do list and a calendar.  It will truly help you in this process. Choose a style that works for you. Everybody functions differently. Whether you use a paper or electronic to-do list, the system has to work for you. Be sure the one you choose helps you in your efficiency and doesn’t hamper it.

Re-evaluate your systems. After 1-3 months, check in with yourself. What’s working and what isn’t?  What can you change to make the system work better for you?  You’ll find that after working with the system for a few months there are some tweaks that need to be made. Make those changes. Don’t continue to work with a broken system.

Remember that just getting physically organized isn’t enough. Your end result is to become more efficient and productive. You aren’t going to get far if you’re  clearing off your desk once a month and working with broken systems. You have to put the time in to evaluate how you’re functioning and streamlining your processes. Invest in yourself and make changes that will take your office to the next level!

Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, is an organizing & efficiency expert and owner of Organizing in RI. Kristin teaches her clients that living an organized lifestyle will save them time and money, decrease their stress levels and help them become more efficient and productive. Her articles have been published in local and national magazines. She has also given over 70 presentations throughout the state. Watch Kristin LIVE every Thursday at 3pm here on GoLocal LIVE with Molly O’Brien.

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