12 March is Organise Your Home Office Day and I would like to share some tips on how to organise your office.

Having a disorganised office can affect your relationships with your boss and colleagues. Think about instances where you keep your boss waiting for you because you can’t locate an important document or you are always running late for meetings or you miss important deadlines. This leaves a bad impression about you because you become this unreliable person in the office work.

Being disorganised can also affect your health. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin reported that people with cluttered homes full of unfinished projects were more depressed, fatigued, and had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than those who described their homes as “restful” and “restorative.” According to Bustle organised leads to reduced stress and improved health.

Below are some of the tips on how you can stay organised:

1. Keep your desk clean

The biggest clutter is usually found on people’s desks, therefore it is important to get rid of any papers that can be recycled or shredded. If a document contains confidential information, be sure to go the route of shredding, rather than recycling. For all other papers that you feel are important to keep, create a filing system and label items. Sort things out by client/customer, by project, alphabetically, by date, or whatever makes the most sense for you.  Put everything away the moment you finish with it.

2. Have a to-do List

Having a to-do list helps with prioritizing tasks. Always start with the important ones first. Furthermore when you have tasks written down it is easier to remember and to tackle them. There are various tools that one can use to plan their days, weeks or months. You can buy personalised desk sets from places like NetFlorist.

3. Colour coding

If you are a visual person, you may find that colour-coding various lists and calendars very useful. It might take a while to set up but in the end, it minimizes the time you have to spend looking at them. By taking a glance look at your calendar you get a very clear idea of what kind of week you are going to have.

4. Close proximity

Position the equipment and supplies that you use most within reach. Things that you rarely use can be stored or put away.

5. Use caddies and trays

Office supply stores and chain retailers have all kinds of plastic trays and caddies, including those that are designed to fit perfectly into a desk drawer. Use them to get your office supplies organised. Now all those loose pens, paper clips, and thumbtacks have a place to go, and when you want one, you’ll be able to find it.