Office Organization - HELP!
Have you ever sat in your office and looked at the stacks of paper placed in strategic spots on your desk, floor, bookshelves, etc and think to yourself, "I can't stand looking at this any longer". Does that moment of declaration give you the burning desire to clean-up and organize or say instead, "If I ignore it, maybe it wil go away."?
I have had both of those occasions occur in my personal and professional life. Most often times, the urge to shut out or shut down is overpowering. Paperwork is not why I went into business is a comment I have heard from clients. I don't want to deal with this, I want to be doing what I love to do. I understand that organizing and tracking things is not everyone's chosen profession like it is mine. For those of you that would like some simple tips to help you on your organization journey, see below:
Supplies to complete your organization task: File boxes or a File Cabinet - easily purchased at Walmart, along with paper clips, binder clips, envelopes and manila assorted 3-tab file folders - letter size. Check out Staples or Office Max also, as they often offer free shipping for orders over $50.
Start with a small stack of papers at the center of your desk - arrange in 3 piles
Business
Personal
Trash
Focus on what I touch I must do something with it. I can't just move it to another pile to deal with another time.
Set small goals, one small pile = a candy bar, a 10 minute break or I get to spend 5 minutes checking my e-mail. One not all as a reward for getting a pile depleted. Don't anticipate that it will all get done in a day - don't set yourself up for failure but success.
The trash pile is by far the easiest to remove from the area (be prepared with a large trash bag). Removing this first gives a huge sense of accomplishment and shows improvement relatively quickly.
Personal Files/Receipts may still need to be addressed but try to separate by month and determine if you need to keep the paperwork at all. The top 2 reasons for keeping personal paperwork are Financial - tax/vehicle/loan/bankruptcy/insurance/medical and Keepsake/Memorabilia items.
Business Paperwork - should be broken down into like information by type/topic/vendor, typically by month:
Business Receipts, monthly by type of service or expense - Office Expense, Supply Expense, etc. - (I recommend starting out using business envelopes with the month written on the outside). Business Receipts can typically be used for tax purposes at the end of the year and need to be tracked.
Bills - separate out by Current versus Paid. Paid Bills I recommend filing by Vendor (to whom you are paying in separate folders) Example: Business Utilities/Phone/Rent, etc.
Banking Paperwork should have a folder separate from the above (track deposits, know exactly what money came from which customer/client and what method). For Tracking Income/Expenses via Accounting Software, I recommend QuickBooks Pro (Desktop) 2016.
Any Loan Information should have its own file so you can easily find it for future reference.
The list could go on but this gives you a place to start and recommendations as to how to set yourself up for success. Be faithful with the little goals or addressing a stack or two a day until the overwhelming job is under control or completed. In the end, you will have an organized office of which you will be proud. The key is to keep it that way! :) I recommend setting up a tray system for new items as they come into your office - Bills/Receipts/Top Ten To-Do's. Create a list of things that need addressed regularly and set a schedule for the frequency - weekly, bi-weekly, monthly. Place it on your calendar (phone or wall).
If you are the person who says, "I can't or don't want to deal with this mess", give us at KDBusiness Solutions a call. We would be happy to make Sense of your Chaos!
