In anticipation of the productivity session taking place at our next Big Ooga meeting, I’d like to share an organizing idea from one of our experts, Schae Lewis, Professional Organizer and Co-Founder of Mission 2 Organize. Schae has some sage words on harmonizing your home office.
Tip #2: Organize Your Desk, Organize Your Mind
We’ve all heard the expression, “A cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind”. Seems true enough. A tidy, organized desktop makes way for positive work flow and creative ideas. A jumbled desktop gives rise to confusion and that overwhelming feeling of not being able to find what you need, when you need it.
Yet, exactly where does one start to declutter a desk? Lets begin with the beacon of disorganization, the skyscraper-sized stack of papers that’s probably teetering on the edge of the desk right now. No matter how hard we try to control it, paperwork seems to hurl itself at our workspace from all directions and then multiply in the night like rabbits. According to Schae Lewis, there is a way to corral that clutter with style.
First step in paperwork organization is creating a colorful file system that’s easy to use and understand. To do this, you will need colored file folders and colored hanging folders with tabs.
Next, tackle the mountain of paperwork on your desk and start separating it into like-minded piles. For example, a pile for gas bills, a pile for cell phone bills, etc. Congratulations! You’ve just created a bunch of piles that all belong in a category called ‘BILLS’. Now, pick a color for that category. Let’s say RED. Put each pile into a RED file folder and label the contents of that RED file – i.e. GAS BILL folder, CELL PHONE BILL folder, etc.
Finally, gather all those RED folders up and put them in a big, RED hanging file that is labeled with the category BILLS. To your delight, whenever you look at your file system, you’ll know that anything colored RED is a BILL and all BILLS belong inside a file within the RED category.
Follow this system and keep going until your paperwork pile is gone. Keep in mind, each file you create brings you further away from chaos and closer to calm.
To hear more Top Habits of Highly Productive Entrepreneurs, join us at the next Big Ooga meeting on Nov. 13th.
