Office life can be a handful with tasks you have to do, the different situations you have to handle, the different people you have to deal with, and the things you keep misplacing.
The good news is there are things you can do to make office life a whole lot easier.
- Clean Up the Smart Way
Clutter gets in the way of work. If you don’t organize your workspace you end up looking for things you need, finding things you don’t, and throwing away things that are actually important.
What’s a good way to organize your stuff? One creative writer came up with what she called the EDIT method:
- E – Empty out your drawers and throw out the empty wrappers, receipts, empty pens, and other small items you ignored that accumulated over time.
- D – Dump the remaining contents of the drawers into one large box. Whenever you have to use an item take it out of the box and return it to the drawer it came from. Do this over the course of one work day. By day’s end the box should only contain item you don’t need. Do what you will with them.
- I – Identify what items are the most important. These were the items first taken from the box. They should be placed in the most accessible drawer you have and in positions they can easily be seen and grabbed. Put the rest of the less useful items in another drawer.
- T – Test out different storage methods. The items you will need to do your job will change as your job description changes, don’t be afraid to try new things out.
- Organize Your Workstation
Everyday objects you normally ignore can actually be useful:
- Binder clips – These can be used to organize many things like the cables on your desk; they can even be used to replace broken or missing keyboard legs.
- Springs – You can use springs as a letter holder.
- Bread tabs – These can be used to label wires, no more confusing one for the other.
- Post-Its – Need to clean a dirty keyboard? Run the sticky part of a Post-It between and around the keys.
- Use the Power of Positivity
Infuse positivity into your workstation. Have photos of loved ones where you can see them always. Images of items and ideas you aspire for can also provide motivation. You can also keep a file of good commendations from the office handy; leaf through them whenever you are feeling particularly down.
Colors have a certain effect on an area. It can make a space seem more lively, vibrant and even give it a welcoming feeling. If you are allowed to, add some color to your workstation. Don’t turn it into a fashion statement or a kaleidoscope, make it just enough to brighten your mood.
- Devote a Little Time Every Day to a Tough Project
Have you been given a particularly tough project that will take up a lot of your time? Devote a few minutes each day to work on it. You may be surprised by how much work you can do over time.
- Checklists Can be A Motivator
Are you saddled with many office duties? List them down and mark each of them off as soon they are completed. Believe it or not this will have a psychological effect that is similar to relief. That relief and sense of accomplishment will only build up as more items get marked off your list.
