10 Ways To Get More Organized

Organization is the key to being productive. If you work in a workplace where papers are scattered everywhere, then you are not being as productive as you could be. Not only can being organized prevent your productivity from dipping lower, but being very organized also has the ability to enhance your productivity. In order to get organized, follow these 10 steps.

1. Look at what is on your desk and see what can be removed. You don’t need to have a vase on your desk. Your desk is a place to work, not a place for clutter.
2. Have sticky notes at all times. If you don’t have a lot of clutter on your desk, then sticky notes get more attention. Sticky notes are a great way to stay productive and identify what you have to do for the day. Here’s how you can optimize sticky notes and get the best results possible.
3. Put inspirational things on your walls instead. It’s great to have an inspirational quote of Vince Lombardi, but why not put it up on a wall instead of leaving it on your desk? The more things you have to look at on your desk, the less work you will be able to get done. Your goal is to be able to look anywhere on your desk and either find a sticky note, a scorecard, or the material that your desk is made of.
4. Move all of the clutter to one room. There is even clutter in the best of the clean freaks’ houses. In order to prevent this clutter from getting in the way of your productivity, you need to place all of this clutter in one room that you almost never visit anyway. Moving all of the clutter into one room will make all of the other rooms in your house–including your office–much cleaner.
5. Record important data. Don’t you wish you remembered how much money you made four months ago? Recording the important data will allow you to remember how much revenue you generated in certain months. There are also other types of data that you have that are important enough to be recorded. Instead of trying to find your important data in the data hairball, you need to record your data using Word/Pages documents on your computer. Choosing to record this data on your computer also prevents it from getting lost or becoming a part of the clutter.
6. Everything on your desk needs to have a purpose. Some people have iPads on their desks for no apparent reason. Those are the types of iPads that need to be taken off desks. Other iPads are on desks because videos are getting sent from an iPad to a Mac. Those types of iPads are the ones you need to have on your desk.
7. Have more folders. Even if you don’t get clients and have to keep track of their reports, you still need to have folders. I use folders to store all of my scorecards so I can look back, learn from my mistakes, and identify my big strengths. There are plenty of creative ways you can use folders to store data. Just make sure there aren’t too many folders that end up on your desk.
8. Have more envelopes. Envelopes can be used to store data and information that folders cannot store. I store all of my past sticky notes in envelopes. Although this particular use of envelopes is a clever idea for a giveaway, there are other ways that you can use envelopes to your advantage.
9. Have a notebook. Instead of having 10 pieces of paper scattered on your desk, you can write on 10 pages in your notebook. All of that information stays in one place so you don’t have to search for it later. You can also get a subject notebook so you are able to separate different sections in your notebook for different topics.
10. Have a desk with drawers. If your desk has drawers, then the likelihood of clutter developing on your desk decreases. However, you cannot just think of desk drawers as a way to remove clutter from your desk. You need have organized desk drawers so you can access more information quicker.

Being organized is one way to boost productivity. By implementing these 10 tactics, you will have a more organized workplace which means you will be able to get more done faster. What are your thoughts on the list? Do you have any additional tips on getting and staying organized? Please share your thoughts and advice below.