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Keeping your office organized is important for productivity. If you manage an office, you’ll want to give your employees the chance to keep their workspaces organized for the same reason. However, organization isn’t always obvious. Even people that are “organized” sometimes overlook some of the major sources of disorganization that cause trouble. The following are three of the most-commonly overlooked sources of disorganization that plague modern offices, with suggestions on what you can do to overcome them in your workspace.
Oddly enough, papers are the first thing we have trouble with, and there’s a very clear reason for this. We tend to have filing cabinets, in boxes and out boxes as necessary, but it’s very rare that we have any sort of organization for papers that are currently being used. Sometimes you need to put paperwork aside without filing it or putting it away. If you don’t have a proper space or method of organization for it, this paper just becomes clutter while you perform the intervening tasks. A simple solution for this is an adjoining shelf that open papers can be pushed onto without changing their order, getting them out of the way until they’re needed again.
The next-most common offender is cords. It’s easy not to think of cords since they’re required for whatever electronics your office uses. This makes them seem like they aren’t mess or clutter. After all, they have to be there! However, cords can be organized. Cords are always manufactured with more slack than is strictly required; it’s better to have too much cord than too little. However, this slack is what creates clutter. If you’ve ever snagged the caster wheel of your chair on a power cord, you know exactly what the problem is. You can stay organzied with an electric cord reel.
Finally, you should be mindful of your lights. This might seem particularly odd, since lights are usually fixtures or installations, but the truth is that an ill-placed light can have the same effect as clutter by casting inconvenient shadows. You can avoid this by making sure any lamps you require for work are placed appropriately. Anything over your shoulder or positioned such that your hand casts a shadow will only serve to confuse and irritate your eyes, causing strain and discomfort. The appropriate organizational technique for this is to reposition your lamp as appropriate so that you aren’t casting any shadows over your work area.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Levine Design
