7 Best Ways to Organize Your Home Office

 

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You’re preparing for an important meeting that’s due in 10 minutes. All that’s left to do is put the notes in the right order and you’re good to go. But, no, you’re missing one note that’s the pinnacle of your presentation! Maniacally, you start to look for it all over the home office. The meeting’s about to start and not being able to find the note has thrown you off the balance. This is a problem most employees face when working from home. The solution is simple — keep the office organized at all times. Here’s how to do it. 

Make Use of Natural Light

Are there any windows in your home office? If there are, you should make use of any natural light you may have at your disposal. Natural light increases productivity and satisfaction and reduces eye strain and fatigue. In brightly lit rooms, you don't need any artificial lighting. To take advantage of the light, direct your desk towards the window or parallel with it. In case you don't have any windows in the room, then move the desk closer to the door. By leaving the door open, your room will get some light from the hallway or other rooms.

Use a Monitor Stand 

When setting up their workstations, one rule most people don't follow. Their laptop or monitor height isn't on their eye level. That's the reason why they mostly suffer from eye or neck strains. Also, the keyboard should be flat or slightly tilted, so your wrists stay straight. A simple monitor stand or a desk mount can help you make the necessary adjustments. When you put them up on the desk, make sure to keep the screen at least 20 inches away from your eyes. This way, you won't have to squint when visiting a website or doing your work.

Clear Your Desk 

No matter what kind of work you do, you need no more than 10 to 15 minutes to declutter your workspace. When your creative juices start flowing, it's only natural to keep the work area messy. But, once you finish work for the day, you should spend some time putting everything back in its place. Otherwise, you might misplace some important files or even worse, throw them in the bin. You don't have to tidy the office every day, although it's highly recommended. An organized and neat workstation is all the motivation you need to dive into your daily tasks.

Hang Some Shelves 

If your desk isn't facing the window but a wall, you must have some free space above it. This is a great place for hanging some shelves and creating extra storage space. Also, when combined with some wooden boxes, it adds a nice decorative touch to the room. You can keep those supplies you need often. All you have to reach for them instead of searching the whole home office for something you need right away. In case you don't need shelves, you can hang a wall calendar or a bulletin board as a reminder of important dates and deadlines.

Get Rid of Unnecessary Items

When organizing your home office, there's one question you have to ask yourself. Which items will help me stay productive? Then keep only those items that are essential to your work and maximum productivity. Find a new place in your home for everything else. You don't need extra chairs, piles of magazines, or souvenirs. The same goes for the TV. Take it to another room unless you're a journalist and you need to stay up to date with current events. Otherwise, they'll distract you from your daily tasks. 

Organize Drawers

Drawers make our lives easier. That's at least what most of us think. If you open your drawer right now, chances are it's one giant mess. Take some time and sort through your drawer's contents. Throw out pens that no longer work and return all misplaced items to their original place. Then go to a nearby office supplies store and get yourself an organizer. They contain various sections where you can place all your office supplies and keep them separate. The next time you open the drawer you'll easily find what you need. 

Hide All Loose Cables 

What irritates most people working from home is seeing loose cables and power strips laying around the office. If you're one of them, then it's time to hide them away. For example, you can hide the power strip behind or beneath the desk. Then, use zip ties to tie all loose cables together. You can also find cable clips to keep the cables you occasionally need near your desk. To reduce the use of cords in your home office, switch to a wireless mouse or keyboard.

Wrapping Up 

Misplaced supplies, disorganized drawers, and lack of storage space are the features of most home offices these days. They’re also the reasons you feel unproductive and unmotivated to get stuff done on time. If you just declutter, use zip ties, monitor stands, and drawer organizers, your home office will soon turn into a productivity hub.