How To Organize Your Office In A Single Afternoon
Walking into an office that is filled with stacks of papers may give the illusion that your employees are keeping busy, but being disorganized is actually having an impact on overall productivity. By contrast, organized offices are better for processing paperwork, archiving documents, pulling up files, and are also less prone to losing information. If you want to organize your office but you are overwhelmed, read below to find out how you can get one of your biggest goals accomplished in a single day.
Downsizing The Junk
Disorganized offices tend to have a large amount of unneeded junk and excess paperwork. Sifting through each paper by hand is time consuming, but it is also best for eliminating the garbage and identifying vital papers. As you throw out what you need, make sure that you begin to categorize the paperwork you intend on keeping so that it is easier to file and put into its proper place.
Creating A Filing System
With the unneeded paperwork thrown away, the rest of your vital paperwork can easily be filed, sorted, labeled, and processed as needed. Custom labels are great for organized filing systems because they help to create uniformity and make anything that hasn't been properly labeled stick out like a sore thumb. You will also need file folders, binders, rubber bands, staplers, paperclips and a label maker for maximum effectiveness, but a distinct filing system that helps to make your office run smoothly will emerge as a result.
Identifying Important Documents
Your most important paperwork needs to be visibly labelled as such. Use a large font size and perhaps a bold color, such as red, so that your important files can be seen from afar. Rely on labels that you can clearly see and swiftly identify and account for papers that need special attention. You can also use assorted color coded labels on file folders to differentiate between various departments.
Maintaining Checks And Balances
After your office has been cleansed of all extraneous paperwork and employed an effective filing system, you will need to ensure that incoming paperwork ends up where it belongs instead of in a pile on someone's desk. Show your employees how to label newly created papers and create a way to keep them accountable. You can use an auditing system or even introduce incentives for maintaining organized filing protocol. As long as you see that your office is making use of labels, you can safely assume that great organization methods are being utilized.
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