If there is one thing that could destroy a home business quickly, it is disorganisation. Being disorganised not only wastes time, space, and money, it also can destroy client relations. What could possibly be worse than having to call your client for credit card information because you “misplaced” their banking information since the last time you called?
Being organised is natural to some people, but to most it is a skill that must be learned. The good news is that it can be learned quite easily, and the skills easily become habit. The following 7 tips should help anyone become more organised in their home office.
- Use the “one-touch” method of handling paperwork. This method means that when you pick something up, you complete everything necessary to process that paperwork, including filing it when you are done. For example: when the mail comes in, open one letter at a time, respond as necessary and file or dispose of the letter when you are done. You have only had to touch it once, and the task is complete.
- Make sure you have enough office space. When you started your business you took up an end table in the corner of your flat. As you have grown, your need for more space has increased. Failing to address this need for more space makes your office disorganised and leads to poor work performance. It is important that you have enough space to stay clutter-free and comfortable.
- Write a To-Do list each day and complete it before retiring for the evening. One of the easiest ways to become disorganised is to allow back work to pile up on your desk and around your workspace. It is important that you keep on schedule so that you stay organised and have more free time to do the things you enjoy.
- Outsource projects that you do not feel comfortable completing. If you do not feel good about calculating your taxes or paying your bills on time, hire a virtual assistant. It is very common for people to allow things to become disorganised as a way to justify not completing a task. By using a virtual assistant for your weaker points, you remain organised.
- Set family limits on your space. While this advice seems a little rough, it is very true. When you work from home it is only common sense to think that family and friends are going to “pop in” to your office. Make sure that when they visit they take their extra stuff with them. It is amazing how much stuff children will leave behind if they think mum will clean up after them.
- Empty your trash bin each night. Many work at home professionals do not take the trash out each night like a regular office does. Maybe the thought does not occur to them until the bin is full, or maybe they are just tired after a long day. This is a bad habit to get into because it gives you a subconscious view that it is alright to leave things around the office until tomorrow. This is one of the main reasons that large offices empty trash each night, even if the bins are not completely full. It is to give the appearance of organisation and to encourage employees on a subconscious level to act in the same manner.
- Go digital whenever possible. The less paperwork you create, the less mess you will generate. You will also see a reduction in your office expenses as you convert over to a digital office instead of a paper based one.
