What comes to mind when you hear the term, “spring cleaning?” Well, if you’re like most people, you’re probably picturing household chores like cleaning the oven or scrubbing down the bathroom. But when it comes to spring cleaning your office, we mean something a little different. Spend a few minutes with us and you’ll get easy office spring cleaning tips that could help you run a more efficient business. Got your attention? Thought so.
How to Boost Business with Spring Cleaning Tips for Offices
One hour per day. That’s how much time the average person loses every day due to poor organization in the office, according to Lisa Zaslow, a professional organizer in New York City.
Now, take a look around at your desk. Is it organized? What about your employees or coworkers? How organized are their desks? Of course, there’s more to being organized than keeping your desk neat and tidy, but it’s a great place to start with office spring cleaning!
An Organized Desk is a Productive Desk
Let’s assume you’ve already cleaned up the obvious sources of clutter on your desk and surrounding work area. Now it’s time to move onto phase two: Optimizing your command station. When you really think about it, that’s exactly what your desk is. As such, you wouldn’t just configure it haphazardly, would you? Of course not. Here’s what the experts say about the optimal desk configuration.
Computer Monitor:
Put your primary monitor dead center in front of you and make sure it’s at eye level. There’s no need to crane your neck or contort your body just to look at your screen. If you have a secondary monitor, make sure you give it a secondary position on your desk.
Phone:
Make a lot of calls? If so, put the phone where it’s easy to see and easy to reach by your dominant hand. There’s no need to reach across your body every time the phone rings. Besides, doing so will turn your phone cord into a tangled mess over time.
Office Supplies:
Your favorite pen. Your notepad. Your stapler. If you use it every day, keep these items close so you don’t need to go hunting for them. Don’t use a stapler very often? Get it off your desk and hide it in a drawer. It will be there when you need it, and it won’t contribute to desktop clutter.
Sticky Notes:
Reminders are great, but if your monitor is plastered with them they aren’t really doing you much good. Take a second at the end of the day to get rid of sticky notes you no longer need.
Personal Items:
Little knick-knacks, souvenirs and family photos can provide us with warm, tingly feelings and much-needed mental breaks throughout the day. But, don’t go crazy. Whether you notice it or not, your brain is processing everything it sees, which means more work for you!
3 Ways to Prevent Email Inbox Insanity
Keeping your virtual work space clean and organized is just as important as maintaining your physical space. If you’re feeling bombarded by email interruptions throughout the day, try these tips for reducing the negative impact of constant emails on your work flow.
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Turn off email pop-up notifications:
As scary as this may seem, turning off email notifications on your desktop can actually help you get more done because you won’t be tempted to read and respond to every message as soon as it comes in. Of course, you can’t just ignore your inbox either…
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Set a designated time for email:
Instead of compulsively checking your inbox, allocate various times throughout the day for reading and responding to messages.
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Rethink your replies:
Before replying to an email or crafting a new one, ask yourself if it rely warrants an additional email. Would the information be communicated faster and more accurately in person or over the phone?
Get Your Employees Excited about Office Spring Cleaning!
Remember, disorganization robs the average person of one hour per day – every day. That adds up pretty quickly! Now that you know about these actionable, simple office spring cleaning tips, it’s time to spread the word to your team. Consider buying lunch for everyone and use the occasion to share your new insights. Or, make a game out of it. Offer VIP parking or an extra casual-dress day to the person with the neatest desk.
Running Out of Room in Your Office?
No matter how organized you try to keep your office, when you run out of physical space there isn’t much more you can do. Archival paperwork, cumbersome file cabinets, surplus stock, unused furniture – you don’t necessarily want to discard this stuff, but you also don’t have room for it either. So, what are your options?
Well, you could always invest in a larger office space, but this is a costly solution that might be hard to justify. As an alternative, you could consider renting a self storage unit for help organizing your office. At StorageMart, we offer business storage units in a wide variety of sizes with features like climate-control and 24-hour accessibility. Learn more about renting self storage for your business, and find a location near you today.