Tips for Organizing Your Home Office

Do you spend your day frazzled and frustrated because you don't have a clue what to do next? Do you know what has to be done each day to reach your income goals?

The best reason for organizing your business has to do with time. And time translates to money.  If you're spending the majority of your day scrambling for what to do, you're probably not earning.

A disorganized business wastes time scrambling to find the information, ideas and tools needed to be successful. 

So for an online business the goal is to consistently perform tasks like posting on social media, blog posts, video marketing, follow up emails and more in a fast, efficient, concise manner.

Getting organized can actually help you earn more money when you have organized information that you can access each day.

This article will give you tips that will help you move from disorganized and frustrated to organized and clear thinking.  So let's get started.

First Things First

The first thing to do when organizing is to determine the area you need to organize. Then take it in bite sized pieces. Consider that it took time to become disorganized, and it will take time to become organized again. 

Jump Start Your Efforts 

In this article, we’ll cover two areas that can jump start your ability to get organized.

1. Eliminating Clutter. The first area we will cover will include creating a system that helps you eliminate clutter. It's important to give everything a place in your office. 
   
   You need a place that makes finding the information and tools you need to perform your daily tasks.
   
   This includes creating a filing system on the devices (desktop, laptop, tablets and phones) you use in your business.  
   
   No more scrambling to find the information you need to run your business.
   
2. Your Schedule. Next we'll help you get organized by prioritizing your daily activities.
   
   This includes creating lists of things that must happen each day, things you can do once a week, and things that can happen once per month.
   
   You'll need a calendar or planner that allows you to enter these items in an easy to read format. 

Organizing your files can happen in the cloud and by using a hard copy system. I've used both systems depending on the item. For example, for pictures, articles and ideas, I used online cloud storage. 

For receipts, notes from training, how to documents, cheat sheets, etc. I used hard copy documents, a hole punch and binders. 

Organize Clutter In a Few Steps

Here are the steps needed to get your home office organized.

1. Create Categories. This step includes creating categories that reflect your workflow and the things you do each day to run your business. 

If for example, you’re a blogger, you might need the following: 

• Information Storage -  A place to store ideas and information related to your primary topic. You might need to organize pictures for your posts and content as well as tools to advertise your blog posts.
• Scheduling - You might need calendars to organize your appointments, meetings, events and posting schedule. 
• Finance - You'll need systems that will allow you to pay business and home expenses, including receipts and other tax related documents. 
• Customer Service - Systems to help you follow up, set appointments and communicate with your audience. 

2. Assign Colors to Each Category. Assign a color to each of your primary topics and use folders in that color to sort through your files.

Decide on a color coded list like the following that fits your workflow. You will want to choose a color or pattern for high priority items. Not all of your categories will need a high priority folder. But it's totally up to you.

These categories can be changed if you find that they’re not working. 

You can create folders in the cloud using this same method: Use tools like Evernote, Trello and Google Drive to create storage systems for your online documents. 

A blogger might use this folder structure and categories:

1. Red - Primary Topic 
2. Orange - Pictures
   
3. Green - Finance
   
4. Blue - Customer Service
   
5. Yellow - Events

3. Assign hard copy paperwork and online documents to folders. Sort through your paperwork, receipts and articles, and ideas.

Decide which pieces of paper are (1) high priority, (2) normal priority and (3) trash. If something falls into the category of low priority, it's probably something that you don't need to do. Or it might be something that can be delegated or outsourced to a third party. 

Next place each piece of paper in the proper color coded folder, based on priority and category.  

In the cloud, place articles, pictures, recipes and ideas into folders so that they can be accessed later, when needed. 

Organizing Your Schedule

It's important to take a look at your schedule to determine what needs to be done. You may identify things that are total time wasters or things that can be delegated, those low priority tasks. 

With low priority tasks, you should determine if it's worth it to pay someone else to perform them.

Identify the income generating activities, maintenance activities and administrative tasks, that need to be performed to help you meet your income goals. 

• Identify the tasks that have to happen each day to meet your income goals.
  
• What are the tasks that can be done once a week to maintain your business?
• What are the tasks that need to happen once per month to support your business? 
  
• And finally, what are the items that can be eliminated from your to do's.

Creating a prioritized task list will help you organize each day that help you earn. Knowing how much you can potentially earn each day can help you project future income. 

Our Curated List of Supplies and Equipment on Amazon

Here are a few organization tools we’ve curated on Amazon, that can help. Choose the tools that work for you: 

Carts on Wheels - These are great for organization because you have options for interchangeable pieces that can be used in each room. If things change, you can switch out containers easily. 

Folders - Folders are an essential part of your organization plan. You can buy them in various colors and patterns to make it easy to identify various categories. So for example, maybe shades or patterns that contain green can be used for finance and budget related categories. 

Label Makers - I use my Cricut to make labels, however if you don’t have a Cricut you can buy a label maker using the link, or print your labels from your computer. 

Laminators - This is a must have tool to help you create signs, cheat sheets or anything that you want to reference or maintain. The laminator encases your pages in plastic.

This makes your documents waterproof, wrinkle proof, and harder so that they stand up to display useful information, helping them last much longer. You can post your laminated pages or punch holes in these items and put them in locations where you can access them as needed. 

Hole Punch - Punching holes in important procedures and reference materials enables you to place them into binders for access as needed. 

Timers - Using a timer to make sure you’re not working on a particular task all day. For example, social media posting can eat up a lot of time if you’re doing it manually.

If you're using a manual process for any task, it’s important to set a timer (available on most cell phones) so that you don't spend more time than needed on any particular task.

The goal is to be more productive in your day. Having a plan for what you want to post and the tools needed to automate posting, can also help you save time. 

Planners - Using a planner helps you become more productive in your day so that you’re managing your time most efficiently. Planners can be accessed online or in hard copy. In either case it's important to use them each day as a tool that keeps you organized. 

Memo Pads and Pens - Have you ever wanted to write something important down and you fumbled around trying to find a pen and something to write on?
That’s why it’s important to have plenty of pens, sticky notes and memo pads handy in your home office, and throughout your home.

You can use the memo pads with magnets on the back in the kitchen to write down items for your grocery list. These are good to have in your office so that you can write down your supply list. 

Whiteboards and dry erase markers - Make diagrams, write notes, use in explainer videos and highlight the information you need to make your business run well.

You can also use different colors to highlight differences and specific items.

They function like the classroom chalkboards that used to live in classrooms. That means that if you need to make changes you just erase the items just like a chalk board.

Calculators and spreadsheets - Use these to do financial calculations, make charts, diagrams and more. These are indispensable tools that every business needs. If you don’t have Microsoft Excel, you can use tools like Google Sheets which functions similarly to Excel. 

Create an Organization Plan

Take a moment to create a plan for organization in your business. Clear up the clutter, chaos and frustration that can accompany a disorganized business plan. 

Once you clear up the clutter, you can gain clarity that allows you to run your business like a champ. You can use the time you're wasting spinning your wheels to enjoy the things that matter most.  

For more information on getting organized and building a business online, take our free, online course to use the internet and automation to reach your personal and financial goals.