Using Technology to Organize Your Office

business tools guest post organisation Apr 08, 2018

We all hate tripping over the countless computer cables and looking for a spot for our cup of coffee next to the mouse, keyboard, headphones, and all the other gadgets that we use every day. Also, considering that a cluttered and messy office can affect your productivity, it’s extremely important to keep your workspace organized. And since technology has become an inevitable part of every modern office, why not use it to help you? With that in mind, here are a few ways in which you can use technology to organize your office.

Keep your supplies near

Every time you pull something out of a drawer and leave it on your desk, you’re just adding to the clutter. Your important tools and supplies should be near – but not on your desk. So, add a shelf beside your desk for your most important tools, books, or documents. You should also put a file holder on your desk for your current or recent projects. Your pens, pencils, paper clips, sticky notes, etc. should be organized inside your top drawer –and don’t forget to dispose of all the pens that are no longer working.

Clear your work desk

If your desk is covered in printers, monitors, phones, and other gadgets, there’s no way for you to focus on your work. So, try to clean up your desk as much as you can –place your computer on the floor, and get a flat screen monitor that takes up less space. Also, you should back up everything online – there are many cloud services that you can use, like Dropbox or Google Drive, and besides saving you the physical room you would waste on CDs and hard discs, it can also be a lifesaver in case of a computer crash or irreparable damage.

Moreover, instead of having a printer, a fax machine, and a scanner, consider getting just one machine that can replace all three of those. And again, don’t put it on your desk – get a printer stand and put your machine on it. Finally, instead of using a desk lamp, you can put a freestanding lamp next to your desk and save some room that way as well.

Organize the cords

All the cords you need in order to connect different devices to each other can cause quite a mess if not organized properly. Not to mention that you can trip over them and get hurt or spill something. So, the first thing you should do is bring all the cords together – and keep them together – with cable ties, clamps, or Velcro wraps, so they can never be in your way again. You can also label them with reliable Dymo labels so you know which cord belongs to which device. Also, in general, try to use as many wireless devices as you can to keep the mess to a minimum.

Use apps

There are many apps that can help you keep your office organized. For example, instead of piling various business cards on your desk, you can use NeatReceipts or NeatDesk to scan them. The apps will scan the cards and then create a database of all your scanned cards, which will make your stacks of business cards a thing of the past.

Or, if you’re tired of carrying your notebook around, consider switching to the digital side; Evernote is a great app that allows you to take notes, organize them, create to-do lists, and store them on your cloud. It also allows you to edit your notes, annotate them, write comments, and search for keywords within them. This way, you will never have to worry about forgetting your notebook or dropping something out of it, as you will have everything you need in one place and synced with all your other smart devices as well.

Organize your computer

Your desk is not the only part of your office that needs to be organized – your digital environment should be organized too. If you just keep adding stuff to your hard drive without organizing it, eventually you will run out of room – or it will become so cluttered, you will never find what you need. So, keep all your documents in files, and sort the files by date, type, clients, or anything else that suits your field of work. Delete everything you don’t need so it doesn’t take up space, and don’t forget to back up all your files.

Keeping your office organized is essential to the success of your business as it can help you focus on your work, find what you need more easily, and be more productive overall. And as we do live in the digital age, it’s only natural to use technology in order to help you keep your office in order. Therefore, use the apps, keep your computer organized, don’t let any cables limit your movement around the office, and make sure all your tools and supplies are kept in your desk, not on it. If you do all that, have no doubt that working in your office will become much easier, more comfortable, and more effective.

*** Guest Post from Cooper Klein ***

Cooper Klein is an experienced entrepreneur with a degree in Marketing, based in Sydney.

He’s interested in business, real estate, sports, as well as the latest tech trends. In order to spend more time with his family, two fluffy dogs, and numerous sci-fi books Cooper decided to take a break from his job as a marketing manager at a tech startup, and he’s currently working from home as a blogger and a business consultant.