More workers have now transitioned from a traditional office setup to a work from home arrangement. Today, 35% of Americans with jobs that can be done remotely are now working from home at all times, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. This has allowed employees to enjoy the benefits of remote work, such as reduced travel time, lower costs and greater flexibility, allowing for a steady work-life balance.
However, a work-from-home arrangement can sometimes make it difficult to concentrate on your job, especially with potential distractions like your family or even your bed tempting you to work slower. As such, the article “30 Tips for Professionals Working from Home” recommends designating a space to make it easier for you to get into work mode. It also highlights the importance of setting ground rules, like no social media during work hours, to avoid distractions. To learn how to manage your time and set boundaries with other household members, the post goes on to say that maintaining a conducive work environment is critical to productivity. Here’s how you can keep your home office organized as a remote professional:
Set up a designated workspace
As a remote professional, working from the comfort of your bed or couch might be tempting, but this is not ideal for your productivity. Instead, you should find a quiet space in your house with a desk or table, a strong internet connection, and as little foot traffic as possible if you don’t have a door to shut out distractions; this will get you into the right frame of mind whenever you start your work day. You can then customize that space according to your needs, like setting aside a clean wall or bookshelf to serve as your backdrop for virtual meetings or adding a whiteboard for brainstorming. Our Portable Desktop Organizer With Stand is perfect for carrying all your office essentials in one stand-up sleeve, and it’s great if you’re working with limited space or prefer to work outside your house. This will help you better keep everything in place instead of moving your stuff around as you go.
Regularly freshen up your area
Maintaining your home office’s cleanliness is vital to keeping it organized and conducive for work. Make it a habit to clean your workspace at least once a week. It can be as simple as sweeping the floor, dusting off your desk, or using a vacuum cleaner like the Capsule X cordless vacuum cleaner to help you clean hard-to-reach areas and prevent clean-up from becoming too overwhelming. A University of Arizona study found that workers with a clean and organized environment are 15% more productive than those who work in a messy setup, so be sure to keep your home workspace in check.
Use storage bins
One way to keep your home office organized is to keep work-related documents orderly. Our previous article, “Organize Life with Storage Cube Organizers,” mentioned how folding storage boxes can help you maximize your home office space by providing multiple compartments where you can store your items – whether work-related or not – so your workspace won’t look messy. You can also separate and categorize these items for easier retrieval. Our storage accessories, such as the Mini Storage Bins Foldable Cube and Mini Box with Insert, can help you keep a wide range of items to help you have a clean and cozy home office.
Declutter your cables
Cables and wires around your desk can be distracting and make your workspace look messy. To solve this problem, a Wired article suggests tying up cords with rubber bands or cable ties to prevent the excessive length from getting out of hand. You can also use a cable management box, like IKEA’s SÄTTING, to hide the mass of cords from your devices. Investing in a wireless mouse or keyboard can also help reduce the eyesores caused by these stubborn cables.
Minimize printing files
Storing office documents that don’t need to be printed adds clutter to your work area and accumulates space in your home office storage. Instead of keeping hard copies of work files that don’t necessarily need to be printed out, you can organize your digital files and keep them in a cloud-based storage system or save them on your computer. Doing so can help you save space and keep essential documents from being misplaced. If you do have critical files you need hard copies of, keep them safe and out of the way with our Hanging File Box.
Working from home allows you to be more flexible with your time, but ensuring an organized setup is key in helping you become more productive. Be sure to follow these tips and check out our website for more organizational solutions. Check out more small home office ideas to boost productivity.
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