Nine Tips on How to Stay Organized

I have recently started working from home, and I have realized that it is much easier to be productive if I can stay organized. Here are some tips for how to get organized and stay organized, so that you do not feel overwhelmed by everything you have to do on a day-to-day basis.

Use your garbage can. Keep your home or workspace from being cluttered. Throw away anything that is unnecessary. It always feels good to eliminate clutter and see some open desk space.

Keep your workspace clean. In addition to throwing things away, just keep your workspace clean in general. If you work from home like me, this means keeping the kitchen clean, washing dishes regularly, making your bed, etc. An organized workspace makes it easier to concentrate on your work.

Clear a landing strip near your front door. Make room by your door to place anything you need for the next day so you do not forget to bring it with you. For example, you may want a set of hooks for your bags, keys, umbrellas, scarves, etc. This can also be a nice place to leave your shoes on dusty or rainy days where dirt gets stuck to the bottom of your feet. That way, you do not need to worry about tracking dirt on the floor.

Set up a desk by your front door. In addition to your landing strip, you can use this desk to store envelopes or packages you need to mail the next day. Or, if you are going to a party, you can store your gift to the host on your desk so you do not forget to bring it when you leave for the party.

Categorize your work. If you have room on a desk or table, try organizing your workload into piles. Maybe one pile could be work to do today, another could be work to do this week, etc.

The rest of this list contains tips on keeping lists to stay organized.

White Board. Write down ideas or things you need to do on a white board. It's always satisfying when you complete a task and you get to erase it from the board.

Stickies. This is a program on Mac computers that allows you to jot down notes. You can keep a running to-do list, and erase tasks as you complete them.

Post-It Notes. If you are on-the-go most of the day, keep a list of things to do on a post-it note in your wallet. You can cross off tasks as you finish them.

Notebook and pen. Keep paper and pen on you at all times in case you think of something you need to do during the day. This way, you will not forget any tasks you came up with while you were out.