Streamline Your Workflow: Essential Tools for Office Organization

You don’t want to hear this, but Employees spend 2.6 hours per week trying to locate documents they can’t find. That’s more than 135 hours per year.

Could be worse. Office staff spend 27% of their working hours feeling disorganized. That’s almost 3 out of 10 working hours.

Why?

Office work organization is the main enemy of those of us who work in an office.

Systems are not hard to make. The main thing is to put them in order. Implement the following techniques to keep your desk neat and workplace processes organized.

On this page, I will try to explain not only what is the most important in the tools for staying organized at work but also in the notes for themselves.

So without much ado, I present to your attention:

---

---

Why Your Organisation System Doesn’t Work

First, let’s call a spade a spade…

Your current system of keeping things organized probably sucks. And there is a very good reason for that.

Most people go to extreme lengths to reorganize everything all at once. They plan a long-winded filing system, buy every fancy container they can get their hands on, and think to themselves that “this time will be different”.

And then Monday comes, as it always does. Emails stack up. Meetings are scheduled. Deadlines approach.

Everything collapses.

Does that sound familiar? You are not alone. The average knowledge worker switches between 17 apps every hour during their working day. No wonder keeping organized at work seems like an impossible task.

Successful people do one thing differently from the rest. They start to use systems and not organization.

They are creating workflows which manage chaos automatically, without them having to manually fight against it on a daily basis.

The trick here is to pick the tools which would suit your natural behaviour the most. When keeping organized at work starts to feel effortless, productivity will follow shortly after.

Daily planners for productivity become invaluable here – they provide you with the structure you need to maintain constant organizational habits throughout the workday.

Online Organization Tools

Online organization is not about implementing a bunch of apps on your devices.

Online organization is about picking the right apps that will fit into your workflow effortlessly. Here are the ones that have been proven to really work:

Task Management Workhorses

Todoist will happily do everything you want from it without smothering you with features. For instance, type something like “Call John tomorrow at 2pm” and it will automatically create the right task for you.

Asana is an ideal choice if your workflow is team-based. With its timeline view, it allows you to detect bottlenecks before they become a problem.

File Organization Superheroes

Cloud storage solutions these days are a table-stakes game. However, most people are using it the wrong way.

Create a folder structure that reflects your natural work processes. Structure your files by project and action required rather than by date or document type.

Google Drive is unrivalled when it comes to real-time collaboration. Dropbox is better for dependable file syncing.

Email Organization Must-Haves

The average knowledge worker gets 121 emails per day. If not handled, your inbox will become a productivity black hole.

Unroll.Me will get rid of all subscription clutter. Boomerang will let you schedule your emails and set reminders.

The trick is to treat your inbox like a todo list and not like a storage system.

Physical Organization Essentials

Physical organization is not to be underestimated in our digital world.

Your physical working space has a direct effect on your mental state. “A cluttered desk, a cluttered mind” is not just a popular saying – it is scientifically proven.

Desk Set Up Basics

The three-zone approach is an easy way to start your way towards physical organization:

• Active zone – items you use multiple times per day
• Reference zone – items you need to access weekly
• Archive zone – items you rarely need to access, but you have to store

Get rid of anything else ruthlessly.

Storage Solutions to Scale

Vertical storage will multiply your square footage without taking additional space. Wall-mounted shelves will keep often needed items within reach.

Desktop organizers with multiple compartments are the life savers if you do not want the “junk drawer” effect. When each and every item on your desk has a designated spot, you will not have to waste your time looking for supplies.

File systems should be simple to have a chance to survive. Use color-coded folders that will correspond to the digital filing system you have chosen.

Clean Spaces Psychology

Clean spaces have a direct effect on your cortisol levels. Lower stress means more productivity. More productivity means better decision-making. Better decision-making leads to…

Yes, you have guessed it. To even more productivity.

Time Management Must-Haves

Time management and organization go hand in hand.

The most perfectly organized working place in the world will be for nothing if you do not have the time to actually use it. Let’s see what techniques the most successful people use when it comes to both time and organization.

Calendar Blocking Approach

Time blocking is the thing that will help you convert chaotic days into planned productivity sessions. Assign specific times for certain tasks.

Block the time for organization itself. Reserve 15 minutes every morning for email processing. Block 30 minutes every Friday afternoon for weekly planning.

Priority Matrix System

The Eisenhower Matrix will help you separate urgent from important:

• Urgent + Important – do first
• Important, Not Urgent – schedule
• Urgent, Not Important – delegate
• Neither – eliminate

Energy Management > Time Management

Energy management is more important than time management.

Take care of organization-related tasks when your energy levels are naturally higher. Use the periods of low energy for routine maintenance chores.

Creating Systems Which Will Stick

The difference between temporary organization and long-lasting systems is the habit design.

Most people fail when it comes to organizing their lives and workplaces because they demand too much willpower from themselves. Systems which are going to last should work in accordance with your natural behaviour, not the other way around.

The Two-Minute Rule

If it takes you less than two minutes to do something, just do it right away. File that paper. Send that quick email reply. Clear those coffee cups.

This will help you prevent the small messes from turning into overwhelming catastrophes.

Weekly Reset Ritual

Friday afternoons are the best time for weekly resets:

• Clear your desk completely
• Process all loose papers
• Plan your priorities for the upcoming week

By starting Monday with a clean slate, you will multiply your productivity throughout the entire week.

Accountability Systems

Solo attempts when it comes to organization often fail. Find yourself an accountability partner who has similar goals.

Much better would be to try and organize common places as a team. When everyone has something to win from maintaining the system, everyone will strive to help maintain it.

The Tech Integration Factor

Modern organization means that there should be seamless integration between the digital and physical systems.

Connect your physical space with your digital workflows. QR codes on your physical files which will directly link you to your digital project folders.

Automation is your best friend when it comes to removing any friction from the maintenance process. Set up automatic file-naming conventions. Create email filters which will sort your messages into appropriate folders without you even having to lift a finger.

Bottom Line

Streamlining your workflow is not about reaching perfection – it is about progress.

The most productive people are not the most naturally organized ones. They have just created systems which take the organization workload off their shoulders.

Start from one thing. Choose the tool which will help you solve your biggest pain point.

Remember: Employees spend 2.6 hours weekly trying to locate documents they can’t find. Every minute you are spending on creating and developing your organization systems, you are spending several times back when it comes to the productivity levels.

Your future self will be grateful to you for that.

The tools are here. The systems work. When will you start?

Sources

1. gitnux.org
2. moleskine.com
3. verifiedmarketreports.com