4 Tips to Staying Organized as an Office Manager

Some people love to organize, while others take a more lackadaisical approach to their home and professional lives. Regardless of your natural organizational skills, however, you can find success as an office manager with the following four organizing tips.

Make Organization Beautiful

As Debbie Fletcher points out on the Nimble blog, you’ll follow your organizational system more faithfully if you use beautiful supplies. Whether you like a colorful pen cup, patterned file folders, or a few mementos scattered around the office, try to make your workspace beautiful. Organization will become more enjoyable thanks to the aesthetic beauty you’ve created.

Some offices lend themselves to color and design more than others, but get creative. For example, select a themed mouse pad or bring a potted plant to sit on top of your file cabinet. Maybe you can get away only with customized stationery, as Fletcher suggests, but at least you’ve put forth the effort.

Keep Detailed Records

A paper trail doesn’t merely protect a business — it’s also essential for organization. When you write everything down, you can always find notes again. As the office manager, you can take point on record keeping, setting up your own system for recording information and storing records appropriately.

Most businesses now use digital records instead of hard copies. Put shortcuts to your most-used documents and folders on your computer’s desktop so that you can get to them with one mouse click. Don’t let files languish in generic folders. Move them to the correct storage site on your server or shared drives as soon as you create or receive them.

Download Organizational Apps

Your smartphone can do more than help you find creatures on Pokémon GO. Download organizational apps that can help you plan travel, arrange meetings, keep track of emails, and build your calendar. Since you probably carry your smartphone everywhere, you’ll always have an organizational device in your pocket.

If you can sync smartphone apps with other devices, such as your computer or tablet, you’ll get more value from the apps you use. Additionally, consider asking other employees to download the same apps so that you can share information and keep track of each other’s schedules.

Take Time to Purge

Similar to bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens, offices can become magnets for unused detritus. Obsolete paperwork, depleted pens, unused technological devices, and stacks of sticky notes can pile up on every surface. At least once a week, purge everything you no longer need.

Don’t simply clear off surfaces. Open drawers and cabinets, too, so they don’t stay crammed with unnecessary items. Put away everything you still need so that objects have their own dedicated storage spaces. Leave notes to let other office staff know if they should return items to a certain place or avoid touching specific items.

Keeping an office organized can take work, but honing your organizational skills will help you keep the chaos under control. Use the above strategies to turn your office into a well-oiled machine, and don’t let other staff members throw off your system.