That tidy office !!

Whether you work from home or at an office, desk tidiness, or lack thereof, can become a problem. But, as real estate agents well know, an organized desk is far more productive than a disorganized one.

Real estate agents are often juggling a number of clients at a time, all at different stages of the buying or selling process. Following up on leads can be imperative to getting more clients, and checking in on past clients is good for getting referrals and repeat customers. So losing track of contacts is not an option for the Realtors® I know. Nor should it be for you, in whatever line of work you're in.

The first step to keeping a more organized desk area is figuring out what your greatest challenge is. I recently heard the analogy that some people are filers, and some are pilers. Fair enough, but searching through a random stack of papers is a time waster, and I know you've got better things to do with your time. So if your inherent tendency is towards piling, maybe it's time to create some order in the random piles. Filing and piling aren't really that different of an action, and by keeping labeled folders or boxes to pile things in, you may be able to make a painless transition from one to another. You know the classic trays, one marked 'in' and the other 'out'. Try it, it works. 'In' would be where you'd put things on your 'to do' list, thing that needed completing that day, or week, or whatever best suites your particular job. It may work well to have this box divided in three parts, one for things to be done that day, one for things to look at before the week's out, and another for jobs you aren't ready to do, but need to re-visit by the months end. Near the end of each month, spend 15 minutes or so revaluating which in box category those monthly jobs need to go in.

The 'out' box would obviously be for completed tasks, however these days, we often email people our completed tasks, or ship them out of office. No matter. Keep an out box anyway, and stack any completed hardcopy items there, preferably with each job in their own folder. Once things are completed, remember to remove any every trace of finished jobs from your in box. Now, you may find you need an 'ongoing' box. This may be where you pile pieces of information you need on an ongoing basis.

But what of the things you no longer need? This category seams to make up the bulk of what I find taking up the corners of my desk: pieces of paper with notes or numbers jotted down that I will no longer need, but think I might. The solution, have a recycling box beside your desk. Toss in non-confidential things you are pretty certain you'll never need again. If you find you end up needing them after all, add another box for 'may-need's. And don't forget to have a garbage can handy, and a shredder, if the nature of your work demands one. There's nothing worse than hoarding garbage because you're afraid of throwing it away. That's the one major obstacle to a tidy desk, so have every means necessary, close at hand, to dispose of what you no longer need. If water bottles are part of what's piling up, add a recycling box for that type of thing, too. While this might seem like an awful lot of boxes, trust me, they'll look better stacked on and around your desk than the random loose papers that might be there now.

Pick one time, one day per week to do a tidy-up of things that have gotten scattered. Ideally this would be a Friday afternoon, so that you can start fresh on Monday, but if you work from home, or have flexible or varying hours, just pick a time that makes the most sense to you. But it's important to make it like an appointment, at the same time each week, or at least at the same stage of your work timeline. Otherwise it's too easy to put off, until suddenly your desk is covered in piles again.

As for those contacts, get yourself a good old fashioned roll-a-dex. Instead of jotting numbers and email addresses down on loose paper, write them in there. When you get to work each day, get out any business cards you may have been given and add those names to your roll-a-dex. If you need a context so you'll remember the name, keep tape handy and add the business card right to it. If this doesn't work for you, get a folder full of those plastic sheets that are divided up to hold business cards. Add all new cards to that, preferably in either alphabetical order, or in order of types of clients, or both, whichever most suits your needs.

Finally, keep a notebook on your desk to jot down ideas or info about things you aren't working on at that minute, but will be getting to within that day, or the next. At the beginning of each day, review the last couple of pages to see if anything relevant is written there. Another idea is to sign up for Google calendar, and jot down things to be remembered later in the week there. Then on that day, you'll see the reminder. This is actually a great time saver, and works well for all your appointments, and even remembering birthdays, too.

If being messy is a hard habit for you to break, start with one step at a time. Make a commitment to getting tidier. It will take some will-power, but you can do it. Keep in mind that it will likely help you get your jobs done faster, and think about what you'd rather be doing with your time. With that as incentive, get started!