Cindy hangs up the phone and immediately begins massaging her temples. She just booked another date, Nicole and Megan are fighting, and Zachary is pulling her leg to ask her for a drink. How the hell did he get to this place? When she started her home business a year ago, she thought it would be nice to have something to work on a couple of hours a week and bring in some extra money. Little did she know that it would turn her house upside down! Between that, the kids, running the house and volunteering at the school, Cindy is about to have a nervous breakdown. She has so much on her plate that she can’t even put dinner on the table half the time.
Keeping your office organized is definitely a problem. When they moved into the house, the room began as the children’s playroom. When the clutter threatened to take over the rest of the house, it also became the dumpster, you know, the place you dump everything when company comes over? Then he started his home business and now it’s… well, it is what it is: a mess! The desk is covered, the floor is covered. Let’s face it, everything is covered! Once something enters that room, it usually doesn’t come back to the surface for quite some time. Come to think of it, Cindy has found cups of sour milk several times, but that’s another story.
Cindy has tried to clear the space several times with little success. For one thing, she can’t fit another piece of paper in that file cabinet of hers. Also, she can never seem to remember which file to put things in, making it difficult to locate things when she needs them. In the middle of the desk are overdue bills, children’s artwork, junk mail, half-finished projects, and the like. A bigger desk would probably solve the problem she thinks to herself. Then there is the matter of the calendar. How many times has she made an appointment only to find out later that her husband will be out of town that night and that she doesn’t have childcare? And of course, getting ready to go on a date can be the most stressful of all. Locating contact information, product samples, and a bag to carry it all is no easy task when she’s spread out all over her 2-story house.
Tracy opens her computer and opens her calendar to see tomorrow’s schedule. This is a ritual that she started when she started her home business last year. What was once a game room has now been converted into a business office for Tracy. Having a dedicated space to store inventory, schedule appointments, and pay bills has played a big part in the success of her business. The desk she has is not huge, but there is enough space to work. And, a smaller desk gives you less room to stack things. Tracy loves having a space of her own where she can close the door and focus. With everything organized, she feels motivated and confident to accomplish the tasks at hand.
Tomorrow’s schedule includes a dentist appointment for Nicole and volunteering at Brandon’s school in the afternoon. She also has a business appointment that night, so she’d better pack her suitcase now while the kids sleep. After packing her bag and visually processing the next day’s events, she heads for bed.
The next morning, while making breakfast for two-year-old Alex, she remembers to call the pest control center. She walks over to her laptop and puts it on her “to do” list so she won’t forget it. Right now, she needs to focus on getting the kids out the door and to the dentist on time. Just before she leaves, Tracy checks her “to do” list. She sees that she needs to pick up her prescription and realizes that she will be driving by on her way home from the dentist. She can pick it up on the way home.
Later that day, while dinner is in the oven, Tracy runs upstairs to change clothes for her business appointment. After getting dressed, she heads to her filing cabinet where she has a folder for each client with MapQuest directions to her homes. She grabs her bag off the hook, her client folder, and her laptop. She will have to walk out the door as soon as Kevin gets home.
When she returns home that night, Tracy is tired and relieved that she has limited herself to 2 business appointments a week. Having a margin is what keeps her sanity intact these days. She heads to her office to quickly unpack her bag and look at her calendar for tomorrow. With that behind her, she can sit in front of the TV with Kevin for a few moments before heading to bed.
Tips for organizing a home office:
Add color to create the desired mood. For example, a brightly colored room can inspire creativity.
If you like the colors and containers you’re using, you’ll be more inclined to keep your space tidy.
Everything must have a home or it will find itself cluttered on the desk.
Use “to do” lists. Put it on the computer so you don’t have to look around the house for it. Also, keep a separate list for work and personal.
Keep a calendar and be ruthless about writing down appointments. Whether you use a stopwatch, wall calendar, or computer calendar, consider color-coding by person or theme. For example, all my business appointments are in one color and all my home/family things are in another color on the same calendar.
Schedule a transition time into your day. What would happen if you trained yourself to take 15 min. when you first walked through the door to unpack the car, your bag or briefcase? We often keep our schedules so busy that we don’t allow ourselves or our children to transition from one event to the next.
Determine what functions you want the office to provide and keep them to a minimum. For example, it may be unrealistic to expect an office to act as a business office, home office, children’s craft room, weight room, and storage area.
Get a file system that appeals to you. Generally, people don’t like to archive. Having a system that is simple, close to the desk and not cluttered will make this boring task more bearable. My personal favorite file system is http://www.smead.com/Director.asp?NodeID=529
Live lighter. The amount of paperwork that comes through your door on any given day is astronomical. Before you save something, ask yourself, “why would I need to save this?” For example, if you don’t report utilities on your taxes for a write-off, is there a reason to keep the stub once you’ve paid the bill? Save yourself the headache of filing and shredding instead.
Separate business from personal. If you’re using the same office for business and personal use, keep things separate by using different sides of the room, separate colors in a filing cabinet, or separate storage boxes. It’s hard enough trying to tackle business without finding an invoice or permission slip to be signed in the middle of the pile.
Designate a home for the bag you use for work or another activity. The middle of the floor in any room does not count! Consider getting an attractive bag, hanging it on a hook and making it a part of your room’s design.
Do you always arrive at a business appointment only to discover that you forgot a thing or two? Consider making a checklist on your computer for all the things you need to remember to bring. Save it to your computer desktop or print and laminate it. You could even attach it to your bag with a hole punch and ring clasp.
Open room offices are a good idea if you’re short on space but they’re hard to pull off. Having a room with a door ensures that your overwhelming week-long clutter isn’t shown to everyone who enters or leaves the house.
If your home business requires you to keep inventory, designate ONE place to store it. Mixing inventory with personal products used by the family complicates matters. Sort like-for-like, use labels, and don’t store more than you need at any one time. Open shelving can help you see what you’re running out of at a glance.
Set up a database on your computer to keep track of contacts, phone numbers, and email addresses. Not only will you know where to go to find the phone number, but it won’t take up any valuable space on your desk or drawers.
About 23 percent of people pay late fees on bills they can’t find. Designate a place where unpaid bills will go when they arrive in the mail. Set a schedule for when you will pay bills. Paying bills online is incredibly easy, even for people with technical problems.
Ask yourself what is driving you to continue at the rate you are going. It may be time to cut back a bit and enjoy the moment.