Essential Office Support

Getting organized is a huge undertaking if you’ve allowed clutter to get out of control. You may spend an entire weekend getting organized only to find yourself a few months down the road with the same problem again. What can you do?

Incorporating these tips into your regular routine will not only keep you organized but will save you a lot of time and frustration.

Tip 1 - No clutter - No distraction. Keep only the items on your desk that you are using for that particular project so you are free from distractions.

Tip 2 - Write it down! Writing things down will save time and frustration later. Why take the chance of forgetting an appointment when it only takes seconds to write it down?

Tip 3 - Schedule block times to work on similar tasks. Pay bills & enter the items in you money management program while everything is on your desk and fresh in your mind. Make all your phone calls together, sign birthday, holiday and business cards for the whole month in one sitting.

Tip 4 - Clean your filing cabinet. Go through and organized your papers & folders. Then schedule time to purge your files. This can be done monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or even annually, just make sure you do it on a regular basis.

Tip 5 - Use one calendar. Having one calendar to keep track of all your work and personal dates will eliminate missed or conflicting appointments. You can buy a large desktop calendar with plenty of room for all your appointments from an office supply store for under $20.

Tip 6 – Set a timer! If you are still establishing a routine or just aren’t good at following them, set a timer or alarm to go off when it’s time for you to switch tasks. This will keep you on schedule and help you determine how long you need to complete each task.

Tip 7 - Keep your receipts together. Have a coupon organizer in your purse or car with each section labeled according to tax expenses (fuel, supplies, dinner meetings, rental equipment, etc). When you get a receipt, automatically put it in the appropriate section so when you get home it’s a snap to move them to the appropriate folder in your filing cabinet.

Tip 8 - Have a drawer organizer for all your small desk items such as paper clips, pens, rubber bands, etc. Having everything in one place saves time when you’re working and you can see at a glance when your supply is getting low.

By scheduling a few minutes at the end of each day to keeping your work area organized, you won’t have to worry about it getting out of control. You’ll have less stress, more focus and time to devote to other areas of your life.

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Melody Spier is a work at home mom of two teens and the owner of Essential Office Support, a virtual support business catering to small and home-based businesses. If your day is spent working on time-consuming tasks instead of doing what you do best, contact Melody to find out how a Virtual Assistant can help. http://www.EssentialOfficeSupport.com

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