At least once a year it’s a good practice to give your office and work space a face lift. For most organization’s, their slow period provides the perfect time to not only get organized, but to prepare in earnest for the upcoming busy season.
Every work space from the corner office, retail storefront, warehouse, cubicle complex or home office will benefit from clean and organized surroundings. As well, it’s more appealing to your customer’s, visitors and a morale booster for your staff.
The best place to start is with everything paper. Clean out your old files and keep only what is absolutely necessary. Shred everything that has any sensitive or personal information about your organization, your people and your customers. Once this task is done, it’s off to the recycle center along with the rest of your office recyclables.
Your next step is to update and reorganize your remaining document files. And don’t forget your business card binders and Rolodex (if you still have one). Now repeat this same process for all of your electronic files, database and anything else that is virtual.
Next up… it’s time to de-clutter the desks and file cabinets. The promotional junk that you’ve accumulated has got to go. And the monthly desk calendar pad on the top of your desk should have gone bye-bye three years ago. Clean out the drawers too… how many hand held calculators, rulers and the like do you really need?
Once you can actually see your real desk top, take the time to clean and polish it. Now move on to the book shelves and file cabinets. Pull the books which are no longer utilized or that have become outdated. Categorize the professional, reference and resource books together for easy time saving access in the future. Reorganize the file cabinets and remove the extraneous items that have accumulated over time. File cabinets have a real purpose and are meant to save time… not to be the office catch-all.
Now it’s time to round up all of the strays from around the office and then gather all of your office supplies into one central location. Then test all writing instruments, sharpen all pencils and refill all staplers, sticky note holders, paper clip holders and the like. Subsequent to this protocol, inventory your office and computer supplies and then generate both a current shopping list and future needs schedule that will maintain appropriate supply levels.
The time has come to turn to your technology equipment and to assess your computer hardware and software needs, upgrades, maintenance, repair, optimization and back-up. Just like your paper files, delete the old or unnecessary files along with any programs that you no longer use. Once this has been completed it’s time to tackle your email files which may truly be your biggest source of clutter. Start by cleaning out your in box, sent files, deleted files (some of which need to be permanently deleted to actually remove them from your hard drive) and of course your spam.
Also remember that pictures, audios and videos take up tons of hard drive space. Keep what you need, place them on a CD/DVD and then delete what you can from your system. Reclaim as much disk space as possible and then optimize your computers by running the defrag and disk clean up programs.
With these tasks accomplished, it’s time for a little elbow grease and some serious down to earth office cleaning. Wash all windows inside and out, clean the blinds and draperies, vacuum the carpets and floors thoroughly and have them shampooed as necessary. Clean all tile, linoleum, baseboards, baseboards, door frames, doors, door knobs, hinges, light switch plates, walls and add a fresh coat of paint where needed.
Now that your office is bright and shiny, it’s time to freshen up its aesthetic look. Review your office equipment and telephone system needs. Consider rearranging the furniture and wall décor. Update your accent pieces, especially if you have a waiting room or foyer and don’t forget to update magazines, journals, brochures, information pamphlets and business card holders.
Lastly, perform an office makeover with regard to your policies, practices, procedures and business plan as this will help you clean up your old ways of thinking and help your organization to focus on creative ideas and new ways of better serving your customers.
And remember… that good organization will always reward your bottom-line.
Copyright © 2012 Developing Forward Thomas H. Swank, CBC All Rights Reserved.
Every work space from the corner office, retail storefront, warehouse, cubicle complex or home office will benefit from clean and organized surroundings. As well, it’s more appealing to your customer’s, visitors and a morale booster for your staff.
The best place to start is with everything paper. Clean out your old files and keep only what is absolutely necessary. Shred everything that has any sensitive or personal information about your organization, your people and your customers. Once this task is done, it’s off to the recycle center along with the rest of your office recyclables.
Your next step is to update and reorganize your remaining document files. And don’t forget your business card binders and Rolodex (if you still have one). Now repeat this same process for all of your electronic files, database and anything else that is virtual.
Next up… it’s time to de-clutter the desks and file cabinets. The promotional junk that you’ve accumulated has got to go. And the monthly desk calendar pad on the top of your desk should have gone bye-bye three years ago. Clean out the drawers too… how many hand held calculators, rulers and the like do you really need?
Once you can actually see your real desk top, take the time to clean and polish it. Now move on to the book shelves and file cabinets. Pull the books which are no longer utilized or that have become outdated. Categorize the professional, reference and resource books together for easy time saving access in the future. Reorganize the file cabinets and remove the extraneous items that have accumulated over time. File cabinets have a real purpose and are meant to save time… not to be the office catch-all.
Now it’s time to round up all of the strays from around the office and then gather all of your office supplies into one central location. Then test all writing instruments, sharpen all pencils and refill all staplers, sticky note holders, paper clip holders and the like. Subsequent to this protocol, inventory your office and computer supplies and then generate both a current shopping list and future needs schedule that will maintain appropriate supply levels.
The time has come to turn to your technology equipment and to assess your computer hardware and software needs, upgrades, maintenance, repair, optimization and back-up. Just like your paper files, delete the old or unnecessary files along with any programs that you no longer use. Once this has been completed it’s time to tackle your email files which may truly be your biggest source of clutter. Start by cleaning out your in box, sent files, deleted files (some of which need to be permanently deleted to actually remove them from your hard drive) and of course your spam.
Also remember that pictures, audios and videos take up tons of hard drive space. Keep what you need, place them on a CD/DVD and then delete what you can from your system. Reclaim as much disk space as possible and then optimize your computers by running the defrag and disk clean up programs.
With these tasks accomplished, it’s time for a little elbow grease and some serious down to earth office cleaning. Wash all windows inside and out, clean the blinds and draperies, vacuum the carpets and floors thoroughly and have them shampooed as necessary. Clean all tile, linoleum, baseboards, baseboards, door frames, doors, door knobs, hinges, light switch plates, walls and add a fresh coat of paint where needed.
Now that your office is bright and shiny, it’s time to freshen up its aesthetic look. Review your office equipment and telephone system needs. Consider rearranging the furniture and wall décor. Update your accent pieces, especially if you have a waiting room or foyer and don’t forget to update magazines, journals, brochures, information pamphlets and business card holders.
Lastly, perform an office makeover with regard to your policies, practices, procedures and business plan as this will help you clean up your old ways of thinking and help your organization to focus on creative ideas and new ways of better serving your customers.
And remember… that good organization will always reward your bottom-line.
Copyright © 2012 Developing Forward Thomas H. Swank, CBC All Rights Reserved.
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