Organizing Your Work Space - The Blogger's Office

I know when I need to get working, whether it's on a blog article, or if I'm doing a task at my office management job, that the work isn't going to happen unless I get my desk and/or my office organized first. You know how it is: You sit down to work. Your desk is messy. You can't find a pencil. You spend twenty minutes looking for the note you had yesterday. And pretty soon, it's noon and you don't have anything done. Well, I have learned that organizing your work space is key to accomplishing your goals, because, when you're organized, work flows quickly and smoothly. So, here are my tips and tricks to getting organized so your work can flow smoothly too.

The Blogger's Office

At Wealthy Affiliate, we talk a lot about the "lap top lifestyle". That's basically the ability to flip out your laptop and work anywhere there's a WiFi signal. It can be at the beach, your favorite coffee shop, in the park, or in your bed! My favorite spots are the recliner or the couch in my living room. So, even though you can work from anywhere, you still need to be organized. I find I even need organization transitioning from the recliner to the couch, because invariably, I will leave something at the other location, and will have to interrupt my workflow to go find it.

Well, problem solved. I got one of those caddies, like you use for cleaning products. In there, I have my notebook, pencils and pens, my calendar, my remote for the music, cell phone and cord, my mouse, and my laptop power cord. I religiously put all my things back in the caddy when I'm done, and I just move my caddy around the house with me where ever I decide to work.

I have yet to work outside my home on my blogs, but when I am ready to venture out, I have a nice leather brief case for my laptop, and all of my stuff from my caddy can easily go in there, along with my wallet, keys, and sun glasses.

So, easy as that, I have an organized blogger's office!

To Do List and Calendar

I have my to do list and my calendar always open on my desk. True there's an electronic way to maintain to do lists and calendars, but I do much better with a paper copy in front of me that is specific to the job. I have a to do list for the day, and a general to do list, because there are things that I need to get done that day, and things that I can get done when I have time to do them. "Must do's" are marked with an asterix, so I know these are the most important tasks to complete. Or sometimes I number the tasks in the order they need done. This way, if I get sidetracked, I have my "center" in front of me. I can get back on task easily because I have my "marching orders" right there where I can see them.

Color Pens and Daily Diary

When I'm office managing, I keep a daily diary. It's just a five-subject notebook that I write the daily stuff in. I write down all my phone messages, job figures, and just stuff I think I need to remember. I love it because I have something that I can reference back to, like if I need to know who I called and what the call was about. It is particularly handy when someone gives me an email address over the phone.

Back when I had a more complicated job, I used colored pens. I would choose a color for each day. If I went off and wrote something, like a note to someone, I would know what day I wrote it

based on the color I wrote it in. Handy for the to do list, because I knew when I put items on the list, and when I crossed them off due to the color of the day. I don't have to do this anymore though because my job is not that complicated.

Organization Breaks

I take frequent breaks to organize throughout the day. I have a tendency to pick a new pen or pencil from my pencil can every time I write, so by lunchtime, I have 10 or 12 pens everywhere. I will stop every once in a while and pick up all the pens and put them back in the can. I will organize my in-box a couple times per day, clipping together like-tasks. I will file stuff. It helps to keep my mind in order.

I also do a 15-20 minute organization session at the beginning and end of each day. In the morning, I will gather all my inbox items, and create a TODAY to do list. At the end of the day, I will put everything away, and write myself a list or a note on things I need to do the next day. I will take a minute to wipe off my desk and empty my trash, check email and messages one last time, then fill out a time card. I have an item list in my mind I usually go through, but you can write yours down if you want. Not only does this help me be organized the next day, but it transitions my mind, and gives me a passive note that says, "Work is done for the day." It helps me to not "take it home with me."

To Do, On the Left. Done On the Right.

I have done this for as long as I can remember. As an office manager, I usually have a stack of papers such as invoices, tax exempt certificates, scale tickets, daily logs, and time cards. Everything that needs to be processed is stacked on the desk or in my in-basket on the left. I will process the items. Then I stack them on the right in several piles: filing piles, papers the boss needs to process, boss's emails, etc. I think it's really cool that the guys I work with understand my system, and they never put a receipt on the right, only on the left.

Other Little Helpful Hints

• I put my car keys on the outgoing mail, so I don't forget to take it with me when I leave.
• I set alarms on my phone. This helps particularly with my blogging. If I want to write for an hour every day, I set my hour timer. Also, working in the office, I need to get up and move, and drink water periodically, so my phone is set to remind me of those items too. (Some of you have FitBits that do this for you automatically, but I don't.)
• I answer the phone a lot. I have found that it's best if I have a pen and a clean call sheet ready at all times, so when the phone rings, I am on it. During busy times, I check my supply of call sheets and make sure I won't run out in the middle of a big call run.
• I order office supplies from Office Max. I keep a running list on there website of the things needed. It's nice because I don't have to remember what I bought the last time, and people get their favorites. Helps me remember whose ink cartridge is whose.
• Spread sheets are awesome. I love spread sheets. They help me organize everything from important phone numbers and email addresses, customer collection calls, scales tickets, driver's license expiration dates for our CDL truck drivers, just about anything I need to keep track of. On my blog, and keep a spread sheet of my posts and what they are about. I also have a spread sheet for my affiliate partners and their links, and which posts I have used them on.

In Conclusion

In this New Year, many of you have resolved to be more organized. I hope what I have written here will help you do that. Please put your comments below, and please also share your own organizing tricks so we can all benefit from a little more from getting our lives and our work in order. Thanks for reading!