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Whether you work in an office or at home, keeping all of your office documents organized is crucial. However, it can also be hard to do.
Proper organization means you can find anything you need quickly and easily. This helps you stay on top of everything, and it can enable you to be more productive. If you’re looking for ways to organize your office documents, try these tips.
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Keep Important Office Documents Accessible
Try using a thermal laminator to laminate any office documents you need to reference frequently. This helps keep the documents in excellent shape so they’re readable. Also, you can then put them in a file together. Or, if you only have a few, attach important office documents to the walls around your desk so they’re in view.
Label Everything to Make It Easier to Find the Office Documents You Need
Labels will make it far easier for you to find everything. When you’re sorting through your office documents, remember to label all of the shelves, bins, boxes, drawers, and more that you’ll use. This helps you learn where you need to put documents later to keep them organized. Additionally, it can also help others who might need to find something in your office.
Sort by What Makes Sense
Alphabetical or by-date sorting of your office documents might not be right for you. Instead, figure out a sorting system that works for what you need.
For example, you might keep papers organized by client, by job type, by when you receive it, or by when it needs to go out again. Think about the different ways to sort all of your office documents before beginning. In this way, you can find a method that makes sense to you. This will make it easier for you to stick with the filing system and help you remember where everything goes.
Use Color When Sorting Office Documents
Labels are a great way to make sure you know what goes where. However, an even faster way is to use color coding.
For each type of document, choose a different color to use. You might put a sticker with that color on the label so it’s easy to see. Or you could choose different color boxes so you can spot the right box before you get to the shelf. It doesn’t usually matter which colors you choose, as long as you can easily see the difference and know where to find what you need.
Get Rid of Clutter
Any clutter will make it more difficult for you to keep track of office documents as well as everything else on your desk. Try getting rid of as much of the clutter as possible.
In other words, if you aren’t using something, move it off your desk. Keep photos and other items on shelves above the desk if possible, or simply limit the number you have.
Conclusion
If you’re tired of wasting time searching for office documents, it’s time to get organized right now. So take the time to go through all of your office documents and get organized.
Then, follow through by putting everything away properly going forward. This might take time to do right now, but it can help you save quite a bit of time in the long run.
