Millions of office workers have ditched their commutes and started working from home in recent years. And while it’s nice to work from home so you don’t have to commute or change out of your pajamas, remote work doesn’t come without its challenges.

For example, very few people can complete their day job using nothing but a laptop computer. Even as more and more tasks go digital, there’s still a need to deal with papers, filing cabinets, product samples, media equipment, and much more.

Your home office can quickly feel overrun. But with a few organization hacks, you can restore your peace and fill your office with joy once more.

Whether you are working from home or returning to the office, here are a few ideas for how to organize a workplace to boost productivity. 

1. Organization for Files 

One of the first things you need to get out of the way is file organization. It doesn’t matter if you have Dropbox or Google Drive, you will still have tons of paper documents to manage and store for safekeeping.

But very few people know how to organize files the right way. Enter Tabshop.com. 

When you just throw folders into a filing cabinet and write with a pen on the folder tab, your cabinet will feel messy and unorganized. Even if you try to keep it in order, it still seems impossible to find what you are looking for.

But at Tabshop, you can design your own custom tab dividers. You can choose the color of your dividers and labels, as well as the position of the labels. Add your custom text and you’re good to go.

All of a sudden your files, both in your cabinet and in your work binder, become much prettier and feel much cleaner. 

2. Have Storage Space Available

It’s tempting to try designing an office to be as minimal and empty as possible. With very little clutter, an office can feel cleaner, making it easier to think and express yourself creatively.

But you need to balance out your minimalistic tendencies with realism. You’re going to need storage space, aside from just a filing cabinet.

There are plenty of supplies you’re going to need to keep stocked up. And without a place to put everything, it’s all going to end up on your desk, or the floor next to your desk, or the couch nearby.

Create a dedicated storage space for everything that doesn’t need to be on your work desk. If you have a closet nearby, you can add shelves and drawers to the closet.

Or, if you just have a few things, you can add a miniature chest of drawers underneath your desk. These are great at holding the small things so that your desk can remain free and clear. 

3. Simplify Equipment 

Businesses require tons of different equipment to handle day-to-day activities. You might have a printer, a scanner, and a fax machine all right next to each other. But that’s a lot of wasted space.

Ditch the old machines and purchase a single machine that can handle every task that you need to handle. 

4. Hide Your Wires

At your desk, you probably have a desktop computer, an external monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, a telephone, a lamp, and a number of other gizmos and gadgets. When you’re sitting at your desk, you might not notice all of the wires hanging down. 

But once you walk away and look back at your desk, you’re going to see a mess of wires hanging off the back of your desk. And wires that are permanent can be bundled together with a zip tie to turn a mess of wires into one, clean bundle. You can also strap this bundle to the back of a table leg to hide it from view. 

5. Add Drawer Dividers

If you have drawers at your desk, then you likely have a messy pile of junk sitting inside of them. Make your drawers work for you by adding simple, cheap dividers and trays to your drawers.

They make it easy to keep everything separate, so you can always find what you’re looking for. When you can actually find what you need, you’ll save a ton of time throughout the day. You’ll also get frustrated a lot less. 

6. Add a Pegboard

Pegboards are some of the most useful objects you can add to an office. By attaching one to the wall behind your desk, you give yourself unlimited options as to storing your essentials and decorating your workspace. 

With the right pegboard accessories, you can hang nearly anything from it. Hang art or pictures of your family. Store cups for pens or art supplies. Hang your calendar or to-do list. There’s no limit to what you can do with a pegboard. 

And they don’t have to be a dreary dark brown color. You can purchase pegboards in any number of bright, cheery colors to match your workstation. 

7. Go Digital

It has to be said. Even though you need physical tools and accessories to help you do your job, you also need the right software and apps on your devices.

There are countless digital tools that have been created to replace our need for bulky, costly, physical items. For example, you can use an app like Evernote or Todoist to streamline your to-do list and prevent your desk from getting caked in sticky notes.

You can limit the number of papers you have to deal with by transitioning to a digital file system using Google Drive or Dropbox. 

You can use a project management tool like Trello to keep all of your current projects organized so you aren’t having to flip through notebooks and paper all the time.

The future is digital, and digital tools will help you organize your physical workspace. 

Organization Hacks for Peace and Productivity

Now that you know how to organize an office the right way, it’s time to get started. Choose at least one of these organization hacks to implement today to move towards a cleaner office and a more productive work environment.

Looking for more hacks? Head over to our blog to find other helpful articles now.