Most people either work in an office or have occasion to use someone else's office from time to time. Not everyone has been trained in the proper use of an office and how to organise work in an office. This is, like most business, subjects too big to deal with in one page. But I will give you enough pointers to make life a little easier at least.



It is often said that a tidy desk is a sign of a warped mind. Or that it means that you don't have enough to do. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is simply a sign that that person is organised. Or that they have read this article.

I will first show you a list of headers and we will then work our way through it.

1. Image is important. Keep the desk tidy, look organised.

2. Never go home leaving a mess on and around your desk. Tidy it before you go.

3. Organise your office space to suit your needs and circumstances.

1. Image is important. Your employer will notice how organised you are and all things being equal he will favour the employee with the tidy desk because he will assume that this person is more organised. He might be right.

If you always have a tidy organised space to work in, you will feel more organised and capable. This will put a spring in your step and you might be surprised what your new positive attitude will do for your ability. It is likely that your talent will begin to shine and you will actually get better at what you do.

Keep your desk clear of paperwork and flowers and souvenirs unless you are currently working on them. It makes everything easier to find. Don't bring your coffee into the office. There will be no spillages and no rings on the paperwork. It is a place of work not a place to eat. There can be some times during the day when you do not actually need the office. For example a social conversation with a colleague. Leave and go have coffee with this colleague. When the conversation begins to draw to a close but your colleague does not realise it, you can gently drop the hint by heading back to the office. If you were in your office you might be stuck in that conversation longer than you need to.

If you keep your office as a place of work you will automatically be in a working frame of mind when you go there. People will begin to recognise that when you are in your office you are working and leave you to get on with it. These will improve your productivity.

2. Never go home leaving a mess on and around your desk. If you have had a busy day at the office it is likely that your desk will be at least a little untidy unless you are very organised and you would probably not be reading this. Do not go home until it is organised and ready for the next day.

If you arrive in the next day to face the mess it will have four major effects on you.

i. You will have a negative reaction immediately at the thought of having to tidy it and get organised for that day's work. This negative cloud can colour the rest of the day.

ii.It will take up time today finishing yesterday's work when you should be doing today's work, and put you behind immediately.

iii. Your self image of being organised will take a hit.

iv. The image you are trying to project to your employer will also take a hit.

3. Organise your office space to suit your needs and circumstances. Most offices are there to process documents, or at least, there so that you can process documents. So why is it so difficult? The simple reason is that you do not have the office arranged to suit you and the work you do. I see that most people discussing this subject talk about organising a workspace. I see the entire office as a workspace. Organise and arrange everything to suit you if it is your office. If it is a shared office take time out to discuss this issue with the colleague with whom you share the office. The arrangement of the furniture, stationary, dispensers etc. is important if the office is to run efficiently and you are to work effectively.

It is difficult to work effectively with constant interruptions. They are less likely to happen if people can not easily catch your eye. If you work in an open office keep your back to the main walkway so that passers-by will not see your face and you can happily ignore them. If you are in a single office keep the door closed when you do not want to be disturbed and open it when you are willing to receive visitors. As a manager this can be difficult.

However, part of a managers job is to delegate. If this is done properly and the people working under him/her are worth their salt there will only be interruptions when there is a disaster or when something happens that you wanted to be informed about.

If a conversation is unavoidable stand for it. Then when you sit down they will get the hint that you are going to resume working.

Most desks these days have a small filing drawer built in. this should be used for the files that you use most often. When it is not likely to be used for some time move it to the main filing cabinet. Do not allow files to build up in the desk file drawer or it will slow you down when you are constantly rummaging in the drawer trying to find one you need. If you have a routine it will make your job much easier. Also, make sure that files are clearly marked whether by name or date. It does not matter what the system you have is. What does matter is being able to retrieve information quickly when you need it. (Filing systems can be easy or complex. It is likely to be a subject of another article soon. Look out for it.)

You should have a proper office chair with height adjustment, a rotating seat and castors to roll it around. Too many office staff and even managers have to make do with a chair borrowed from the canteen or somewhere. The chair should be adjusted to suit you and your desk should have everything within easy reach or be easily reached by rolling your chair without getting out of it. You should have an in tray, an out tray and a pending tray. You should make every effort to have all trays empty at the end of the day.