Paper Tiger Blog

Sherry Borsheim, a Paper Tiger Expert of Simply Productive,  has published a short article with step-by-step guidelines on desk drawer organization. On her journey to go paperless, she chronicles how important a role the office desk plays in one’s success.

This past year I have been making it my goal to go increasingly paperless. If you’ve been following along you know the process is ongoing! While you may first think of your paper files when you think of “going paperless” your desk is a prime offender as well. As your primary workstation having a clean organized desk is crucial to your daily success. Having a clear top of your desk to start each day is important and having organized desk drawers helps this happen. It’s time to learn how to organize your desk drawers.

Steps to Organize Your Desk Drawers

1. Remember to schedule time to do it. You will need to block out an appointment with yourself to get your desk drawers organized, how long that takes may vary on a number of factors. Next make a reoccurring appointment with yourself to straighten your drawers and remove things that don’t belong. This can be as minimal as 10 minutes a week, just make sure you do it.
2. Replace the Post-its. Post-its can lead to a lot of visual (not to mention physical) clutter. There are great apps available on phones and other devices as well as through Microsoft Outlook to store your reminders and lists. Or create virtual post-its on your computer. With so many options available you’ll be able to select one that will work reliably for you without all the paper clutter.
3. Don’t buy bulk, unless it ACTUALLY makes sense for you. That is right, want to know how to organize your desk drawers? Avoid collecting stuff. It is easy to buy office supplies in bulk. Avoid the pitfall. Pens dry out, paperclips get lost in the bottom of drawers, ink needs changing, the list goes on. And think about the space you are dedicating to these things in the long run. Even shared office space often has the problem of overstocked office supplies. Ask yourself if you really even know what you have. Will you re-buy that supply anyway rather than try to remember where you stored it or if you owned it? Don’t wade through a drawer full of pens and paperclips to find what you need. Own only the office supplies you really need.
4. Scan it if you can. Remember our goal to get rid of paper? Rather than keeping papers on your desk or jammed into a drawer, scan and save the items that you don’t need to keep in hard copy format for legal or tax reasons in your computer for when you need them. Always make sure you are appropriately backing up your electronic copies.
5. Keep your file drawers within reach. Here is a good reminder, if your files are close enough for you to reach or easily roll a chair to, you are more likely to keep your things filed. File folders that make it back to their drawers mean they aren’t sitting on top of your desk or blocking up a drawer. Keep the things, like primary file drawers, that you need to use closer to you when working at your desk. You know what else should be easily accessible? The PAPER SHREDDER!
6. For those paper files that you need to keep in hard copy format, I recommend, and help implement if needed, Paper Tiger filing system software for document management. You can organize paper files in your home and office, and index into Paper Tiger so you can find anything in seconds!

Learning how to organize a desk doesn’t have to be complicated, these 6 steps will have you on your way!
What do you think is the most important thing to remember when learning how to organize your desk drawers?

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Sherry Borsheim is the president of Simply Productive. You can visit Sherry, access her free article archive and grab lots of free stuff at http://www.simplyproductive.com. Sherry lives in Vancouver, BC Canada with her husband (her high-school sweetheart).

Contact Sherry for a JUMP-START on ORGANIZING your office, home and life. She will give you her trade secrets and steps to setting up your organizing systems, including recommending Paper Tiger filing system software if it is a good suit for the way you work.

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4 Responses to “How to Organize Your Desk Drawers”

1. Art Thompson says:

   October 2, 2015 at 12:36 pm

   Great suggestions.
   Now, what about those little pieces of paper called “sales receipt” (dining expense, Walmart, etc.) Thank you for any suggestions.
2. Roger Smith says:

   October 3, 2015 at 11:55 am

   Have both a business and home bills, and did I mention I also do geneology
3. Janet Baker says:

   October 13, 2015 at 11:33 am

   Thanks Roger for your comment. No matter how many offices you have or what types of files, when you’ve taken the time to implement and use Paper Tiger filing system software, you’ll have a system that can help you file and find your items. You may find this article helpful which contains more detail: http://thepapertiger.com/blog/customize-your-filing-system-with-paper-tigers-indexing-method/
4. Janet Baker says:

   October 13, 2015 at 11:36 am

   Hi Art,
   You may find this article helpful which contains more detail in how to customize your filing system: http://thepapertiger.com/blog/customize-your-filing-system-with-paper-tigers-indexing-method/. Hopefully the list found in this article will help you with ideas on how to best set up your system that works best for you. Thank you, Janet Baker with the Paper Tiger team