Just because you run your office out of your home, you don’t have to treat your home office any differently than if it were a rental or a location where you work for someone else. You can enjoy all the comforts and luxuries of working from your home while still maintaining the professional atmosphere that can help you stay motivated and be successful. This is especially important if you use your home office to meet with potential clients or other business professionals in the industry. Having an office that is disorganized will only cause others to doubt your level of professionalism.
Furniture that is comfortable yet exudes professionalism is a good way to start, but is only a small part of what matters. You could have the most expensive home office furniture available on the market, and none of it will matter if it is all buried under clutter. Too often those who work from the home, alone or with only one or two other staff members, tend to slack a bit when it comes to keeping things neat and tidy. It is crucial to get a good filing system and organization method in place and work hard to maintain it. Getting organized will save time in the long run and make it easier for you or anyone who uses the home office and will also improve the way in which your office space is perceived.
The best way to get things in order from the start is to implement Paper Tiger Filing System Software for document management, an indexing system that can help you organize your paper files and so much more. Even if you already have a filing system in place, incorporating Paper Tiger’s indexing system into your home office will only help improve upon what you’ve started and will also make it much easier for other people to use the system to locate documents and other physical items, such as books, training manuals, software, keys, office supplies, etc.
By entering item names and keywords into the indexing system relating to your documents, you can find anything by conducting a Google-like search of the information in your database. After you have your system set up, you will help eliminate certain problems such as dealing with different staff members not being able to locate files because they aren’t sure where to look. For example if you have a file for “Steven Mackey’s Home Repairs” you can also use search terms that are related like “Mackey,” “Repair,” or anything else you can think of that you might have filed it under. No matter what you or someone else types in from these search terms, the document or file can be located based on the keywords that were entered when filed. You can add keywords anytime, especially when you need to file a new document into an existing hanging file folder.
With Paper Tiger, you would number your hanging file folders to relate to the database index, enter the data into the software relating to each document or set of relating documents such as the item name and additional keywords that you might relate back to the files in each hanging file folder, and never have problems retrieving your data again, and you can also rest assured that you or someone else will be able to find the file at a later date.
For example, you can enter key search terms such as “taxes,” “expenses,” receipts,” or “write offs” all entered for the same file. Later you can use any of these terms and the search engine will inform you of where the file is located. No more searching because you can’t remember if you filed it under ‘T’ for taxes or ‘E’ for Expenses or ‘R’ for receipts, etc.
Even if you already have your filing system in place, you can easily make the change to an indexing system that works that much better. For additional instruction, see the following articles that you might find helpful:
Make your home office run smoothly and more effectively, as well as more professional, by getting organized and implementing Paper Tiger Filing System software.
Many companies are starting to realize what a huge savings telecommuting can be and that means more people are going to be starting their own home office. Those people are going to seek out home office organization tips either from the beginning because they want to start right, or they are going to start looking for these tips after they find themselves falling behind in their work because they have to keep stopping to find things or because they just cannot keep track of things that need to be done.
In any office environment, it is estimated that people spend 150 hours per year looking for lost information.
Home office organization is vital because number one, it is still a place of business, where you do your job. You still want to be professional and capable. For many people, the home office may be combined with another room in the home and they would like to keep the mess and clutter to a bare minimum. There is a delicate balance that has to be struck between the home and the office in the home office, no matter how much actual room you have to work with.
The major obstacle to getting and keeping home office organization, as well as for the home itself, is paper. From the time we open our doors to our home office or small business or even just to the home where we live, paper tries to get a foothold, wanting to get in and keep us buried under stacks of paper and clutter.
There are a number of steps you can take for yourself, but if you have already started to lose the paper battle, you might need to call in a professional organizer to get the paper and other clutter under control. The first step is to get rid of the junk mail before it even comes in the door. It is easier to keep control of paper if you minimize it. Eliminate the bulk by getting your name removed from junk mailing lists and be very careful about ordering from catalogs. Before you think that you are perfectly safe because you are ordering online only, consider this: Bulk mailers are culling names from online customers as well. Make sure that you confirm that the company you are ordering from does not sell information. Sign up for the Do Not Mail list here: http://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/
Also as much as possible, you can sign up for digital statements to cut down on the paper entering your home.
Make Home Office Organization Your Top Priority With Paper Tiger Filing System Software
Another tip to consider is Paper Tiger Filing System software for document management, which allows you to organize everything, not just your paper files. Because you do not need to scan anything to use the software system, there is no limitation to what can be indexed into the software’s database, including books and other bulky items. Everything is put into place and then its location is noted by a numbering index system that never changes and never moves. The filing system database works like a search engine for paper files to help you get organized and stay organized. Whether you are using it for home or for a small business, it is easy to use and to learn and virtually impossible to mess up at all.
For example, if you never remember the name of the gas company, simply file it under Gas. If you use the filing system software, you will also be able to add keywords into the database so that any name you think of when you need to find a file, the software will be able to tell you where it is in seconds. So in this case, the Item Name would be “Gas Company”, and in the keywords section, you would input the name of the company, i.e., “Bob’s Natural Gas”, the address, the service person’s name, address, phone number, etc., and you might use “Utilities” in the Category section.
You print out the tabs right from the software system for each ‘Location’ and then use the numbers to correspond to files and locations in which you enter into the software’s database. You can find every item then by accessing the database from any computer or smart phone with internet access, even when you are out and on the go.
Deciding What To Do With Your Paper Files
Take time each day to make a decision on what needs to be done with the paper items or email or any other actionable item that comes through your office. (what to keep and file, what needs action before filing, what can be thrown away, shredded or recycled)
For actionable items, place a note on the paper file for the next action to be taken by what deadline, and any steps that need to be taken before the deadline. This will help you get and stay on track to ensure the deadline is met.
This should be a great start to getting your home office organized. Of course, you can use these simple steps to get organized in your company’s office as well. Get started today with Paper Tiger Filing System software for document management!
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