Every year, right around September and October, there's a unique energy that fills the increasingly chilly air: a feeling of possibility, renewal, and opportunity. With back-to-back obligations in your rearview mirror, it's time to channel that motivation into a productive project at work.
Move over, spring cleaning: fall organizing is the new kid on the block.
We're not just talking about shuffling the pile of papers on your office desk into a neater, more uniform pile. And we don't mean buying a packet of multicolor sticky notes only to have them sit inside a desk drawer for eternity. We're serving up some seriously sustainable and totally simple tips for making this fall – and every season after that – your most organized one yet.
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Do a deep dive into your desk
Every drawer and shelf on earth adheres to the same law: if the space exists, it will be filled up. Whether your desk has two drawers or ten, we can all but guarantee that all of them are piled high with largely untouched files, receipts, and odds and ends.
Start by designating space for three different piles: "keep," "maybe," and "toss." From top to bottom, declutter every inch of your desk or workspace, and sort each document, paperclip, and crumpled up note accordingly.
Ideally, your "toss" pile will be much larger than your "keep" pile. We recommend saving your "maybe" items for the end: by then, you'll have already set the tone for what's really important and what can be laid to rest, making the decision process that much easier.
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Cloud-ify your life
Now that you've shaved your paperwork down to the essentials, here comes the big question: why bother with physical paperwork at all? It might take a couple of hours depending on how full your filing cabinet is, but you will thank yourself later for digitizing your paperwork.
Depending on your company's preferred provider (Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.), simply create your account and you'll be feeling lighter than air in no time.
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Get into the eSignature game
The best way to cut down on paperwork accumulation is to never print something out in the first place. Leaving wet ink signatures behind in favor of eSignatures means you can rely on fast, easy, paperless email communications instead of leaving loose documents on coworkers' desks, praying they won't get lost in the shuffle.
Whether you deal with leases, legal agreements, NDA's, contracts, or other similar documents, a solution like Signeasy can eliminate a huge volume of paper-based clutter. Added bonuses include faster document turnaround times and greener business practices.
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There's never a bad time to declutter your desk or office; fall just happens to be a particularly good time to get your head in the organization game! If you're going to commit to cracking down on mess, make sure you're making lasting changes. That way, once next fall rolls around, your job will be infinitely easier.
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