Every home has one. They’re usually filled with unread books, computer equipment, scattered notes, and a hundred other things that haven’t been used since the new millennium. I’m talking about home offices. While they can be incredibly useful for some people, oftentimes they simply end up being an extra storage room. However, all is not lost. If you are able to get the clutter under control and keep the space neat and clean, you’re going to be significantly more productive in your home office. The following is an exploration of the benefits of organization at home.
Morale
One of the most important factors in whether or not a person is productive is how happy and content they are. If you’ve ever lived with a roommate or significant other, then you know how dirty dishes and un-kept rooms can lead to heated arguments. This is because nobody likes living in a space that is dirty and unorganized. It gives many people anxiety and puts them in the mindset of not wanting to be in that space. Having a dirty and unorganized work space is no different.
A clean atmosphere in your office turns it into a place that you actually enjoy being. Since what you are doing is already work, there is no reason why you should make the whole experience even more unpleasant. You also want to find more ways to lower home insurance costs.
According to UCLA anthropologist Jeanne Arnold, “Mothers who characterize their homes as restful, restorative, or tidy had lower stress levels. Cortisol data show a link between the unhappy verbal characterization of arrays of household possessions (chronically messy, cluttered rooms, or unfinished remodeling projects) and higher stress level as measured by the hormone cortisol in the mothers in the study.” It is no different in the office space.
Efficiency
A cleaner workspace also lends itself to a more efficient process. When you have everything clean and in the correct place, then you know exactly where to find something. A well-organized office has different drawers, spaces, and labels for nearly everything so when you sit down to work you don’t have to spend ten minutes just trying to find a pen that works and a piece of paper that hasn’t been scribbled on.
According to the National Association of Professional Organizations, paper clutter is the number one problem for most businesses. This includes things like printing too many of something and then leaving those papers sitting around even though they aren’t being used. This leads you to searching for missing information because it has been lost in a stack somewhere in your office. Going digital, using modern home hardware, and keeping the files organized on your computer is one way to solve this problem.
Less Profit
Offices that aren’t organized are going to generate less money. When you’re unorganized, you are simply wasting too much time trying to find missing information, or you’re spending too much time thinking about how you need to organized and clean the office. When you’re wasting time like this, that is less money that is being generated. When you’re morale is higher and you’re more efficient, you are going to spend more time generating profit for yourself or your business.
If you are someone who does a lot of work in their home office, you need to reconsider the way that you view that space. Instead of viewing it as just another room to throw things, you should be viewing it as a place where you can relax and get work finished when you have to. The cleaner and more organized that your home office is, the more you are going to get done and the happier you are going to be.
Additional Resources:
Positive Employee Morale Benefits Your Business – HR Information for …