As all good home office workers surely know, today is a day that is all about them. Is it a day to celebrate their contributions to our slowly recovering economy? Their “green” work routines? Their blessed absence from Spaghetti Junction at rush hour?
Not exactly.
Today is National Organize Your Home Office Day.
The origins of this special day are somewhat cloudy. Undoubtedly, a professional organizers association seeing the boom in home offices — and an empty spot on the calendar — decided there was a legion of folks out there who could use their decluttering counsel.
And boy, are they out there. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says there are more than 18.3 million home-based businesses in the United States, with an estimated economic impact of $427 billion annually. Just think what that number might be if all their Post-It notes were properly color-coded!
In metro Atlanta, data released recently by the state Department of Transportation indicated that among area commuters, “teleworking” is more popular than ever, second only to our sacred pastime of getting in a car and driving alone. And last year, Forbes.com rated Atlanta the second-most “wired” city in the nation, partly due to the percentage of homes with broadband Internet access.
All that suggests, of course, that there must be several subdivisions’ worth of home offices that need better organizing. And experts are ready this week with a host of helpful hints, from where not to work in your home (a kitchen table you share with the kids and their homework), to the best colors for an efficient home office (think “soft” and “elegant,” not “jazzy), to creating “optimal spacing” between elements of your work space (i.e., make sure the printer cable can reach the PC), to the all-important establishment of separate work and home schedules.
Oh, and think about adding a water feature, they say.
Fine ideas all.
But today’s home office worker needs more than that to be as organized and efficient as possible. So here are a few more tips the experts might have overlooked:
● Clean pajamas make a statement. Lay out a new pair to wear at least every third day. Or at least Febreze your regulars every once in a while. And would a new pair of slippers be too much to ask?
● A yoga outfit can be a nice change of pace from PJs. But those two hours at the yoga studio each day can really cut into valuable work time.
● Count the number of coffee cup rings etched into the top of your desk. (Hint: Look for them underneath the Power Bar and breakfast bar wrappers.) If you count more than 20, consider breaking out the spray cleaner. And the jewel case of that DVD you’re watching makes an excellent coaster.
● Constantly updating your Facebook photos during work hours does not really count as getting better organized. Still, that is a hilarious picture of you with the pencils up your nose. LOL!
● Twitter, with its 140-character limit, can be a very efficient way of communicating. But try to limit your non-work-related tweets to no more than a dozen an hour. We’re talking to you, #notremotelyworking.
● Finally, March, of course, means March Madness and college basketball broadcasts 24/ 7. So that you don’t miss a minute, start finishing up projects that are due in April now (or put them off until then; a stubborn software issue is always a good excuse).
If you do manage to file something this month, just make sure you send the client the correct spreadsheet, not your tournament brackets.
You don’t want to look hopelessly disorganized, do you?
