3 Reasons to Keep Your Small Business Clean and Organized

Keeping your office neat and tidy just looks nice.  What do you have to lose by keeping a disorganized office?  A lot!  Here are three reasons to keep your office clean and organized that go beyond just being neat and tidy.

  1. Your Professional Image

    Disorganized Office
    How would you perceive the quality of work from the person who works at this desk?

Have you ever walked into an office that was dirty or cluttered? Did it change your expectation of the type of service you would be receiving?

According to a survey of over 1000 workers by staffing firm Adecco, “a majority of Americans (57%) admit they judge coworkers by how clean or dirty they keep their workspaces. Meanwhile, nearly half say they have been “appalled” by how messy a colleagues’ office is and most chalk it up to pure laziness.”

If co-workers are judging officemates by the look of their office, imagine how a stranger will perceive you. Do you want prospective clients to perceive you as lazy? Or perhaps not secure a client because they perceive that you will not be detail oriented because of your dirty or cluttered workspace.

  1. Productivity

Do you ever find that you can get more work done at a hotel or a coffee shop than your own desk or workspace?  A clean and less cluttered space can help us improve our productivity.  Scientists found clutter negatively affects your ability to focus and process information.  Results of a study conducted at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute relates directly to uncluttered and organized living.  The study found that a cluttered environment (workspace) restricts our ability to focus and process information. Clutter (disorganization) can be a distraction interfering with our ability to process information and be productive.

According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, disorganization can waste approximately 4.3 hours per week searching for papers, adding stress and frustration while reducing concentration and creative thinking.

Who doesn’t want to be more productive?  Gain more time in your day?  Make more money?  Reduce stress?  Change your routines, remove unnecessary clutter and distractions and you will be on a path to greater productivity.

  1. Less stress

Would you agree stress kicks in when you can’t locate something?  According to David Lewis’ survey published in the Boston Globe, three out of four workers surveyed worldwide agreed with this statement “I find myself becoming more stressed when everything is a mess and I can’t find important documents when needed.”   Stress is often a reason for visits to the doctor.  Stress often rears its ugly head as pain or exhaustion.  An organized workspace not only can help you stay healthier, it is also easier wipe down surfaces to keep clean.

The solution is simple.  Want to reduce your stress level?  Get organized by removing distractions such as clutter.


Tips to a clean and organized workspace

  • Assign a home for the tools and supplies needed at your workspace. Do you need all of the items at your desk out all of the time? Can they be stored in a drawer or on a shelf or in a communal area?
  • Reduce the amount of paper at your workspace.  Before printing every email that arrives in your INBOX or website you visit, ask yourself “Do I really need to print this?”  ‘Will this information be more accessible if I store its contents online?”  Consider scanning some of your existing paperwork and storing it online so it can easily be accessed when you need it rather than sifting through piles of paper.
  • Create a habit of straightening up at the end of each day and prioritize for the next day.

 

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