In order to help you feel better in your space, and thus increase your productivity, try personalizing your office.  Here are some tips to help you create a space you will enjoy:

• Add items that remind you of good times or people that make you happy.  Bring in framed photographs or significant items.  You can even create a personalized calendar with fun photos.
• Try keeping these items contained or together, rather than strewn about everywhere.  If they take up too much space, they will begin to feel like clutter.
• Consider lining photographs in a row, which looks and feels more organized.  Here’s an adorable chalkboard frame that can store your memos and remind you of messages.  
• Add some color!  Purchase some flowers or add a pretty painting.
• Remember to reassess your personal mementos quarterly to make sure they haven’t exceeded their boundary within your workspace.

Got some tips of your own for improving a drab cubicle?  Share them with us!  

Challenge: Get caught up trying to schedule appointments (no one else to answer phone)
Solution: Time trade
Solution: Doodle - Create polls so people can vote when planning times and schedules.

Challenge: Accepting credit card payments
Solution: Square - Accept credit cards from anywhere using your cell phone and a small plug-in device (very portable and easy), for just a small fee (2.75% of total).

Challenge: Too many tasks to keep track of
Solution: project management software (like Evernote, OneNote, Zoho Project, Basecamp, Batchbook, Sugar, Microsoft Project).  If you have a lot of tasks, projects, or “hats,” you need a way to keep track of all your to dos. Common features include task reminders, division by projects, lists and sublists, sharing, calendars, Gantt charts, project lead designation, dashboards, and wikis.  
Solution: CRM (like Zoho)

Here are just some of the ways this versatile product can be used:

1. Stand it upright and use it as your Action File
2. Lay it down and use it as a paper holder that doubles as a monitor stand
3. Mount it to the wall and use it as your Mail Center

How do you use 3-tier organizers?  Get yours at our Amazon store!

Here are some tips for managing the piles of magazines on the coffee table:

• While reading your mag, dog ear articles, recipes, and images that you really like.  When you’re finished with the magazine, tear all of your dog-eared pages out to save, and then recycle the rest of the magazine.  
• For even better paper management, scan all of these dog-eared articles, recipes, and images so you can get rid of the paper all together!
• Recycle magazines older than one year (most of the information is now irrelevant; you can rip out favorite pages to save).  Try to recycle magazines before they pass 6 months in your home.
• If you have magazines you didn’t pull anything out of, rather than recycle them, you can donate to schools or senior centers to be used for projects or read again.
• If you want to completely rid yourself of extra magazine clutter and you have a tablet, consider signing up for the electronic version of your magazine subscriptions instead.

Mount magazine holders onto the wall to use as bins for your mail center.

If you mount three on the wall, you can use them for:

1. incoming mail that needs to be sorted
2. mail that has an action associated with it (such as invitations, bills, coupons)
3. outgoing mail

To learn more about mail centers, attend our upcoming webinar Creating a Mail Center in Your Home: Handle Bills Efficiently

What are your thoughts?  How do you keep your ribbons untangled?