Papers PILED high above the cubicle walls, inbox and outbox trays overburdened with receipts and invoices, e-mail inboxes overwhelmed with messages, and bulging filing drawers that can’t be opened.

This scenario might be extreme (or maybe not), but clutter and office disorganization is a growing problem — and one that people don’t often recognize.
Sarah Kimmel, Lehi-based organization expert and author of the blog Organizedmom.net, believes companies don’t invest in office organization because they don’t understand the benefits.

Here are three tips to quick, easy organization that will help increase productivity in any office space.

1. Systems, systems and more systems
“The reason for clutter all comes down to the system,” says Marilyn Bohn, a professional organizer in Salt Lake City. “Employees actually have to work harder because they can’t find what they need.”

Without proper filing and planning systems, desks tend to get cluttered, papers get lost in the shuffle and employee stress can increase.
Kimmel is an advocate of the Franklin software program. She says it’s an excellent collaboration tool between Microsoft Outlook, a daily journal and task lists.

While a planner is important to keep a schedule organized, filing systems in the office seem to be one of the hardest obstacles to overcome.
“Set up a color coordinated filing system,” Bohn says. “Clients will be red folders, and prospective clients will be yellow, for example. The colors help the mind know where to go.”

What’s more, Bohn hardly ever touches the same piece of paper twice. Once a paper is handed to her, she files it away to the proper location. With a filing system in place, she doesn’t have to look for a paper again because she knows where it should be. She recommends assigning specific drawers (i.e. “task drawers”), or if paper holders are needed on the desk, she recommends the vertical kind because they lend themselves to neatness .

Bohn has three drawers: one drawer that needs to be taken care of by the end of the day, another that needs to be taken care of by the end of the week, and a third that needs to be taken care of within the next two to three weeks. These drawers help her compile to-do lists and complete her work on time.
Filing systems are important aspects of office organization and should be implemented company wide, but getting organized involves more then just filing papers. E-mail, anyone?

2. Pings, not pain
Kimmel tries to keep her inbox to five e-mails at a time — crazy, right? Once she looks at an e-mail, she either responds right away or files it into one of the different e-mail folders she’s created.

“Once you get your e-mail under control, you can deal with incoming items faster,” she says.

After dealing with e-mail overload, the newly organized inbox will serve as a springboard to the aforementioned paper organization. And don’t forget the sighs of relief that will come every time you open your inbox. Consider it a fringe benefit.

3. Clean up, everybody everywhere
“Before you leave, take 10 minutes to straighten the desk because it helps remove clutter,” Bohn says.

Kimmel agrees and encourages people to organize one drawer at a time. Instead of entire office space reorganization, she recommends starting with the top drawer of the desk. Focusing on one area a day will take less time and make reorganizing easier. During this time, Kimmel also creates tomorrow’s agenda.

“Plan out what you are going to do tomorrow,” she says. “Have a to-do list and go over any appointments planned. It will help make the next day manageable.”

Office organization is a day-to-day conscious process. Taking it one day at a time will help evolve an office culture from disorganization to fast, easy organization.

“An organized person takes it a nanosecond at a time,” Bohn says. “That’s how you really do it.”

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