How to Organize Your Home Office for Top Productivity

Where do you run your business? A home office? An outside office space? Your couch?

Where you work each day could have a big impact on the trajectory of your business. Because let’s face it: hosting coffee chats and client meetings from your bed, laptop propped on your knees, probably isn’t the best place to be productive.

How you set up your office and organize your work space is one of the most important decisions you can make in your business. Because if you’re not set up for efficiency and productivity, you might as well just throw away hours every single day.

I’m no expert in feng shui, but I do know a thing or two about productivity. Here are my top tips for organizing your home office so you can cross off all the things on your to-do list each day.

1. Clean Desktop

I like a lot of room on my desk, and when both my physical and digital desktop are clean, I work best. I have a nice, large desk with very little clutter on it. In fact, the only thing I keep on my desk is a notepad and a framed collage with all the people who are most important to me. This keeps my focus on the work at hand and allows me to peek at my inspiration when I need a break.

2. Avoid Noise

I’m fortunate to have an extra bedroom in the house to use an an office. My kids are away during the day, but I still like having a place to get away. I’ve invested time and money to make sure it’s a place that feels really good to me, plus I can close the door when the kids are home in the summer and on the rare occasion that I work on the weekend. Wherever you need to set up your office, make sure it’s a place where you can avoid distractions as much as possible.

3. Equip Yourself

One cannot run a business on a laptop alone. You need space and equipment too. Non-negotiables for me include a printer and a whiteboard. Sure, I love my online tools like Trello, but I also like being able to print things out when needed. It’s easier for me to review copy and read articles on paper so I can go outside and enjoy a change of scenery. Having ready access to a printer is important to me. And the whiteboard is the perfect space to brainstorm ideas, map out workflows and charts and jot down reminders I want to see every day.

Another piece of office furniture that’s essential for me is a bookshelf. I love digging into a good business book, and having them displayed on a shelf is a good reminder of the lessons I’ve learned. Sometimes just looking at the spine of a book is enough to remind me of inspiration and nuggets I’ve gathered over the years.

4. Go for Beauty

If you don’t love stepping into your office space, you’re not going to stay there. I love aesthetically beautiful spaces, and even more so I love that my office is very different from the rest of my house. Every day when I walk into my office, I enter work mode because there’s a clear division between it and the other rooms. It’s decorated in my brand colors and it’s just energetically mine.

Of course you can have the most beautiful and efficient workspace online, but if you’re not actually doing the work you’re not going to be successful. Make sure you’re also setting and communicating your boundaries and establishing routines that make use of your office!

What do you value most in your business? Get on the right track with my Mission, Vision and Values guide.