One of the presentations given at the NAPO conference this year was on Creating a Power Office by Judith Lubowicki, CPO. She defines a Power Office as one that: contains systems that are flexible and expandable; contains work areas that are unclogged and easily accessible; contains systems that are clear to everyone; contains processes that can be duplicated easily; and contains tasks, routines, and maintenance that are planned-not left to chance. The two I would like to discuss are systems that are flexible and expandable and having tasks, routines, maintenance that is planned. We often set up our office and expect it to stay that way. Well, life happens and things change so our office must be able to change to meet the new circumstances. My business is steadily growing, so each year when I reconfigure my office I have to deal with the past year’s growth and leave room for new growth. As my files grow and get more complicated, I need more file storage. I now file archival materials in another room. Activity and projects are in files and binders in my bookcase. I color code my files so that I can easily refile and if a file is out I know exactly where its home is located. I have finance files, active client files, nonactive client files, activities, projects, reference, and product instructions/manuals/warranties. Items I need everyday I can reach without leaving my chair. I already have plans for January when I revisit my office zone again. The other challenge is that we often don’t plan and schedule routine and boring tasks and we just leave them to chance. We need to schedule these tasks on our calendar. While not fun to do, it makes the workspace so much more enjoyable to use and will save us time in the long run. I do a yearly reconfiguration but weekly and daily maintenance tasks like clearing the desk, putting away random folders, and filing. Let me know your office challenge!
Jonda S. BeattieProfessional Organizer
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