Summer’s almost here, with the weather that makes you sigh out your window and long to be out there rather than cooped up at your desk. Instead of simply staring at the lovely day, bring summer inside with a few easy tricks.

Clear the Clutter

No, it isn’t your job to clean your office. You have plenty to do without resorting to the all-purpose cleaner. However, many times people leave items strewn about their desk and it is unable to be properly tended to by the janitors. Give them a break and clear off all the surfaces inside your cubicle. Remember you’re responsible for how your office looks, and once the clutter has been tamed your office will feel brighter and more open.

Organisational Items

Your in- and out- boxes, utensil holders, business card holders, and any other items that reside on your desk may be in need of an upgrade. Do they look dingy? A trip to an office supply store can yield items in a bright colour. Don’t spend a fortune or break your budget, but a little can go a long way to making the office a nicer place to inhabit.

Add Bright Colours

Continuing with bright colours, find some art to put on the wall. This might just be placing construction paper over the cubicle walls, but the color will lift your spirits. Add an area rug if you prefer. If you have your own office and your company doesn’t mind, try painting the walls. Just be sure you do it on a weekend or outside company hours. No one will thank you for sharing the fumes or using valuable work time.

Green Plant

A green plant adds a touch of the outdoors. Bring a plant in a pot to work helps reduce stress and increases productivity. They can be placed to reduce noise between cubicles, and improve attitudes for employees. It’s best to bring a green plant and not a flowering one for the health of your coworkers in case they have allergies.

Reflect the Light

Add something light to reflect light to your space. It can be a mirror, a water fountain or aquarium, or even a crystal dish with a bonus of candy for your coworkers. This type of addition to your workplace will chase away some of those wintry shadows and the blah moods with it.

While you don’t want to get too carried away redoing your office space, a few minutes spent doing even one of these will give you a new outlook.

While it is true that a desk is a symbol of who you are, it also projects an image to your boss, colleagues and visitors that you may not be entirely aware of. A clean desk environment is the best way to bolster your image as a professional, but there are things you should and should not be keeping out in plain sight.

The Computer

Necessary for most of today’s business, where would your desk be without this most important tool? If you have a desktop rather than a portable version, this will be a permanent space dedicated to your monitor.

Writing Implements

Somehow no one can get away with having a pen or pencil handy for scribbling notes during calls, meetings, or when someone drops by. The paperless office may be one of the big ideas for the future, but most people find it less than convenient to use a computer notepad program for messages. Make sure these are of the variety you don’t mind wandering away.

Paper

Generally this takes the form of post-its, but any small notebook or pad will do. Even a spare piece from the printer works, but for space considerations and aesthetic appeal smaller is better.

Phone

A company issued mobile phone (not usually your own personal phone!) or a desk phone should always be handy for customers to call.

Photos

You don’t need to cover your workspace with photos. One or two is plenty. They should show a stable person who is dependable, like a picture of a spouse or of children you are close to. However, this is dependent upon your work environment. You may choose to keep your personal life separate. It’s completely up to you to judge the appropriateness of this one.

Business Cards

This is a must. Clients who need to contact you can grab one at will. They can even double as extra paper if you run out, but don’t put them back in the stack after you use them for notes. You might lose something important or share something you shouldn’t.

Tape, Scissors, Hole-Punch, Binder Clips, and Other “Desk Accessories”

Evaluate exactly how often you use them. If you use them multiple times per day, it may be useful to have the item out. If not, stick them neatly inside a desk drawer so you know where they are and have them handy.

Clock

This essential will tell you the time, even though you could look at your computer or phone, and make certain you are respectful of appointments.
What not to have:
Stacks of Papers

Disorganised papers make you seem less capable, even if you know exactly what’s in the piles. Put them away!

Other Personal Items

You may have sports memorabilia or other hobby items on your desk, give them serious thought before bringing them into your workspace. Sports stuff is best when cheering on the home team with home referring to the town where you reside and work.

Reading material may be okay if you have time during a lunch break, but consider leaving that in a desk drawer, too, especially if it’s considered a lower-level novel or tabloid instead of the newspaper.

The buzz word for the dress code of a professional office has become “office casual” whatever that means. Office casual means something different for every business office. Most offices don’t define what is meant by office casual, so everyone shows up in what they think is appropriate. Office workers are often confused on what not to wear to work.

Though we never want to go back to shirts and ties or skirts, hosiery, and pumps on a daily basis, we also need to keep a professional look in our attire at the office. If you keep away from the office attire “no-no’s” we will discuss in this post you will probably wear the correct casual and professional dress.

Take the Emphasis Off “Casual”

The biggest faux pas in office casual wear is our emphasis on the word “casual” and the de-emphasizing of the word “office”. Most casual clothing is not suitable to be worn in the office. Tee shirts, sweats, shorts, jeans, leggings, and tennis shoes are good things to wear around the house or at the mall, but they reflect an unprofessional attitude when worn in the office.

Tips for Women

Women should not wear revealing clothing. It is not appropriate to expose your cleavage, stomach, back, underwear, or feet in the office. Anything short or too tight is also wrong for the office. If you want to be taken seriously, don’t “undress” at the office.

Any open toe shoe such as sandals, flip flops, or thongs should not be worn in the office. It is fine to eliminate hosiery during the summer months.

Make up should be worn in moderation as well as any colognes and perfumes.

Large, chunky costume jewelry does not look good with office casual attire and can be very distracting to the wearer and fellow office workers. Body piercings other than pierced ears are too extreme in the office.

Tips for Men

Wrinkled, torn, or dirty clothing is always unacceptable. Clothing with pictures, words, or symbols are not appropriate office attire even on dress down days while brand names, university and sports team garments are fine on declared dress down days. Pressed jeans minus holes and tears are a welcome change on dress down days.

Hats are not to be worn in the office. However, head coverings that are worn because of religious beliefs or ethnic tradition are suitable.

Why not decide to wear a shirt, tie, and jacket to the office wear one day a week? It will make a difference in your attitude and productivity.

It’s a party, but that doesn’t mean it’s a “party”, not in ways you might typically think. When you and your colleagues gather to celebrate the holidays, act accordingly. Before all else, it’s still an office function, possibly the first time you’ve stood with workplace superiors outside of the workplace.

Don’t overdo it at the cocktail table

This might be the first time your boss gets to see your “other side”. The last thing you want to do is cast yourself in an unprofessional light by downing too many drinks before leading the sales department through a slurred rendition of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. Don’t get caught up in the festivities and start acting like you’re back at the frat house.

Dress appropriately

Sure, it’s OK to stray from the business-casual wardrobe that outfits you day in and day out throughout the year. But you’re not going “clubbing”. Let your typical office attire be your gauge. It’s fine to lean a little less conservative, but not too far. While office parties are festive events, standard workplace behavior is expected.

Don’t try to “hook up” at your work party

If you’ve been waiting for the chance to see the “hottie” down the hall in a more social setting, remember who’s watching. Use the party as a chance to engage in mature conversation to get to know somebody a little better. But tales of the couple who were caught making out in the coat closet will do nothing to improve your standing with upper-management.

Don’t complain if your Christmas bonus was low or non-existent this year

Times are tough. Many companies are even skipping the festivities due to expenses. If you’re overheard grumbling about not getting a big, fat Christmas bonus (or, for that matter, about anything else negative toward the company) words can travel fast. Keep them to yourself and enjoy the party. Not everybody is getting one these days.

Don’t just blow it off

Your office party probably hasn’t been advertised as being mandatory, but treat it as such. Go, at least for a while. If you’ve already got a prior engagement, be sure your office manager is aware of it ahead of time. To ignore it without acknowledging it would be disrespectful.

Remember: The best rule of thumb is do not detach yourself completely from office norms that dictate your everyday behavior at work. Stay in good standing with your superiors by obeying these rules of etiquette.

Breakout furniture provides comfortable and attractive furnishings for staff and visitors to relax in and enjoy. It sends a message to those who use it, and armchairs, sofas, and tables that are inviting and stylish while fitting the company’s image, intended use, and space requirements is an integral part of creating an appealing environment.

The first thing to consider when choosing breakout furniture is the office’s requirements. For instance, are you looking for pieces to fit in a doctor’s office, or a restaurant? Are you looking for stools to sit at a bar, or tables and chairs to sit independently from it for employees to relax at during their breaks? The use of the furniture is the most important issue to contemplate when selecting breakout furniture items. The next point to think over is the volume of people who will use the pieces. Is the space a high-traffic, high-volume area such as a corporate canteen that will seat many people each day? If so, making sure that the pieces are durable and well constructed is very important. If the pieces will not see heavy traffic on a regular basis, perhaps something more ornate and luxuriant would best suit the environment. In addition, who will be using the furniture is an important point. If the pieces are for an employee break room only, must they match the rest of the building’s pieces, or should they have their own style? If they are to be used by employees, visitors, and potential clients regularly, is continuity in style important throughout each room in the building?

Space is the second factor to mull over when contemplating breakout furniture. It is important to utilize a room’s space to the fullest, as square footage can be at a premium in many buildings; ensuring unimpeded access to essential exit doors and routes in case of emergency is of the utmost importance, as building owners do not want these outlets blocked by furniture. When choosing breakout pieces, consider the layout of the room; is it a perfect square, or rectangular? What is the square footage that you have to work with? Do you want to utilize a bare wall, or place individual islands throughout the area? What about when no one is around? When the day is done, will the chairs need to be stackable to open up alternate space usage or ease of access for the janitorial staff? If so, stackable chairs and tables that are light enough to easily move are a must.

Once you understand the company’s utilization and space requirements, style is the next essential point to ponder. Do you want pieces that compliment your office’s décor, or ones that stand out from it? If a dentist’s office has a rustic, log cabin theme, they might not be interested in breakout furniture that features bold colors and modern designs. On the other hand, if the space has tile floors, high ceilings, and incredible amounts of sunlight streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, modern and colorful or even contemporary might be just the thing. For breakout areas that have a bar or café theme, high or low stools can be the perfect complement to circular or square traditional bar tables, as well as a bar itself, and complete a relaxing and carefree atmosphere. Another point to keep in mind with a bar or café theme is whether this setup is inside or outside; if outside, making sure that the breakout furniture pieces are weatherproofed or otherwise able to handle the elements is very important.

For those in the market for breakout furniture, remember three things: the business’ requirements, its space, and its style. Think about furniture utilization and who will use the pieces and for what, how much real estate is open, and what style will present the image the company wants. Look for pieces that will fill the company’s breakout needs, whether they are large or small, what will fit in the breakout area and what will not, and if the pieces represent the company well. Bear in mind that the furniture should be comfortable for those who will use it, not overcrowd the room it will fill, and present a hospitable picture for all that use it.

In a world where most people spend more time with their co-workers than their families, it’s important to establish good working relationships in the office. Sure, it may be difficult to get along with everyone in the office, just like in regular life. Personalities and working styles don’t always mesh, so following are the top tips for getting along with your office co-workers.

Respect
In an office environment, everyone should be treated as professionals and with respect. At some point, each person in the office was interviewed and then hired, so someone thought they deserved a chance to prove themselves. Regardless of who the person is, what they look like, or what their prior experience is, they are your co-worker for a reason. They have something to contribute to the company. It seems very simple, but establishing a base of respect for others will create a nice working environment.

Communication
Sometimes people get so wrapped up in their own little worlds, that they don’t realize how disruptive they may be to others (e.g., when someone is chewing gum or clipping their toenails in the office or cubicle next to you). So sometimes, you just have to speak up. If a co-worker is acting out of line and making you hate them, your company, or your life, then it’s healthiest to open communication to resolve the issue. Too many people are afraid to speak up, letting little things build up until they’re ready to burst. Communication is key to establishing good relationships with your office co-workers.

Cooperation
Some people remember this concept from the Sesame Street song “Cooperation makes it happen,” but it’s an ideal that, even when learned young, remains important throughout life, especially in the office. While some jobs may be more independent than others, it’s important to consider office co-workers as a team. Everyone is there working for the same company and goals, so it’s best to work together and help each other when you can. It’s another idea that children learn young, when playing together on sports teams, and it’s something that should flow into adult life and the office. If someone could use your help or expertise, then why not lend it to them?

Sure, they say you can’t choose your family, and unless you’re the boss, you probably can’t choose your co-workers, either. So your best option is to establish good, lasting working relationships with your office co-workers to ensure that your work day is as enjoyable and productive as possible.

Effective communication is essential to successful management and leadership. The office meeting is a good way to communicate information to a group of people, and get feedback at the same time. Poorly done, however, meetings can be the biggest waste of time in an organization. Whether in the public or private sector, workers find themselves involved in a large number of meetings, and at all levels, employees often have to be responsible for organizing or running meetings.

Ensuring that meetings don’t waste time, and achieve communications goals, is a matter of proper prior planning. Following are some helpful tips to make office meetings more effective.

1. Establish a clear agenda for the meeting and communicate it in advance to all participants. This will enable participants to arrive prepared and eliminate the need to take up time explaining the meeting’s purpose.

2. Set and enforce ground rules. Make clear the start and end times, the amount of time allowed for individual presentations, etc., and make sure everyone abides by the rules. Office meetings should always start and end on time, and except in very rare cases, should not last longer than one hour.

3. Assign responsibility for chairing the meeting. Even in flat organizations without clear lines of authority, unstructured meetings without someone in charge are unproductive and waste valuable time.

4. Have all necessary equipment and materials in place before the meeting starts. Make sure that AV equipment is in working order, and there is someone available who knows how to operate it.

5. Select an appropriate location for the meeting. It goes without saying that the meeting room should be large enough to accommodate all participants. But, it should also have adequate lighting and ventilation, and furnishings (chairs, writing surfaces, etc.) that are comfortable and facilitate taking notes. The meeting venue should also be as centrally located as possible.

6. Consider alternatives to face-to-face meetings. Some communications are more effective when done face-to-face, but for routine communication, it can be expensive in money and time to move large groups of people to a central location. Digital Video Conference-capable satellite facilities located near work areas allow effective communication between and among groups of people without taking them away from work for extended periods. This is especially useful if your organization has elements that are widely separated in the same building or located in different cities.

All of us have problems with organization. There’s just so much stuff and too little time to get to all of it. When we have to deal with our desks, whether we’re doing business or pleasure, the desk becomes the repository for all sorts of clutter. If you’re like me, sometimes the piles end up being taller than I am when I stand up.

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Luckily, that doesn’t happen anymore, because I have come up with ways to avoid letting my desk get to that point. Here are 10 tips to help you better organize your desk.

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1. Prepare for the organization

The first step before anything else doesn’t involve the desk at all. You need to have some things handy because, when you start this process, you’re going to resolve to do a positive action with every single thing you touch. So, get your garbage can, your shredder, and at least 3 boxes the size of stationary boxes, the type where you can put things into it by removing the top. If you don’t have boxes, then you’re going to have to write up large labels for yourself and put them on the floor next to your desk. The title of each of these labels is “Immediate Response,” “Read,” and “File Away.”

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2. Move all Paperwork Off!

Now it’s time to move all paper, books and magazines off your desk. Start from either the right or the left and work towards the other direction. Organize your paper by the three categories you created above. Put all magazines in the box labeled “Read”. Stack your books in their own pile. And, of course, shred or throw away everything that’s trash.

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3. What do you really need?

Next, it’s time to look at all the remaining things on your desk. Every single one of these things is going to involve an immediate action step. You can throw it away, put it in a drawer, move it to another place or put it somewhere on the desk where you think it’s appropriate or entertaining. For instance, if you have stress balls on your desk and you’re often stressed, you might want to put them far enough away on your desk to be out of the way, but not too far to reach. Maybe you have pictures of your family on your desk; they can be pushed further away because you can still see them. Business cards, either put them in your desk drawer or put them in your “Immediate Response” box. Don’t have too many things left on your desk, though, even if it’s family pictures. It’s much more efficient to put pictures on the walls, and other things in a drawer.

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4. Move Your Books

At this point, you should be left with a totally clean desk, but we’re obviously not done. The next step is to do something with all your books. Either put them in a bookcase or remove them from the room. If you’re working on something and need one of those books, leave it next to your desk for the time being, but don’t put it back on the desk.

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5. Get Filing!

Next, it’s time to address the items that you put in the “File Away” area. If you have a filing cabinet, or wherever you put files, put that stuff away. While you’re at it, you might as well do the same thing for the items you put in the “Read” box. Separate the magazines from the other paper, because magazines are always something you can take with you, put in the bathroom, or put in other rooms. If you have enough room in your file cabinet, put those items you want to read in their own area. Here’s a truth; most of the things you put in your “Read” area you’re never going to read. If something sits longer than 4 weeks, get rid of it. Even Einstein had a problem with this one, so you’re not alone.

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6. Move Immediate Response Items

Finally, it’s time to get to the “Immediate Response” items. At this point, you’re either only going to touch these items once or twice. Once means you’re going to do something with it as soon as you look at it, so you can throw it away. Twice means it’s something like a bill, and you need to put it somewhere so you can pay it when it’s due. This step could take you awhile if you had a lot of items here.

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7. Sort Your Inbox

Contrary to popular belief, an “Inbox” is not the place where you get something and put it there. It’s a place where other people who deliver things to you put something so you’ll look at it. Therefore, unless you have someone bringing you things, get the inbox off your desk. Instead, put it behind you somewhere, or to the side of you. The psychological thinking of this is that we tend to start ignoring those things that are directly in front of us, but if we have to make one more action step, such as turning around and putting something in a tray, we’ll think about it more. This now becomes your new “Read” bin, because from this point on, except for bills, whenever anything comes in that needs an immediate response, you’re going to take care of it right then and there. If it doesn’t need an immediate response, it’s either “Read,” shred or trash.

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8. Organise Your Drawers

To keep your desk free of clutter from things such as pens, paper clips and the like, buy a drawer organizer to keep all those things in. If you have a small drawer that won’t support something like that, then buy one for your desk. People are always looking for those types of things, and because they’re small, they get all over.

9. Keep things like staplers and staple removers in the top or middle drawer. You probably don’t use them all that often, and they’re big enough to take up enough space to get in the way. That also goes for things like binder clips and rubber bands.

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10. Don’t just throw everything in your desk drawer without some kind of plan. The main things most people lack are enough resources to put things in a place where they’re not cluttering up other spaces. If you have a deep drawer in your desk, it’s not the “pile everything in there” drawer. It’s meant for business items, whether at home or work. Things like checks, or contracts, or any other types of files. If you need to either buy other organizers that fit your needs and space or get rid of more stuff. Think of it this way; most of the things we tend to keep we’re not going to do anything with, or rarely touch. If it’s not something very important, move it.

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At this point you not only have a clean desk, but a plan for keeping it that way. All it takes to keep a clean desk is a bit of organization and the dedication to take care of things when they come in. It’s not always easy, but the good thing is you now also have a plan for getting out from under clutter the next time it looks like it’s coming back. Good luck!

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