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How Can Your Office Function Like a Grocery Store?

Do you remember what it was like in a kindergarten classroom? All of the “play things” were together in one area of the room. All of the cubbies were together so that coats and gloves and hats could easily be retrieved at dismissal time.  The paints were separated from other areas to give children more room to indulge themselves. Nap time needed more space for little ones to rest their weary bodies.

When you walk into the grocery store, do you know where to find the produce, dairy products, and meat counter? Of course you do because stores are laid out in “zones” according to the type of products that go together. Putting like products together helps the consumer find things more quickly. You can count on this being true every time you return to the same store.

Transfer these two analogies to the office. If you create “zones” in your office, you will work more productively and be able to find things more easily. I have taught entrepreneurs this principle by having them draw a picture of their current office arrangement. We talk about creating a place for their reference books, a place to do their primary work, a place for supplies, and a place for active and archive files. This concept is not rocket science, but it may be a principle that many people overlook.

• When you are setting up your office, sit down at your desk or your primary work space, and ask yourself, what materials and supplies do I need close by me to perform these tasks? For most business owners they need a computer, phone, printer, lamp, desk files, and small office supplies close by. Find a place for those items and arrange them within arm’s reach. It is really convenient to have your printer as close to the computer as possible.

• Be sure to separate your active files from the archived ones. Archive files are files that you need to keep for a particular reason, but do not need to have them close at hand. Mixing them in with your active files makes it harder to find a file when you need it. Ideally archive files can be put into something like a banker’s box (sturdy cardboard box that is labeled) and stored high on a shelf in a closet or even in another part of the office. Active files should be at your fingertips, hopefully next to your main work area so that retrieval is easy.

• Outside of your arm’s reach could be your library or supply area. I find that many business owners never put all of their office supplies together making it more difficult to see when supplies are low. Sometimes it is beneficial to have a place for most used supplies around your working area, such as in a desk drawer or other storage cabinet. There can also be a placed for overflow stock. It is a good idea, especially in small companies where more than one person has access to the supplies, to label shelves for each category of supplies. Again, put like items together.

• I see lots of books and magazines scattered all over an office. Knowing what you have and where to find articles and books will be more difficult if they are not stored together. I have worked with clients to help them organize their libraries the way that a book store would have the books, magazines, CDs, etc. Decide on the type arrangement that makes the most sense to you. Your arrangement may not make sense to someone else, but you are the one who uses your library. Some people arrange their library according to author, while others arrange according to topic. I recommend using each self in the bookcase as a separate category. If you really want to make it look professional, use an electronic label-maker to make professional labels for the different categories that you decide upon.

• Once you have created the “zones” in your office that work for you, you need to maintain them on a regular basis. All business owners who are in a “busy season” will let things pile up or get out of hand. Acknowledge that this will happen to you periodically and when the rush of business passes, get to work tidying up each zone. Creating office zones not only helps the business owner find things more easily, but makes them feel more in control.Happy organizing!

by Barbara Boone

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