Guest Blog by Tom Brialey: Less is More: How Best to Utilise a Small Office Space
Whether you’ve recently turned your entrepreneurial venture into a fledgling startup and moved into a quaint office space, or your current cosy facility has helped you employ and nurture an eager team of employees over the years, the office plays a pivotal role in keeping your day-to-day operations flowing smoothly. However, naturally over time, it can be easy for your workplace to become cluttered, disorganised and inefficient as a result, and can therefore have a significant impact on work performance later down the line.
In today’s post, therefore, we’re tackling this issue head on, providing you with new ways to utilise your small office space to help you manage your business matters better.
Photo by Tookapic from Pexels
Declutter your space
First thing’s first, when it comes to streamlining your office and turning it into an efficient, vibrant working environment, decluttering your space is key. After all, the more cluttered your office, the less effective space there is to work in – a concept that is particularly important to consider when dealing with more confined working areas.
It’s easy for certain appliances to become a part of the furniture (yes, we’re talking about that fax machine you have hiding away in the corner). As such, don’t be afraid to be brutal and decide that if it serves no purpose, you need to get rid of it. Additionally, consider digitising your paperwork to reduce the need to keep piles of printed documents lying around and opt for online cloud systems, such as Google Drive and Dropbox, to store away your files. Not only will this keep your desk tidy, but paperwork digitised in this way becomes much more readily accessible to members of the team and ensures the safety and security of each document.
Don’t hesitate to decorate
It’s no secret that colour psychology can impact the way you feel and work. So, in small offices that can often feel dark and leave staff feeling constricted, it’s important to consider decorating your room with brighter colours and wall hangings to create a warm, energetic and inviting atmosphere.
Get your paintbrush out and start covering your walls in light and bright colours – blue for a calming hue or yellow to infuse an energetic mood in your space. For smaller rented spaces where you don’t have control over wall colour, use bright posters, prints and potted plants to create a positive vibe in your office.
Invest in storage
When it comes to optimising the appearance of your space, getting rid of unnecessary clutter is often half of the battle. However, once you’ve thrown away your printer and got rid of the stack of sticky notes that have been collecting dust on your desk, there becomes a time when you need to find a home for what you’ve decided are your necessities.
Often, it isn’t crucial to have all the things you’ll need at some point in the week simply sat on your desk waiting to be used. As such, think vertically and look to install efficient and streamlined shelving units to help manage your desk space and store away items in an easily accessible home.
Clear cables away
In this digital age, offices can often be overrun by tangled cables that not only look messy, but pose a number of potential health and safety hazards. In a small office space, any sort of untidiness is amplified, making chaotic cables and wiring a bigger problem than in larger spaces.
A simple fix is to shorten lengthy cords with some DIY wrappers or to keep all your cables in one place using simple cable ties, placing them securely under your desk. Not only will this ensure that all your important wires are kept together and eliminate the risk of a fall or a stubbed toe, but your workplace will quickly appear tidier and more spacious as a result.
Transforming your workplace into a well-organised and well-oiled machine won’t happen overnight, but starting with the above methods in mind, we hope you can see that there are plenty of ways in which you can start your journey to office organisation heaven.
Author bio:
Tom Brialey is the Founder and Director of Action Shelving, which adopts his philosophy that, in addition to the highest quality products, you must also provide the highest standard of service to your customers in order to succeed. That’s why it’s Tom’s mission to provide expert support 100% of the way.
Thank you for giving all these tips about the best to utilize small office space.