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Devote one minute per day to each of these simple steps, said Sharon Mann, Esseltes organizational expert.  Youll be amazed eight minutes a day can give you back eight hours each month, while transforming a once messy desk into an organized work area.  Everyone can benefit from this system corporate employees, home-based workers and stay-at-home parents.
To improve efficiency, the experts at Esselte recommend following these eight simple steps:

1. Clear Away Clutter. Executives often review a document up to 40 times without taking action. Counteract this tendency (while clearing piles from your desk), by maintaining a current “action items” folder.

2. There’s A Reason Your Desk Has Drawers… Use Them (Properly) The Hemphill Productivity Institute estimates that the average employee has 37 hours of unfinished work on their desk at any given time. Organizational companies such as Esselte offer various products that can rid work areas of unnecessary piles through simple filing solutions.

3. Color-Code Files. Color-coded file folders, available from Oxford and Pendaflex, take file organization to a new level and reduce the time spent file searching by up to 50 percent. Assign each project/client a color or try sorting files with this popular color-coding system:
Red – “Hot” files needing immediate attention
Green – Accounts receivable, budgets or other financial documents
Yellow – Ongoing projects not requiring immediate attention
Blue – “Cold” files needed for future reference

4.  Simplify the Paper Trail

Surprisingly, companies that rely on e-mail systems have a 40 percent increase in paper demand, as many employees tend to print e-mails before reading them. While backup is important, theres no need to keep redundant information in your filing system. For e-mail correspondence, file a hard copy of the latest message containing a record of the entire conversation.  This philosophy also applies to early document drafts there is no need to keep every copy.  Rather, file the first and final versions.

 

5.  Label Work

Arecent Omnibus Poll conducted by label maker DYMO found that 72 percent of respondents printing labels encountered a printing problem, including labels jamming or getting stuck inside the printer.  Avoid wasting time with printer malfunctions by using a label writer that is compatible with current software and prints an array of labels and fonts directly from the desktop such as DYMOs LabelWriter 330 Turbo.

 

6.  Prioritize Work

The Hemphill Productivity Institute reports that white-collar workers waste up to 40 percent of their workday.  Avoid this by scheduling important tasks, meetings and appointments in a daily planner to ensure that all the days action items are achieved efficiently.  Always leave 15 minutes between jobs to ensure major projects are allotted adequate time.

7. Script Calls

Time management experts note that planned calls average seven minutes, while unplanned calls average 12.  Create an agenda for each call which will serve as an informal script and keep you from digressing.  Also, to reduce call time, try standing during phone conversations.

 

8.  Unplug Yourself

American Demographics magazine estimates that employees generally receive approximately 52 phone calls and 36 e-mails daily.  Unplug the phone and log off e-mail while working on projects.  Check messages between tasks to ensure important work is prioritized.

 

The most important part of this program is being diligent, added Ms. Mann.  It takes 28 days to form a habit, so dont be discouraged if it takes a couple of weeks for this program to become habit.  Once this system is part of your daily routine, youll be amazed at how easily you get back precious hours each month.

About Esselte Esselte, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., USA, is the leading global office supplies manufacturer with annual sales of approximately USD 1.2 billion, subsidiaries in 26 countries and 5,900 employees worldwide. The company develops innovative solutions that simplify the modern home and workplace. Esselte sells more than 30,000 different office products in over 120 countries; its principal brands include DYMO, Esselte, Leitz, Oxford, Pendaflex and Xyron. Esselte was founded in 1913 as SLT (Sveriges Litografiska Tryckerier) after the union of 13 Swedish graphics related companies. More information about Esselte can be found by visiting www.esselte.com