Here are our three favorite tips for staying organized in the office that will help keep the stress levels down and create a sense of clarity in your home office:

1) Evaluate the Paper Trail. With most of our priority communications occurring via e-mail, the need for a physical “paper trail” is less important than it used to be. Make triage a normal part of your routine, meaning look through the piles of paper you have stacked up and throw away the things you do not need. If you’re unsure, then create a file that lives inside your desk or on a shelf, and store them there.

The same is true for emails. File them in subfolders in your email, keep your inbox clean and don’t be afraid to “delete” multiple emails with the same title. So long as you keep the last sequence in the chain, the electronic history of the conversation has been captured. Sort your email inbox by subject and assess what is truly vital to document. Delete everything else.

2) Prioritize Visual Space. File cabinets and drawers were created for a reason – to store things that do not require immediate attention! The only items that should be out on your desk, within arm’s reach, are the things that you intend to tackle today. Create a series of folders labeled by priority (today, this week, to do) and make a priority of using the files and review them at the end of the day. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll be able to feel a sense of accomplishment for what you’ve completed and manage your ongoing work load to complete priority items first.

3) Put it Away. We all do it. Use it and leave it to be “cleaned up” another time. Since it takes the exact same amount of time to return it to the right place in the moment or a week later, you might as well keep things clean and organized as you go. It’s perhaps the easiest trick to staying organized, reducing clutter and creating a productive workflow, and it doesn’t require any additional work.