Certain challenges show up in every office, no matter what the industry. In some fashion, everyone manages paper whether it be at home or at work. The trick to doing it well is choosing the tools that work best for your work and life style.
Here are our suggestions for the “must-have” office tools for productivity.
Stacking Desk Trays
Whether you use them for action items, storing letterhead, or keeping marketing collateral close at hand, stacking desk trays are a must-have for every office. Available in a variety of materials from plastic to acrylic, from wood and wire to leather, these easily labeled desktop helpers are invaluable for keeping your paper under control.
A Desktop File Sorter
Everyone needs a spot to keep papers (or a Digital File Cabinet) that require future action or are waiting on something else to happen. You want them handy, but not in the way, and you don’t want to file them lest you forget where they went. The bound book-style 1-through-31 sorter is easy to use and durable for the long haul. This metal desktop sorter offers stadium seating for folders so you can see their labels easily. For those with a lot of pending action, a simple desktop file box offers ample storage with a small footprint. Whether you call it a “pending”, “waiting”, or “not just yet,” file, any of these tools will keep papers cooling their heels but easy to find when you’re ready to see them again.
A Good Shredder
Paper has a life cycle, and the end of the cycle is just as important as how you manage it during the other stages. These days, it’s much more common to find and store documents online, for example, your bills! Therefore, we suggest parting ways with the paper version of the documents for organization purposes and to avoid misplacing any documents with important information – documents that can end up in the wrong hands. Therefore, we recommend a paper shredder to make sure documents are completely discarded.
Bonus Shredder features to look for if you have the budget:
- Auto-feeder. An autofeeder allows you to place a stack of paper to be shredded and walk away, leaving it to feed each piece into the machine automatically. This is a fantastic time-saver, especially if you tend to collect a lot of paper before shredding it. Typically you’ll only find this feature on higher end machines.
- Heavy media capability. It’s handy to have a shredder that will shred credit cards, CDs and DVDs without jamming or breaking. Don’t assume your shredder will, unless it specifies.
- Paper jam indicator. This is a nice-to-have LED indicator, which alerts you when your paper is jammed and needs clearing. (Although, I’m confident you’d know when there’s a paper jam even without an indicator light)
- Overheat indicator. If you anticipate shredded a high volume, this LED indicator is a plus. It lets you know when the motor is becoming too hot to operate so you can stop shredding and wait for it to cool down.
When it comes to managing paper, having the right tools is half of winning the day to day productivity battle.