Where to Put Office Supplies?

[JJSOmaha]

So I'm following GTD, and am excited about moving forward---but what does David, or the readers, recommend for all of my office supplies...

The CD's, tape, pens, labeler, stapler, calculator, ruler, rolodex and on and on...

I want to clear my desk of the clutter---would you recommend putting it all in one large box under my desk or what?

Thanks!

From

GTD Newbie

 

[TesTeq]

In the upper left drawer...

In the upper left drawer of your desk.

You don't have one?

OK. I think you should put them in a place where they can be easily accessible but will not clutter your work space. The exact place depends on your office setup.

 

[GTDWorks]

If you don't have a desk drawer to use, or it is too small for all your supplies, you can do what I've done: go to your local office supply center and purchase a clear plastic 4-drawer paper holder on wheels and put all your supplies in the drawers. I slid mine under my printer stand behind my desk and just swival around, look for what I need, and pull it out of the see-through drawer for my use. Simple, cheap, but an elegant fix for housing all those supplies.

 

[kewms]

Pens, letter opener, and scissors are in a pencil jar on my desk. Scratch pads are in a mesh file holder, along with my (paper) planning calendar and a few pages of commonly used reference information.

I don't have a rolodex, as I file all contacts electronically and then throw the physical cards away.

Tape, stapler, post-it notes, paper clips, etc. are in my desk drawer. There's also a small supply of file folders, mailing envelopes, and so forth on a shelf to the right of the desk.

All other office supplies are in a storage closet. The basic idea is that the more often I use something, the closer it should be.

Katherine

 

[GTDWorks]

Katherine:

Do you use a paper planner only or do you use a combination of paper and digital?

 

[JJSOmaha]

Thanks for your help so far---I want to clean my desk as much as I can...really going for that Home Office 2.0 look, but it's hard as I don't want to spend my time digging through boxes for my Ipod charger, or wireless mouse case when I travel.

 

[rachel134]

Take a tip from kitchen planners, and store items where they will be used. So I keep my stapler, tape, and paper clips in the desk drawer, and travel chargers with my suitcases. Since foreign travel is mostly to one country, I keep the electric outlet adapter in the bottom of the electric appliance's travel case.

Rachel

 

[kewms]

Do you use a paper planner only or do you use a combination of paper and digital?

I use a digital calendar (Outlook) for scheduling appointments. I use a paper calendar for planning -- from working out project schedules covering several months to planning my week -- because it seems to work better. Probably something to do with being able to visually block out time, circle key dates, draw arrows, etc.

Katherine

 

[kewms]

I store travel adapters for all my electronics in a mesh bag. (From EMS, sold as hiking gear.) The mesh bag in turn lives in my carry-on bag. I have duplicates of important ones like my cell phone and laptop chargers, having forgotten to pack those one too many times.

Katherine

 

[ActionGirl]

I use a digital calendar (Outlook) for scheduling appointments. I use a paper calendar for planning -- from working out project schedules covering several months to planning my week -- because it seems to work better. Probably something to do with being able to visually block out time, circle key dates, draw arrows, etc.

Katherine

Thanks for that distinction!

I like an electronic calendar because it's easy to put in recurring appointments, but I find myself missing the ease of writing on a paper calendar on a regular basis. As I think about it though, things I want to write on the paper calendar are generally not appts, but in some way planning related, from time-blocking the coming week to deadlines for major projects to minor things like keeping track of my period or happenings of interest to me but for which I have no responsibility.

I hereby give myself permission to try using a paper calendar in addition to the electronic one, with the hard edge of putting all appts on the electronic calendar. And since I won't carry the paper calendar around regularly, I don't have to limit myself to a pocket sixed one. Hmm, what size calendar do you like for planning?

 

[kewms]

I'm currently using the Audobon Engagement Calendar, which is slightly larger than 5"x8". It has all of 2006 and 2007 on facing pages at the front, weekly pages for 2006, and 52 pretty pictures. It's big enough to give me room to scribble, but small enough to take with me occasionally.

I tried DayTimer weekly pages for a while. I like this better, and it's somewhat cheaper.

Katherine

 

[mike]

on the calendar issue, I use outlook synced to my palm for most things. I am only in the office on Friday's, and in the evening (home office) so I also print off the current month and the next month and have that on my desk for planning.

Works for me!

Mike