Simple Tricks to Make Your Office Life Easier

Clever Office Hacks

Below is a list of quick and easy office hacks, many of which involve items you can find in your home. (Click on the hyperlinks to see pictures if the description isn’t clear.)

Decorating

• Seated in a cubicle area? Hang mirrors on your wall. This will add the illusion of space and make you feel less boxed in. If you place them at a particular angle, they can also reflect more light into your desk area.
• If your desk is far from a window, buy a nature painting or poster to hang up on your wall.
• Use a hot glue gun to attach a canvas painting to a metal board and create your own customized magnet board.
• Wooden shutters hung on a wall can be a unique file and document holder.
• Make your desk area smell nice by placing a few cups of herbs on the surface.

Organization

• Place magnetic tape on your wall, and you’ll have a simple way to store binder clips and other office supplies; you can also pin notes to the tape by securing them with a paper clip.
• Place items such as rubber bands and staples inside of spice containers, and keep them organized by placing them on a spice rack.
• Different colored bread tabs—those small pieces of plastic used to close bags of bread—can help you keep track of what wires connect to which device at your desk. Write the name of the appropriate device on each different tab.
• Bread tabs can also be used as placeholders on rolls of tape; so can paperclips (See No. 4 on this list)
• Prevent your cords from tangling by coiling them, then securing them with a twist-tie. You can also place each one inside of an individual toilet paper roll.

Quick Fixes

• Old CDs can stabilize a chair with an uneven leg; they can also be used as coasters.
• If you’re playing audio on your smartphone and need a louder volume, place it inside of a cup to amplify the sound.
• Use a strip of clear tape to remove the dust between the keys of your keyboard.
• For headphone storage, press a thumb tack into the wall. Wrap a rubber band around the arms of a large binder clip, then hang the clip onto the tack, and you have a handy place for storing your headphones.
• Prevent your iPod earbuds from getting tangled up by attaching them to the top corners of a Macbook display; the magnetic connection between the screen and your earbuds will ensure they stay stuck where they are.
• To help keep your laptop cool, place it on top of the bumpy half of an egg carton. According to officedesk.com, “[h]alf of an egg carton can provide a level pedestal that also helps to keep everything cool.”

Kitchen Tricks

• If two people need to heat up their lunches, you can take care of both in one go. Set one lunch inside the microwave. Place a mug beside it, then place the second lunch on top of the mug. Heat, and enjoy.
• Greasy microwave? Fill a bowl with water and heat it up for two to three minutes. The steam created will loosen the grease, making clean-up much easier.
• A frozen dish sponge placed in a Ziploc bag can double as an ice pack for your lunch.

Keeping your work space organized and efficient doesn’t require a lot of time or money, just some creativity. Is there anything missing from this list? What are some of your favorite office hacks?

photo credit: keepstill via photopin cc