Productivity isn’t something that happens by accident.
In your mortgage business, productivity is something that you need to optimize.
This isn’t to say that running your mortgage business like a well-oiled machine is going to cost so much in extra time and headaches that working will never be a pleasure again.
But if you’ve noticed a cluttered office in dire need of organization, there are ways to enhance your productivity, organize your space, and maintain a system for the long-term future.
In short, if you organize your office today, you set yourself up for lasting productivity.
In the world of mortgages, that might sound impossible. After all, you’ve got more papers laying around than you know what to do with.
But with some time-tested de-cluttering principles and a willingness to work a little harder now so that your future office life will be easier, you can do it. Here’s how.
1. Utilize the KonMari Method to Declutter First
First things first: it’s time for you to get rid of the clutter.
One of the most powerful and popular ways of doing this is? The KonMari Method. In Marie Kundo’s book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” she presents a systematic approach that asks you to weigh each possession and ask if it really belongs there.
There are some key distinctions that make this method of organizing so effective:
- Tidying up by category, not by room. Most of will tidy up by tackling one area, then another, until we’re finished. This can be effective, but ultimately a poor way to organize. The KonMari method instead asks that you tackle clothes, books, and then papers. After that, you take on the smaller items that might not be as important, such as pens and pencils.
- Getting rid of anything that doesn’t help. The KonMari method wants you to ask yourself if each item brings you any joy in your life. This is typically for things around your home. But what about a mortgage office? Simple! Ask yourself the same thing, but apply it to your work life. Does the item you’re holding boost your productivity or distract from it? Does it make coming to work a joy or a drag? Sell or dispose of the items you don’t need—you might be surprised to find out how many there are.
Simply put, the KonMari method is a great way to both declutter and organize at the same time. But the two points above, while effective, will not help you completely overhaul your mortgage office.
So look at this as a first step: a way to get rid of the clutter and remove what you don’t need.
Next, we have to tackle organization.
2. Invest in Storage and Organization Items
It might seem like sacrilege to talk about the KonMari method—and then say there are some things you might need to add to your office.
But it’s true.
Organization around the mortgage office means not having all of your papers strewn about.
It means not having vital information on your desk, ready for anyone to take it.
Instead, an effectively organized office should have files, cabinets, and drawers to keep your papers organized while keeping a tidy workspace.
The good news: many of these items are ridiculously cheap:
- Storage file boxes. These cardboard boxes help you store old files as efficiently as possible and are easily stackable, which makes them great for keeping in a basement, an unused office, or even somewhere else.
- Desk organizers. Sick of wondering where your pens and pencils went? Staplers? The basic office supplies need to be ready at a moment’s notice. Keeping them handy in a desk organizer will de-clutter your space and keep the essentials nearby.
- Paper shredder. Getting rid of old identifying documents that you need destroyed means going beyond the garbage. A quality paper shredder will make quick work of the papers.
- Dry erase board. Rather than buying a new calendar every single year, why not invest in a dry erase board? This makes it easy to note upcoming meetings and change the dates to correspond with each passing month.
- Some items at work are too important not to lock up. A desk-friendly safe is a great way to keep important documents out of the way. You might also consider investing in a locking file bin.
Adding these items to your office will help you declutter, sure.
But they’ll also help you stay free of clutter.
This, in turn, means that your mortgage office will be consistently clean and professional for every meeting you have.
3. Stuck? Try a “Handle this Later” Sorting File
One of the hardest parts of de-cluttering is simply this: getting started.
If you feel like your office is too overwhelmed with files and other papers, then you must summon vast amounts of motivation just to get started.
You even think about hiring someone to do it for you.
But you can start the process ASAP with one little tweak: a sorting bag, box, or file.
Call it your “Handle it Later” file.
These are all of the documents and office items that you’re not sure what to do with for now. So as you de-clutter, if they’re not pressing, you can put them here so you can run through them later.
Consider it a form of advanced procrastination. Mindful procrastination, if you will.
You can then break up the “Handle this Later” file into single sessions, small chunks at a time.
The beauty of this method is that you’ll always know where your excess items are. They haven’t gone anywhere. They’re still in your “Handle this Later” file.
If you need to access any of it, you can rifle through it as though it were a pile of papers on your desk.
The key? Consistency. You have to actually follow through on this file.
But the reward is considerable: you’ll have a de-cluttered office the first day, even though there’s more work to do in the organization department.
4. Clean Up Your Digital Life
Let’s talk about the space you might use most often: the computer.
Specifically, your email inbox.
When you have 500 old emails that need reviewing, you run into the same problem from the previous step: there’s so much work that you never find the motivation to get started.
This is when it’s acceptable to bring in backup.
Use a service like Mailstrom to clean out your inbox and handle a large volume of emails in just a few seconds.
After all, you’re in the mortgage business—you know how important it is to have a true expert help someone.
It’s not a big deal to reach outside yourself and enlist some help in the form of a simple internet tool to get cleaned up.
Yes, you do have to trust these services with your inbox. And yes, that can take a leap of faith.
But ask yourself this: if you suddenly lost 100% of your inbox, would you be able to recover?
Chances are, you would.
Tidy it up. You’ll find the clean slate is a powerful way to achieve more productivity….in the mortgage business and anywhere else.
And when it comes time to move to the next step—cleaning up your web presence—that’s where leadPops can come in. If you haven’t already, start your FREE 30 day trial now!
