by Catherine L. Tully

Spring is in the air and regardless of whether you have a million projects going or are in-between jobs, it’s time for a spring cleaning!

I advocate doing a quarterly “spring clean” in your office area so that you are able to stay organized and have minimal issues with efficiency. What does this type of re-vamp consist of? Here’s my checklist for the bare minimum you need to stay on top of things in your writing life:

• Organize those e-mails you have been avoiding dealing with or keeping in your inbox to get to at “a later date”.
• De-frag your hard drive (PCs).
• Back up your computer.
• Organize any paperwork. Toss, file, mail and address. Then, get it off your desk.
• Catch up on bookkeeping.
• Reach out to editors that you haven’t been in touch with for a while and touch base.
• Clean your computer screen and blow out your keyboard with canned air.
• Replace office supplies as needed.
• Check printer ink.
• Update your web presence (LinkedIn, website, etc.)

This is just a basic checklist–be sure and add anything you need to take care of to it. If you can set aside a day or two each season to take care of these things, you’ll likely be a lot more organized–and a lot less aggravated!

Do you have anything to add to the list?