Being an event planner takes organizing skills, a good design sense and loads of creativity. Event planner Bill Robertson’s home office reflects those skills and more.

A few years ago Bill bought a home, and as part of the renovation he added a home office. His contemporary home office includes a functional U-shape workspace. He uses the surface to the right of his desk to hold his printers, and the shelves below to store extra paper. Behind his desk is a long credenza with plenty of file drawers and supply storage. The exposed, yet painted brick behind his credenza, blends in well with the overall design.

Across from his desk is a seating area that includes a few chairs and a sofa to meet with his staff. One of the best parts of his office is the row of windows that overlook his three-acre backyard. On nicer days, Bill works on his patio surrounded by beautiful landscaping.

Bill plans to expand his staff this year to handle his growing number of clients. Sounds like a good plan.

• Stop scribbling notes on any stray scraps of paper. Use your handheld, a daily planner or even a simple spiral notebook to keep track of notes to yourself. While I’m a huge fan of sticky notes, those suckers are easy to lose, especially when they stick to the back of another piece of paper.

• Write a list of specific work goals each day and mark them off as you finish them. Keep the list realistic.

• Have a set place to keep everything from paper clips to pens.

• Take a few seconds to put things back when you’re finished. If you think about it, it takes a few minutes to put something away, but you’ll save time in the long run.

• Make your work area as compact as possible. You’ll save time if you can grab everything you need — your phone, printer and files — without getting out of your seat.

• Leave your desk for 5 minutes every 1 ½ hours to stretch your body and invigorate your mind. After you start following the tip above, you’ll welcome the time away from your chair.

• Use a supportive chair, ergonomic keyboard and a desk that’s the right height to keep you from straining your back and your wrists while you type.

• Store phone numbers electronically within your handheld or within a contact management program. Then you can toss all of those business cards that are cluttering your desk.

• Set a time to leave your home office each day — and stick to it. Have you ever noticed that the less time you have to work, the more you accomplish? And the more time you have, the more time it takes for you to finish?

• Always carry a handheld, a daily planner or even a small notepad to jot down ideas that come to you after hours.

What do you do to be more efficient?

Sometimes a subtle reminder can get you started.

• Use a to-do list, whether paper-based, computerized or in your handheld, to record everything you need to do. Making a list is easy. Remembering to look at your list is the hard part. If you feel yourself getting sidetracked, go back to your list.

• Give each task on your list a priority, by listing the more important tasks at the top. Or place a number 1 next to the tasks you need to complete that day, a number 2 next to less important tasks and so on.

• If after reviewing your list you feel you’re having trouble getting started, work on a quick number 3 or another easy task. After you complete a simple task, you’ll be ready to tackle bigger ones.

• Reward yourself when you complete different parts of a project. A reward may be as simple as taking a walk, going out to lunch, or shopping online for ten minutes.

That was until I published my first book, Organizing Your Home Office For Success. When the truth about my workplace came out, I was often asked when I was going to get a “real office.” How could I possibly get anything done from home? (That was before the world began its great adventure on the “Information Superhighway” … and before I owned a computer with a hard drive that was smaller than a two-drawer file cabinet.)

A working home office in disguise

Over the years, I’ve worked from home for years in home office spaces that included a spare bedroom, a small den, a dining room, a guest room, and finally a dedicated home office. Then, a few years ago, I finally came to the conclusion that I didn’t want my home office to look like an office. Instead I wanted it to look like a den or a library.

So when our family built a home, I designed the perfect home office. I did everything I could to make it comfy, functional … and a departure from the typical home office. As you can see by the photo, I incorporated a window seat and a built-in desk and bookcase with doors to hide my workspace, printer and files. I also had a cabinet for office supplies.

We’ve recently moved to a new, smaller home, and now I’m in another new home office. This one is actually half the size of my old one, but as I always tell my clients, it’s not the size of your office. It’s how you use it.