Office supplies. The tiniest workhorse in the world. Honestly, we probably couldn’t survive without them.
Sounds dramatic, but hear us out.
We live in a digital age, but if you look around your desk (… or your junk drawer. We know you have one!) you’ll see it’s just chock full of office supplies. Little bits and bobs that don’t seem to make much of an impact but are essential to getting the job done – whatever the job may be.
Pens and Pencils
Let’s start it off with the most basic of office supplies – pens and pencils. Writing implements, if you will. Sure, you can take a note on your phone or in a word processor. You could send off an email or mark something down in your project management tool. But you know what you’re most likely going to do? You’re going to pick up a pen and the nearest scrap of paper you can find, and you’re going to jot your little note down on that. It’s quick. It’s efficient. And it’s just how things are done.
Sticky Notes
That little piece of paper you grabbed to write down your note… is it brightly colored? Or a funky shape? Is it adhesive? Be honest. For a quick note that you know you’ll need to refer back to later, you’re grabbing a sticky note. Some people might have stickies strewn all about. Some folks might have a single note stuck right in the corner of their desk with only the most important details. Here at GOS, we’re big fans of lining the entire bottom edge of the computer monitor with stickies.
Paper Clips and Staplers
Need to keep track of all those notes? How about that stack of super-important documents? Do they need to stay together… potentially… forever? Paper clips and staplers have your back. These little guys don’t get to be a bright color or in any way be the star of the show, but without them, everything would fall apart (pun absolutely intended).
Highlighters
When you have something important to say or critical to remember, but you know you need help getting the point across, what do you reach for? A highlighter! These fluorescent tubes of delight draw your eye to the most crucial pieces of information so that your hippocampus can take a coffee break and relax for a second. And when you have to make sure someone else is going to get the message, these bright little delights get them straight to the point.
Planners and Calendars
One of the biggest parts of being in the corporate world is being at work and doing things. And doing them on time. That’s also a big part of being an adult in general. If you’re inherently good at just remembering every single thing in your life – rock on! But if you’re like the rest of us, then you might need a little bit of help. When all of those sticky notes start to get unwieldy, then it may be time to invest in a planner or calendar so that you can keep a day-by-day, hour-by-hour log of everything you’ve got going on – from work stuff to personal stuff and beyond. (We don’t know what would be “beyond” those two categories, but it sounds fun – you do you!)
Ready to get your desk stocked up and your workhorses lined up? Let’s go!
