So I sit on this gloomy Tuesday, my four windowless office walls replaced by a panoramic view that includes oak trees and a swimming pool, and my morning highway commute supplanted by a couple lefts and a right through downtown Orlando backstreets. Hats off to you, moving.

But as with most things in life, getting there is half the battle, and I think I can speak for the majority of humans when I say: moving is awful. My state on Friday morning was a disheveled mess; covered in dust and surrounded by relics of office spaces of yore (pencil sharpeners and a small country’s GDP worth of binder clips?). And amidst the chaotic remains of our former location, I was reminded how important organization is in any business model.

Keeping organized is easily accomplished in theory, but significantly more difficult to establish and maintain over the long-term. Papers mount. Projects get relegated to a lower position on your totem pole of priorities. Copier malfunctions turn your afternoon into a crash-course in technology repair. Many occurrences can throw you off course in your quest for office organization, so it’s important to have a well-developed system to mitigate any hiccups.

Personally, Microsoft Outlook is a godsend when it comes to keeping track of the comings and goings of any office. Setting reminders for everything, even the minutiae that are so ingrained in your routine that they’re second-nature is helpful in keeping everything in its proper place. Interruptions are often the main culprit in a lapse in organization, so having a digital safety net in calendar reminders works wonders when you’re doing ten things at once.

As I’m still getting everything setup at our new location and finding appropriate storage for the ten-plus years of rogue pens that decided to show up during our move, I’m slowly but surely establishing a routine based around maintaining organization. If you can commit yourself and make a robust effort to keep organized, you’ll notice how smooth your operation runs.

-Carter Breazeale