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You are here: Home / 1 - Productivity / d Productivity Systems (Architect) / Productivity Tools / Recommended File Cabinets and Bookshelves

Recommended File Cabinets and Bookshelves

September 10, 2009 by Matt Perman

Post 13 in the series: Recommended Productivity Tools

File Cabinets

When it comes to file cabinets, there are two rules:

  1. Get ones that don’t screech when you open them.
  2. Get ones where the drawer comes all the way out.

This rules out the Office Depot el cheapo $30 excuses for file cabinets.

But, also at Office Depot, are the Hon 2-drawer and 4-drawer file cabinets. Hon is a decent brand, and their cabinets meet the above criteria. They are more expensive than the $30 excuses, but are the cheapest file cabinets I’ve found that don’t waste your time.

Get 2-drawer or 4-drawer, depending on your needs. Don’t get the lateral ones that go in sideways. Get the ones that go in normally. Here’s the specific one I recommend, in both 2-drawer and 4-drawer options:

Now, I also recommend having some ordinary drawers at your desk, as I went over in the second post in this series. If your desk doesn’t have those built into it, there are some good drawer units that have two ordinary drawers on top, and then one file drawer below.

If that single file drawer gives you enough room for your files, then you don’t need to get an additional 2-drawer unit. Get the 2-drawer unit (or 4-drawer) if you need additional space.

Bookshelves

IKEA has fantastic bookshelves that look nice at a great price. I love IKEA in general for their motto “we’ll never stop making good design affordable” and for generally living up to it.

They’ve captured it well: keeping things affordable doesn’t mean getting ugly stuff. Good design can be obtained at a good price.

Here are the bookshelves that I use from IKEA:

You can also get the shorter 2-shelf unit, or some nice-looking cubed ones:

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of our series on recommended (physical) productivity tools. I will close the way I began: Having good tools matters.

First, because if you have good tools, you will often find yourself wanting to use them. And “one of the best tricks for enhancing your personal productivity is having tools you want to use.” Second, because bad tools get in the way. And third, because good tools in general make your workspace as a whole a place where you want to be.

Don’t be selectively strategic. Make your workspace work well for you in all respects — give it both an efficient setup and effective tools.

Posts in This Series

  1. Recommended Productivity Tools: An Introduction
  2. The Tools You Need to Have (And Where to Keep Them)
  3. Recommended In Boxes
  4. Recommended Capture Journals
  5. Recommended Pens
  6. Recommended Pencils and Paper Pads
  7. Recommended Staplers, Staple Removers, and Tape
  8. Recommended Scissors, Letter Openers, and Post-Its
  9. Recommended Paper Clips and Super Glue
  10. Not Recommended: Desktop Organizer Things
  11. Recommended Chairs and Waste Baskets
  12. Recommended Labelers and File Folders
  13. Recommended File Cabinets and Bookshelves
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What’s Best Next exists to help you achieve greater impact with your time and energy — and in a gospel-centered way.

We help you do work that changes the world. We believe this is possible when you reflect the gospel in your work. So here you’ll find resources and training to help you lead, create, and get things done. To do work that matters, and do it better — for the glory of God and flourishing of society.

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About Matt Perman

Matt Perman started What’s Best Next in 2008 as a blog on God-centered productivity. It has now become an organization dedicated to helping you do work that matters.

Matt is the author of What’s Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done and a frequent speaker on leadership and productivity from a gospel-driven perspective. He has led the website teams at Desiring God and Made to Flourish, and is now director of career development at The King’s College NYC. He lives in Manhattan.

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