Probably the most stolen office supply is pens. They just don’t walk off your desk but are usually ‘borrowed’ by a co-worker who then proceeds not to return it. I’ve worked in some offices where people actually taped their name to their pens.

I never went to such extremes but I do have a few ideas as to how to keep your pens. You can always get personalized pens so that way you can easily spot yours should they leave your desk. But here is a my personal favorite. I keep my good pen really close to me like either in my hand, in my hair, or on my keyboard. I keep the mediocre pens on my desk in a pen holder. When someone wants to borrow a pen, I offer them one in the cup and not my good pens. If they make a move for my good pen, then I either cut them off or stop everything to make sure they return it. Yes, I love my good pens and want to keep them.

It’s worked well. I’ve only had a few go missing when I would forget to take the pen with me when I left my desk. But if you get the reputation for keeping track of your pens, your co-workers will get used to it and almost return them automatically. It may take a while for that to happen, so keep a close eye on your good pens.