There was a reason your mom kept telling you to clean your room. She was training you to organize your life. One prime example of how organization can make you more productive and happier is by keeping your office desk organized and clutter free.
Keeping your desk clutter free helps in all of the following ways:
1. Better time management. You spend less time searching for items. According to National Association for Professional Organizers (2012), the average employee spends 400 hours each year searching for paper documents. Seriously, that adds up to 10 WEEKS of paid time.
2. Improves focus. Clutter is distracting. If you remove the extraneous items that aren’t adding value and function to your desk, your ability to focus on the task at hand improves.
3. Reduces stress. Have you ever broken out in a cold sweat because you thought you shredded an important document, or couldn’t find that one receipt you needed? Yeah, it’s not fun. Avoid unwanted stress by knowing where everything is on your desk.
4. Display professionalism and reliability. Your boss isn’t going to think much of the half eaten donut sitting on top of an important report on your desk.
Clean It Up and Keep It That Way.
Do one quick Google search on office desk organization and you’ll find lots of tips and tricks to making it so. We’ve pulled a handful of tips we really like.
Stackable Letter Tray – This is in inexpensive item that will add space and organization to your office desk. The simple design lets you separate and label shelves for things like an Inbox, Pending Items, Outgoing. This will reduce the time you spend sifting through one big stack of “stuff” multiple times per day.
Current Project Rack – Most of us have multiple projects going on at once. Each of those projects likely has some level of paper associated with them. Using at a wire stacking rack with file folders help you keep all the important pieces of a project together and easily accessible.
Get Rid of It System – Have a trash can, recycling bin, and a shredder at your desk, or a short distance away. You will likely need all three. You’re more likely to move items off your desk if you have the right disposal option at your fingertips.
Keep a Notebook – I LOVE PostIt Notes. They are great for a quick temporary not on a computer screen or to flag something for co-workers, but as a general way to keep track of important tidbits of information they are not ideal. A notebook that stays on your desk and holds all those important tidbits that you jot down on the phone is a better idea. You’ll have much less chance of the information getting lost and you’ll always know to go to the notebook first when trying to remember where you jotted down that important phone number.
A notebook is also a handy place to keep your daily to-do list.
Blank file folders and general supplies. Keep blank folders in your desk so they’re easily accessible. This will help you keep projects separated. It helps in eliminating the great paper shuffle. If you make it easy for yourself to stay organized, you have a much better chance of keeping it that way.
Time - Give yourself time on a regular basis to clean your desk. It feels like unproductive busy work, but it’s not. Keeping your desk organized is an important productivity tool.
Photos - You love your kids, grandkids, significant other – we get it, but do you really need ALL of those photos sitting there? Consider adding them to your desktop as a screen saver, or create a file folder of your photos online so where you need a little pick-me-up by seeing a loved one’s face, you’ll be able to flip through several photos quickly thus leaving more open space on your physical desk.
With any system, it’s important to review it occasionally to be sure it’s really working well for you.
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