April 14, 2023
An organized workspace goes a long way for better productivity. Clutter on your desk usually means you have clutter in your brain. If you want to focus better, get more done and work in a cleaner environment, you need to know how to organize your desk properly. Here are ten tips to get you started.
Purging First
Before you do anything else, you need to purge your office area. This is vital to the success of organizing your desk because it will help you get rid of all unnecessary items.
Start by going through each and every item in your office and getting rid of anything you don’t need or use. You can donate it, give it away, sell it or simply toss it in the trash; but if you don’t use it, the item needs to go.
Make sure you go through all equipment, supplies, furniture, paperwork, knick-knacks, plants and decorations. If it makes your office look or feel shabby, it’s time to get rid of it.
Re-Organize Important Items
You will have some items that you use often and they may not be in the proper place. If this is the case, move every important item into the place you have designated for it. You may want to consider the spot you have designated, as well. If the item gets used often, it should be within a close proximity to your work space.
Folders and Filing
An inbox and outbox isn’t enough, as you may have things cluttering your desk that are simply not necessary. You want to create a filing system that makes it easy to stay organized. Use a meeting folder and a WOR, or Waiting on Response folder to get things off your desk.
Anything you need to discuss at an upcoming meeting should go in the meeting folder, and anything you need a response before you can move forward goes in the WOR folder. Put these away where you cannot see them and check them every few days.
Deep Clean your Desk
Remove every single item from your desk and clean it thoroughly. Make sure to take everything out of the drawers, as well. Then, clean your desk with paper towel and household cleaning products. Make sure all of the lint and dust are removed.
Organize your Desktop
You have everything off your desk, so you can now organize your desktop. The only items to put on your desk are those you need right now, such as a computer, calendar, pens, pencils, etc. Anything you don’t need should be put away in a drawer or another spot.
Five more tips for organizing your desk are:
- Use Storage Boxes to remove magazines, archived folders and other information you don’t need very often.
- File Weekly
- Assign Discard Dates to new paper items
- Sort mail immediately into categories – to act, to read, to delegate, to hand off and to file
- Get rid of piles
There are many ways to create a more productive atmosphere for work. Organizing your desk is a great start. However, you will need to keep it organized by keeping the clutter at bay. If it starts to pile up, be aware of it and take care of the issue before you are swimming in a pile of papers again.
