As you operate your way through your typical business day, your desk is your operating table. If the surgical tools are all over the place, or you can’t find clamps or reach the scalpel quickly and efficiently, things get messy.
So, is your home or workplace desk working for you? When you are working on projects, do you feel comfortable and ready to shine? Does your desk make the atmosphere pleasant?
If not, then you should think of how you want to use your desk. While the modern working space continues to evolve depending on current trends and the firm’s culture, you can always declutter your desk to create an optimal working environment.
Here are seven tips to declutter and make your desk work for you:
Tips #1 – Know You
When thinking of how to effectively use your desk, you need to understand who you are as well as your workspace.
Why is it so difficult for people to throw stuff out? It’s straightforward, people tend to keep things for sentimental value – like an old clipboard or a coffee mug they got from their first love. To declutter, you need to take a moment and figure out what you want for yourself. Create a mental image of what used to work for you and what currently works for you. If you have anything on your desk that no longer serves any purpose or doesn’t contribute in any way to get you where you want to go, get rid of it. Because if you don’t, it is automatically classified as clutter. So feel free to express yourself.
Tip #2 – Clean, Sort & Move
Once you’ve figured out what works for you, get to separating things that you want to keep from those you want to move, toss or donate. When cleaning and sorting things in your office, forget the guilt and be ruthless. If you start beating yourself up about the items you are getting rid of, you will never declutter your working space. If you feel that you can’t help yourself, you can always move them from the office and put them in storage.
But why keep what doesn’t make you genuinely joyful at work, or support your work in any way? To take care of the guilt, jot down a list of items on your desk at the office or in your home office as well as the purpose for each item then move or donate those without a real purpose of benefit.
Tip#3 – Keep Things That Make You Feel Energised
Whether it’s at the office or at home, a workspace is more than your office equipment. Ideally, it should be a place that not only cultivates a conducive working atmosphere but also brings you joy, happiness, comfort and motivates you to work.
You’ve probably heard about it, and yes it’s true, a cluttered workspace undermines people’s working morale and negatively affects productivity. As US and UK best selling author Marie Kondo, a tidying and decluttering guru, puts it on the KonMari method: Only keep things on the desk that “spark joy.” Note that “joy” is being used not to refer to actual joy, but rather office items that have a purpose in your perspective or those that motivate you and make you feel energised.
Tip #4 – Trust Your Instincts & Check Out Rearranging Options
When it comes to decluttering your office, it all comes down to your first instincts. There must be some items that you already have in mind for moving or tossing out. Once you take care of these items, your mind with automatically refresh and help you spot other items that previously might have been hard to get rid of or donate.
Therefore, always try to follow and trust your instincts when decluttering. After you’ve tossed out all the unnecessary things from your office, revisit your layout. Maybe there’s a smarter way to configure your office space; this is the time to designate particular spaces on your desk or in the office for particular items.
Tips #5 – Make Decluttering A Habit
How do you make your workspace clutter-free? Often, people think that decluttering an office is a one-time thing. However, it’s not. Therefore, it is imperative that you put cleaning and decluttering on your calendar. Because when you do, it becomes a habit and can be considered a long-term commitment. Even after a major purge, don’t forget about regular decluttering.
Decluttering should be a weekly, monthly or at the very least an annual task to keep your office neat and inspiring. After all, you want your desk and office space to keep working for you all year-round.
Tip #6 – Don’t Bring Clutter Into the Office
So, your children make you a bracelet every weekend. Of course, you love your children, and while a bracelet made by your little princess on the desk will always bring a smile on your face and keep you energised, don’t overdo it.
In other words, you don’t necessarily have to bring everything your child gives you to the office. Do you bring things that serve no purpose in your office? If so, it’s time to stop. Be selective and cognizant of the things you bring to your workspace at home or at the office to make your desk more conducive for increased productivity.
Tip #7 – Label!Label!Label!
Never underestimate the power of the label. If you opt to label, not only will it be easy for you to distinguish useful items from useless items on your desk, but you will also find things faster. Whether it’s a pen holder, a paper punch or a file, you’ll want to label them to save time that would have otherwise been wasted looking for misplaced items. Moreover, it’s easier to declutter when you have everything on your desk labelled.
Your desk, office or cubicle must inspire creativity, increase efficiency and productivity and more importantly, become a pleasant place to be. In 2019, get rid of clutter in your office to reduce stress and boost morale. After all, when you think about it, you spend most of your time at the office. So, think of how you want to use your desk, declutter, and ideally, it will play a vital role in your success.
