Clearing out clutter and organizing your desk is the first step that anyone should take when seeking to squeeze more productivity out of their day. Without a clear workspace delivering easy access to office supplies and stationery, putting out your best becomes exceedingly difficult.
Not only does an organized desk help in terms of convenience and physical productivity, it is also far easier to reach a focused state of mind when you don’t have a heap of untidiness staring you in the face.
Here we’ll be taking you through a comprehensive look at how to organize your office desk. Use the suggestions and insights supplied as inspiration for sorting and customizing your very own optimal office.
One of the best ways to guarantee that your desk is neatly and practically organized is to give everything a resting place. Yes, that’s right. Give each and every item on your desk a home and ensure that it returns there after use. The items on your desk should be practically arranged without ever posing to be a distraction or get in the way while you are trying to focus.
Take some time to consider what items are used most frequently and store the things that typically get used together in one place. Keep in mind that your work space is not limited to your desk alone. There is space beside, behind, and beneath to be taken advantage of.
Cable clutter is not only an unsightly latent stress factor, but it can consume large amounts of space and make your working life far more difficult than it needs to be. There are few things as annoying as having to crouch beneath your desk to reach a charger or plug point or having to tug on the cable of your keyboard or mouse due to nothing more than untidy cables wound around each other.
Cable tidying systems, braided cable guards, and specially purposed PVC trunking are perfect for keeping cable clutter to a minimum and your desk and office space looking stylish.
There is little need for a massive mess of paper, printed documents, books, and other clutter on your desk. All that it takes to keep your documents under control are three different storage containers, perhaps older A4 paper boxes if you’re on a tight budget, or go for proper storage units in the color and style of your choice if not.
Multiple drawer filing systems take up very little space and can often be stored directly on your desk for access to the documents that require unhindered retrieval and frequent use.
There is absolutely no need for you to store things that do not require your immediate attention, or access, on your desktop. Designate a jar or drawer for miscellaneous items that don’t quite have a place of their own. You’ll most likely be quite surprised at just how much space the odds and ends take up.
Don’t limit organization to the surface of your desk only. Make sure that each of your drawers has a definite purpose, placing the things that you use most frequently within the easiest reach. Desk organizers are typically only useful for the top two drawers at the most, supplying a handy way to keep small items such as paper clips, staples, and drawing pins together.
Do not underestimate the power of jars and other compact containers. They can pull a drawer together in no time at all and can be very presentable given a bit of forethought.
Once you begin to use the area surrounding your desk you will quickly see just how productive an office space can be. Shelves, cabinets, and even repurposed spice racks work wonderfully as space-saving organizers which vastly expand the scope of your office space. Always see where you can save desktop space by reverting to a wall-mounted form of storage. It is not only attractive but highly practical as well.
Most of us would prefer a clutter-free environment but the practicality of keeping it that way is sometimes simply not worth the stifled creativity which the practice of constantly organizing your desk brings. Once you strike a harmony between personalization and organization, you will soon see your productivity soar and your creativity flow in a steady stream.
Always look for ways that you can make your desk more attractive in your own eyes, always staying keenly aware of your own preferences and habits. A workspace which looks good to you, customized and organized, will feel good to work in, serving as self-sustaining motivation to keep it that way.