Are you having a hard time getting things done at work? It may be your workspace that is a mess and maybe causing all these. Not only is a messy workspace visually unpleasing, but it makes it hard for you to process information and focus as well. Plus, clutter competes for your attention with what is important, and hence it makes you lose focus. Therefore, you need to aim to get and keep your desk organized. It will be worth it in the long run, and you will have a clearer mind as you enjoy more physical space. Below are 7 tips and tricks for keeping your desk organized.
Create a personal space
Every day as you head out to work, there are things you need to bring with you. For instance, your wallet, keys, phone, and others, and if you have nowhere to keep them, they will only get in your way the whole day. Because of this, invest in a quality cell phone wooden docking station that will give you a specific area to place your phone and other items instead of them lying around like clutter. Get one that will fit all your items well, and in this way, you will improve how your desk space looks.
Do a purge
One of the main ways that should be the start of organizing your desk is to do a purge. Start by going through every item that you have on your desk. To see what is important and what is not. Toss anything that you do not need and keep what is necessary. Do this by being honest with yourself as most of the things on the desk are not essential. When you do a purge right the first time, you will have significant progress into a clutter-free desk space.
Work on one thing at a time
Even though you are good at multitasking, sometimes for a calm-inducing desk, all you have to do is work on one thing at a time. Thus, rather than trying and failing each time. Focus your attention on one thing at a time. Plus, what you are working on should be the only thing occupying your desk, and keep the rest elsewhere neatly. In this way, you will work faster and be more productive.
Implement a two-tray system
Instead of having piles of projects all over your desk area, utilize a two-tray system for organizing all these papers. You can divide your papers into two sectors depending on how you feel you will use them. For instance, project papers you are yet to deal with can be on the bottom tray. While those on the upper tray the finished project papers. In this way, you will not have to hassle through your paperwork looking for a specific paper each time.
Organize the desktop of your computer as well
Having a spotless clear desk is one thing, but when your desktop is a nightmare of unsorted files and icons, you still have organization to do. A digital mess still counts as clutter, and they distract you a lot as you try to focus. Therefore, once a week, try and clean up files you do not need on your desktop and other unnecessary folders to have a more streamlined home screen. When you incorporate this as a habit, your desk will be clutter-free and your computer as well.
Go digital
By scanning your documents, you get rid of piles of paper cluttering your desk. So, if you do not need a physical copy of it, you should scan it. In this way, you save your files as PDFs, and that is convenient and more searchable than a file cabinet. After doing this, store the physical papers somewhere in your office instead of on your desk as you will rarely want them.
Keep a notepad close
Since you cannot have everything on your phone. Have a notebook handy to write things down like reminders, phone numbers, among others. Although it may seem counterintuitive to add something else to your desk. A notebook is essential, and you can place it on your desk organizers if you feel it is on your workspace.
