Don't let a cluttered desk drain your energy
What does the top of your desk say about your ability to focus? Do you have to write over other papers that you are afraid to put away for fear you will forget something? Do you jump from one task to another depending upon the last item that caught your eye?
Your main workstation, your desktop, plays a key role in how effective you are in your office, at home or away. A cluttered desk drains your creative energy, pulls your attention from the task at hand, and steals your time as you constantly search for that paper you saw just a minute ago.
By following these four steps, you can regain control over the “stuff” on your desk, and ratchet up your productivity!
1. Place tools and equipment on your desk by “handedness.” Are you left or right handed? Put your writing implements on that side of your desk. How do you answer the phone? Most people use the hand they do not write with, so your phone will go on the opposite side. Computer placement is usually against a wall for safety and electrical access. Be sure to leave a space you can write on comfortably.
2. Only keep items on your desk that you use daily. These are the categories that qualify for daily use:
- A pencil holder with pens, pencils, a highlighter, a Sharpie, and scissors. You may like to keep these in your desk drawer. For efficiency, I would rather not have to open a drawer, take out a writing implement and close the drawer before I can write.
- A stapler, tape dispenser, paper clip holder (preferable magnetic), and a post-it pad.
- Phone, computer keyboard/monitor.
- An IN (To Be Sorted) box that serves as your designated intake for all papers. A three-tiered letter tray will allow for IN, OUT, and TO BE FILED boxes in a small footprint.
- One vertical incline sorter for current projects and ready reference lists.
3. Clear your desk of all paper piles immediately. Separate any current projects and place them in colorful folders that you can spot easily, then store in your vertical file to access quickly. Place papers that require action in your IN (To Be Sorted) box. The rest of the paper can go in a storage container under your desk. After a couple of weeks, anything left in the box that you have not needed is either trash, or can be filed remotely as reference.
4. Take advantage of available vertical space. Adjacent walls are a great place for that calendar, schedule, or white board. Install hanging shelves within arm’s reach for reference books, catalogs, paper supplies, or for that vertical file.
By following these steps you now have a desk that is cleared for action. You can clearly see what projects you currently have going and all supporting documents are in that file. You can concentrate on one task at a time, with room to actually get work done!
You may be saying, “Hey, I still don’t know what to do with those action papers I put in my IN box! What is a ready reference file?” Listen in to my guest presentation with Kelly Galea, The Design Biz Coach on How to Conquer Paper Piles: Thursday, February 11th at 2 PM, EST. You attend via your telephone wherever you are most comfortable. Simply register at designbizcoach.com for the call information.
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