Getting Organized in the New Year on WGN
Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day…The Culprit of Your Messy Desk May Not Be The Papers On It
Is your desk a never-ending messy surface that you want to eventually organize, but it never seems to happen? Wait no more–today is the day to set aside time to clear your desk. Don’t have time today? At least schedule the time on your calendar and commit–it will be worth your while. If you are ready to start, do you panic when you look at that first piece of paper and wonder where all of the stuff would actually go? Here’s how to get started:
Remember, your desk is a work surface, not a storage area. Having a clear surface to work on will help you to be more productive. An Officemax survey posted in Forbes found that 77% of people agree that clutter damages their productivity. So it’s important to know how to get your desk space clear of papers and piles. Even if it’s not always super tidy, you should be able to get it there when you need to. So how do you start and where do you put all of the stuff that’s currently on your desk? This is the vicious cycle…you have nowhere to put it because the drawers are full. This is one of the main reasons people feel stuck when they are finally motivated to organizer their space. They don’t know where to start because they don’t know where to put anything. If your drawers are full, you need to either get a file crate or temporary file box, or better yet, just get started weeding out in those drawers! The problem may exist because the file drawers haven’t been cleared out in way too long. Papers that have been sitting without being referenced are causing a backlog. There needs to be a flow of papers in your office. You can’t continue to bring papers in without spending some time removing others. For optimal efficiency, use the “one in, one out” rule and stick to removing an item every time you add another. Once you have cleared through the papers in the drawers, you should be in a good place to add the new, more current papers that are on your desk. I have never found a client who cleared through an overflowing file cabinet who didn’t end up with plenty of space afterwards. The culprit of your messy desk may not be those papers on it after all.
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