How to tidy up your desk

How to tidy up your deskMost people work sitting at the desk. But if the workplace is a mess and a lot of distractions, it’s pretty hard to concentrate on work. After you get out of the desktop, try to maintain this cleanliness and order as long as possible. So, you first need to sort out your workplace and find a way to organize everything in the right order.

Put your order in the workplace

  1. First, remove everything from the table. It is necessary to remove absolutely all things and put them in a big pile. Now is the time to decompose everything in the right order, so you have to pull things out of this heap in turn. But do not try to restore order in one minute! First you need to create free space.
    It is important to remove absolutely everything from the table, even if you are sure that this thing will still be on the table. In the general heap should also be: photos, plants, computer.
  2. Throw out the garbage. Once the thing is no longer needed, it should be thrown out immediately. You may want to save some things, but you need to be sure that they will be useful to you. If you do not know if they will be useful to you, put these things in a special box.
    Any confidential documents must be broken or chopped before discarding.
    Throw away the paper, plastic and everything else that is recyclable.
    People who used to keep their jobs clean, came up with a saying: “If in doubt – throw it away.”
  3. Wipe the entire surface of the table. Even if you think that things on the table are completely clean, repeated cleaning will not hurt. Wipe the screen of the computer, wipe the dust off the table, disassemble and wipe the boxes.
    To clean the keyboard or any other objects and hard-to-reach places, you can use compressed air.
    For wet cleaning of the table and surfaces, you can dilute the solution of water and white vinegar (or buy a detergent).
    The surfaces that you need to wipe out include a table, drawers, shelves and any screens (computer, TV).

Design a system of organization

  1. Use the space on the shelves. You can make shelves yourself and nail them to the wall, or you can buy them in the store. Shelves are best placed directly above the desk or on the other wall. This usually depends on where the workstation is located, and how you intend to use the shelves.
    If it’s a workplace in the office, it’s likely to be better to hang small shelves right above the table.
    If you put things in order on the desktop that is in the room or bedroom, it’s better to hang the shelves not above the table, but somewhere near them so that they do not enter the field of view and distract you.
    Before installing the shelves, think about what you place on them. Shelves should fit the size of the books or tools that you plan to put on them.
  2. Stick stickers with a signature on the boxes and shelves. Having made such notes, you will know what each shelf and each box is for. This is the key point in the organization. You can make notes using scotch tape or stickers, if you want, you can buy beautiful decorative labels.
    Each note must be clear and specific. Thus, none of your boxes will simply become a “garbage box”.
    If you are more comfortable, you can use the color coding system (instead of signing each box).
    Gently make up the signature. It is not necessary to generalize, otherwise, in the end, you may have several boxes filled with everything in a row. In addition, it will confuse you when you want to shift or throw something away.
  3. The most important things should always be at your fingertips. You know well which things on the desktop are needed most often. Such things should be in sight. For example, if you have several drawers under the table, the top drawer should contain the things you most often use. In addition, important things can be placed on the shelves, which are always in front of your eyes, and which are easy to reach.
    You can choose several of the most necessary things that will be right on the table. This applies to those things that you use several times a day. For example, a ruler or calculator.
  4. Place a trash can near the table. This is a very important point that will allow you to throw garbage at once into one place, and not stack it with heaps around the desktop. The trash can should be located so that you do not have to get up to throw something away. So you will always get rid of unnecessary things and garbage on the table.

Put things in their places

Start sorting those things that are stacked. Now you have a clean table and a large pile of things cleared off the table. Start to arrange these things in places. Do not miss a single thing. Gradually, putting everything in its place, throw out the garbage. Put separately important things that you are going to shift to shelves or boxes.
Do not postpone for later and immediately try to deal with every thing. For example, if you need to break or chop the document, do it right away. If you want to throw some trinket – safely throw it into the trash. Do not postpone for later.

  1. If you need more than two minutes to figure out a particular thing (for example, if the paper shredder is in another building, or you need to buy a rag), you need to postpone this thing and write down a reminder in the to-do list.
    The items that you are going to transfer to the table must be in one heap. Items that need to be thrown into the trash must be in the trash can. Items with which you have not decided what to do should be in the third heap.
  2. Put together all the things that you do not yet know what to do. These things include items that will not be placed on the desktop, but which you do not want to throw into garbage. Fold these items in one box and put this box in a closet or pantry.
    After a month or six months, you need to disassemble this box again. If during this time you did not use the things from this box, throw them in the garbage. Because the likelihood that they will be useful to you, is very small.
  3. Now you need to put all these items on the desktop. You need to take one thing from the first heap and put it on the desktop, on the shelf or in the drawer. Focus on written notes or other organizational system. So, take one item and place it in the workplace.
    Try to arrange the items so that on the table there were not too many distractions. To always be focused on work, it is worth keeping a minimum of decorative items.
    Books are best kept away from the desktop. If you have a more or less free shelf, where books will fit, it’s better to rearrange them there.
  4. Try to clean up regularly on the table. The more often you clean, the easier it will be to keep clean and tidy. At the end of the day, pay attention to your workplace and put it in order. Throw out the trash and remove any unnecessary papers and documents from the table.
    If you clean up the desktop at the end of each day, the next day you will return to a clean workplace.
    Give yourself one day a week or a month to put things in order on the desktop (depending on how quickly it gets clogged up with unnecessary things and garbage).

Select an organization system

  1. Arrange things as you feel comfortable. Each person has his own way of organizing the workplace and all the necessary items. It all depends on what kind of work you do in the workplace. But whatever you do, it is very important to get rid of distractions.
    You can buy different containers and boxes for different items.
    You may need a folder for files or a reminder board, to which you can attach notes and notes.
    Perhaps, for work you need items that would be more convenient to hang on hooks.
  2. Only the most necessary tools should be at hand. If basically you work in the office, do not place on your desktop different items for your hobby. To do this, it is better to choose a separate place in the office or at home.
    If you eventually noticed that a thing is used very rarely (or not used at all), it is better to remove it from your desk.
    If you often use an item that does not lie on the desktop, but somewhere else, free up space for it on the table.
  3. Try new things. If it’s hard for you to constantly clean up your desk and get out, it’s probably just a sign that you need to try another organizational method. If you keep everything in boxes, it may be more convenient for you to put some things and items on shelves or hang them on hooks. If it’s hard for you to concentrate on the computer screen, perhaps everything else should be moved away from it.
    Ask your friends and colleagues how they organize their workplace, how to clean the table. Perhaps their advice will be very useful for you!

Advice

A clean workplace is essential for productive work. Just arrange everything so that you feel comfortable. If you need different accessories and inspiring images that motivate you to work – this is quite normal. The most important thing is to equip everything so that you can concentrate.
Check the number of erasers (there should be a maximum of 5), you also need a glass for simple pencils and pens and a separate glass for colored pencils and pens.

Image credit: StockSnap