Tips For Organizing Your Desk Items

Whether it be a person's personal desk, home office desk, or workplace desk, keeping it organized is essential to performing their job successfully. A messy desk is linked to a decrease in both the quality and quantity of work, as well as the efficiency at which work is completed. On the flip side, an organized desk can allow a person to operate with greater concentration and speed, and the output is typically of much higher quality. Though organizing one's desk may seem like an overwhelming task, it doesn't have to be. It can be easy to create a productive environment if one keeps 5 organizational tips in mind.

Organizing Your Desk Items Steps

1. Hire a Professional Organizer

For some people the thought of getting organized it too overwhelming for them to get started. Perhaps they have too much clutter to deal with, or they cannot come up with a good arrangement. In these cases, a person may consider hiring a professional organizer. Professional organizers, like those from urbanclarity.net, will come to a person's home or office and give it an organizational makeover. They are pros at decluttering and making the most of the space that is available. Most of the time, a person's workspace can be organized in just half a day.

2. Get Rid of Clutter

A cluttered environment leads to a cluttered mind, and a cluttered mind cannot perform to its full potential. Science has shown that there are several benefits to living and working in a decluttered space, such as creating a sense of confidence, reducing anxiety, and improving interpersonal relationships. The first step in creating an organized workspace is to get rid of items that do not have any beneficial impacts on one's work. This includes things like most personal knick-knacks, non-work-related items, and trash. Once a person's desk has been decluttered, they can then begin to organize the remaining work-related items. 

3. Display Essential Items

There are some work-related items that a person needs to be out on their desk and accessible at all times. Things like computers, phones, scratchpads, and pencils are used so regularly that it makes sense to keep them in sight and within reach. A person may also want a bin or region of their desk to be allocated for files or projects that they are currently working on. While the file or project may change, the region or bin it is allocated to stays the same.

4. Store Non-Essential Items

Work-related items that are not used multiple times a day, every day should be stored in a desk drawer or external file cabinet. Some items may not be used every day, but they are used more than once a week, such as file folders containing client information. These can be stored in a person's desk drawers for easy access when they are needed. Other items are used less than once a week or rarely, such as employee files and purchase orders. These can be stored in external file cabinets.

5. Choose an Arrangement Based on Dominant Hand

A person's dominant hand should dictate the arrangement of items on and inside their desk. On top of the desk, a person's computer usually sits in the center. To the right, a person should keep their pens and pencils stored in a desk caddy. This is also a good spot for a scratchpad for jotting down notes. To the left, a person should place their telephone. Their bin for current work and projects should sit to the left as well. Organizing according to the dominant hand allows a worker to carry out tasks more efficiently.

Having a desk that is free from unnecessary clutter and is tidy and organized can mean the difference between being productive and successful and work and giving a lackluster performance. Though it can be difficult to get started, it is well worth the effort spent on getting organized. If one simply follows 5 simple tips, they are sure to create a calm, inviting workspace that allows them to operate at their full potential.