Look around, is your desk clean?
It’s National Clean Off Your Desk Day on Monday January 9th! It’s the designated day you walk into your office and say ‘this is the day I’m going to get my office clean.’ You roll up your sleeves, then a few emails arrive, you take a phone call, you search around for that document-did you print it out or is it somewhere on your computer? And before you know it, it’s time to call it a day.
Here are some tips to clearing off your desk and staying productive during your workday:
Make the space intentional—You might pick something up and say ‘I’ll just put it here for now’ and then that ‘now’ becomes weeks or months later. Be intentional about where you are placing items and papers in your office. Put papers in a system that makes sense to you. Purge what you don’t need.
Find a place for your stuff–Put personal items in one drawer so that they are easy to find. Clear out one area for your stuff-your snacks, personal items, even your bag or purse. You’ll always know where to find it. No more hunting around.
Find a place for your supplies–Same thing with all of the office supplies, find a drawer and get them all in one place. What is it that you use on a daily basis? Keep that on your desktop. All the other supplies can go in a drawer. Clear off your desktop and put back only what is essential.
Love the space your in—make sure that your office reflects your personality. You might want to make your office a sanctuary with candles and soft music. Maybe it reflects everything about the business. Do you need to add a bit of branding color? A picture of the family? What about your personality needs to come through in the décor? Add that!
If you can’t seem to get things done and get your desk under control, consider hiring a professional. A productivity coach or professional organizer can suggest ways you can work better, faster, and more focused.
Creating an organized, efficient workplace can pay off in a big way. Next time you walk in the office with intentions to get things done, you will have a basis to work from and a clear way to move forward.
Margo Crawford is a Productivity Coach and Professional Organizer with Wave Productivity. She works with entrepreneurs, small business owners and business professionals to help them get more focused, organized and productive in their workplace. She coaches nationally by phone and in person in Arizona, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. If you want to get more organized in your office call 602-677-8275 or email [email protected]