Keep your desk organized at all times
One of the things that really excites me every morning as I sit down and prepare for yet another (very long) day of work is the fact that I *always* arrive to a clean desk. As you may recall, last year I wrote a series of blog entries (Raul’s Top 10 Productivity Tips) and one of the tips I suggested following was to never leave your work area without having set up your schedule for the next day (e.g. your to-do list). As you can see in the photo, my Inbox, Processing and Outbox trays are on the right hand side of my desk. The bookcase holds my printer, my books and some office supplies. To my right (you probably can’t see it in this photo) there’s another narrow table.
I keep all my stationery supplies (stapler, pens, and notepads) as well as my “Blogging To Do” files. I also use the left-hand side working table to spread documents as I review them. As an academic, I often need to read papers, journal articles, grant proposals, etc. This working table lets me do that while keeping a dedicated desk for the laptop and processing trays.
I have previously mentioned before that I have dedicated at least one day a month to fully and thoroughly clean up. This process, while sometimes annoying, gives me the freedom to arrive the next day to a clean slate. This is something I do as well with my desk. I make sure that I have cleaned every single part of my working space so that the next morning I arrive and find it neat and clean.
Related posts:
- The importance of routines
- Devote one day to organization and cleanup
- Get rid of the Box of Miscellaneous Stuff
- Tip # 2: Don’t go to bed without having a “next day” plan
- Are organized protests effective?
Interesting to read this. I have an office desk which I keep very organized, as you have suggested. However, I also have a home-office desk which is very cluttered to the point where piles of documents collapse into one another. I do not know why I let my home office become so disorganized. It is a treat to have a clean, organized desk like my office-office desk, why do I not bring that habit home? Self reflection time.
For some of us, it is just plain impossible to have a desk look like yours. I’m thinking you stole a photo from a catalogue
Glad it works for you, but I need to see stuff and that means the desk is just covered in paper all the time.