How often do you sit at your workspace and find it difficult to get started because your desk is such a mess?

How often do you get in a panic because you can’t lay your hands on a vital piece of paper?

How often do you get distracted by another task that you notice on your desk?

How often do you say to yourself that you don’t have time to tidy your workspace because you really should be getting on with some work?

Just imagine arriving at your workspace in the morning and it’s tidy, with all your essentials to hand and everything else in its proper home. How would you feel about starting your day? How much more productive do you think you’d be?

Let’s get it sorted together.  As usual you need to arm yourself – this time with a bin, a recycling box and the promise of a coffee when you’re done!

Start at the left side of your workspace.  You’re going to deal with one thing at a time and you’re going to use similar criteria to those we used on day 4 when you sorted out your everyday carry. Pick up one item or piece of paperwork and consider it using the following question: Does it need to be on my desk?  If it does, make a pile near to the desk.  If it doesn’t, consider if it needs to be kept or could it be disposed of like we did on day 3?  Keep working across the desk until you reach the other side.

Now look at the pile of items that you decided needed to be accessible on your workspace.  Do any of them serve the same purpose?  Are any of them used infrequently?  Only put back on your desk what you really need to be there.

Now go and make a coffee to reward yourself.  When you return to your workspace with your coffee, notice how differently you feel about returning to your desk.

For those of you who’ve been inspired to conquer their workspace, either today or in the past, how did it go? How do you feel now that you’ve done it? Add your comments below.

Come back tomorrow for your next nudge into productivity.

Photo credit: Freepik