Minimalism: How to Declutter Your Workspace Tips and Tricks
I am going to show you why and how to declutter your workspace to achieve workspace nirvana.
Decluttering your workspace will not only improve your appearance but will also have a positive effect on your mindset, decrease stress, and increase productivity.
Spending all day immersed in clutter will negatively affect your ability to concentrate. I am sure you have stumbled into a co-worker’s workspace and wondered how they get anything done in there.
Do me a favor and take a picture of your workspace, take an honest look at it, and ask yourself if anyone could say the same about your workspace.
You know deep down inside a well-organized, clean, clutter-free workspace will lead to better productivity, better health, and well-being.
Workspace clutter defeats the purpose of having a dedicated workspace in the first place.
Practice these simple tips and tricks to declutter your workspace and turn it into an enjoyable productivity oasis.
Declutter Your Desk
Not as often as you should clean your desk you should periodically do a complete edit of your desk and work area a few times a year.
Clear everything off the top of it and take everything out of the drawers. Put all of the items into piles on the floor. Don’t be surprised at how many once thought to be valuable pieces of paper, booklets, and old junk you may find and have to discard. Take this time to wipe down and clean everything.
Begin your first edit and throw out everything you do not need. Now for the hard part. Create a filing system that works with your preferred workflow.
Designate shelf space, draw, or a spot on your desk for everything you decide to keep. This will ensure they are readily available and out of the way. I have found labeling everything helps me keep everything in its place.
Keep all surfaces clear, and create a space for all incoming papers. Sort them each day as soon as they come in. At the end of the day, nothing should be left undecided and nothing should be left on your desk but maybe a phone, a photo, keyboard and mouse, and anything you are working on at the time.
To keep your desk looking its best, all of your items will need a home or space. Hopefully, once this is done you feel like you have more space and freedom of movement.
Declutter For Better Health
Let’s face it. If your desk is cluttered and messy it probably has not been cleaned in a while. In the CoronaVirus day and age, this could be a double whammy.
Germs not only from you but also from your co-workers can congregate within the mess on your desk. Periodically de-cluttering, cleaning, and wiping down your desk with disinfectant will help minimize your chances of becoming ill.
Clear all the items off your desk and wipe them down with your favorite disinfectant, including your keyboard, mouse, computer displays, and any other peripherals on your desk. You will not believe how good it will make you feel every time you do this, know you have a completely clean and disinfected environment.
Declutter Your Computer
Let’s try to make the need for a filing cabinet obsolete, instead start scanning and converting some of that paper to digital documents. Using apps like Google Drive, business card scanners, project management apps, Cloud storage, and whatever you can to help you get rid of physical documents, make them easily accessible, and create more room.
In the process of digitizing needed documents, make sure you are setting up an organization system to easily locate them as you go. Next, get rid of or consolidate files and programs you no longer need. If you are not sure about a file or program check and confirm.
Sometimes you may have a new program and the old program installed on your computer at the same time. Also, there are times when the new program does the job of two or more programs you have installed on your computer.
Get rid of all (or most) of the Icons on your desktop. They really are not as convenient as you think. They also slow down your computer and cause visual clutter.
To avoid falling back into old habits limit the amount of information you add to your computer each day. Remember things you believe may be useful someday but someday never comes.
Declutter For Better Productivity
Decluttering and getting clutter out of your work area can be essential to becoming more productive.
Unfortunately, we are always trying to get more things done in less time. I am more of a fan of getting what is necessary and things you love doing most in a reasonable time.
Conversely, if you are spending time fighting through the clutter and searching for components that are essential to completing your task it will be almost impossible to become more productive.
Showcase everything you need in the place you designated to be easily available when needed. Believe it or not, decluttering your desk decreases stress and boosts your confidence.
When you are confident you have everything you need readily available, sure nothing will be misplaced, and the ability to produce everything you need, you become more relaxed and empowered.
Conclusion
Once you put these suggestions into practice, work through trial and error, and create the perfect declutter for your workplace workflow, keep it up.
That’s right, this is just the beginning. Enjoy the benefits of your accomplishments but continue to be vigilant and looking to improve.
Clutter NEVER sleeps and has a way of creeping up on you and taking root in your workplace again, in the blink of an eye.
Take a picture of your workplace as a reminder of what it should look like. The picture posted in your workplace will help motivate you to spend 5 to 10 minutes a day decluttering your workplace.
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