National Clean off your Desk Day

Yes, you read the title correctly. Monday is National Clean off your Desk Day. Every year on the second Monday in January gives you the opportunity to clean up, downsize, and organize your workspace. So get ready to roll up your sleeves to purge, sort, and organize your workspace.

 

Preparation is a great motivator

Preparation is a great motivator to physically and mentally create a positive, upbeat attitude ready to entrench yourself into cleaning up your desk. Then suddenly full stop as doubt seeps in. Questions arise. Where do I start? What do I do? How can I possibly keep my workspace to stay in a reasonable, orderly fashion? Sadly confusion and frustration builds. Ultimately, you throw your hands up in disgust, leaving your desk as you found it, in disarray.

For many, organizing their desk is a daunting undertaking; still, a clean, organized desk increases exponentially your decision making abilities. The hazards of disorganization brings with it potential business opportunities continuously overlooked, appointments missed, and important information lost. Eventually the small business owner becomes overwhelmed where to start or maintain their workspace.

According to statistic polls from Cooper & Lybrand and USA Weekend:

• The average desk worker has 36 hours’ worth of work on their desk and wastes up to 3 hours a week just ‘looking’ for STUFF!
• 7.5% of all documents get lost and 3% get misfiled.
• Professionals spend 5 to 15% of their time reading information, but up to 50% looking for it!

 

Your business headquarters

Your desk is your business headquarters - a revenue generator not to be abused as a dump site. Cleaning up your desk does not need to feel so unattainable. A couple of changes in your daily routine behaviour will make the transition from chaotic workspace to the capability of precision focus. Here are a few suggestions to combat clutter and take back ownership of your desk.

 

12 tips to a productive desk

1. Allow only items that are business related and used regularly.
2.  Allow only documents and folders on your desktop you are presently working on.
3. Take action for every incoming item to deal with it, file it, recycle it or trash it.
4. Purge, sort, and discard unnecessary items, anything you will not keep or refer to again; duplicates, drafts, outdated information, flyers, magazines.
5. Place file cabinets in close proximity to your desk to encourage filing.
6. Place recycle bin, shredder, and garbage container within reach of desk.
7. Remove unused materials; designate storage units on shelves or a closet.
8. Discard antiquated, broken and unused office equipment; take to a recycling depot.
9. Allow only containers for pens, documents, etc. that will be used regularly.
10. Label containers and folders of items they contain.
11. Designate a spot on your desk for current projects and tasks.
12. At day's end, clear your desk to prepare space for the next day.

Resolve to clean up your desk today. By developing new routines to work smarter, not harder, will help to reduce or completely remove the clutter on your desk. A good practice is to schedule regular routine clean up maintenance to slash clutter, maximize space, and increase your concentration. The results for each day will become more productive, efficient, effective and profitable. With every task, project, deadline, phone call, email, appointment, etc. a clean desk brings a significant clarity of purpose.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.