Organizing Your Work Space: How You Can Have a More Organized Desk at Work

In order to get things done more productively at work, keeping an organized desk can be key. It may seem like a daunting task, but it is possible. Not only could you waste less time pushing papers and searching through them trying to find what is needed but being around clutter can be stressful. There are simple ways that you can clean your desk at work and keep it organized.

Take a picture of what the mess looks like.

This may sound silly, but it can be a reminder of what the desk looked like before and help to not let it happen again. Put it up right in front of the desk where it can be seen on a daily basis.

Clean out absolutely everything.

Put everything on one giant pile and go through it piece by piece. If you want to keep it, put it on one side and if it's not wanted throw it right into the garbage can. In order to keep it organized, the clutter has to get eliminated first.

Sort through all of the paperwork and put it in order.

Label folders or boxes that is needed for the corresponding paperwork. Have a place for everything and avoid making a miscellaneous folder. It will only encourage you to put papers in there instead of sticking to an organized system. If you have subcategories for one subject, consider buying an expandable file folder with sections included. The folder can be labeled a general subject and split it up inside into individual categories as needed.

Stick to your organized system.

Take advantage of the hard work that you did and stick to the organized system that was set up. It only takes a few extra seconds to put the paper away where it belongs. Make sure to keep a few extra folders, labels and boxes in case you need them in the future. Should you run out of boxes and folders and have more paperwork coming in, a new mess could quickly start to form.

Put trays for incoming and outgoing mail on top of your desk.

The mail can be one of the main things that can cause clutter because it's tossed on the desk and sometimes just pushed aside. If there is a separate section for it, it can be sorted and out of the way. Consider using a three tiered tray. The top can be for outgoing, the bottom can be for new incoming mail and the middle can be for mail yet to be reviewed.

Get rid of extra writing utensils that are taking up space on the desk.

Pens run out, markers dry up and pencils get to a stub and still they're left on the desk. Throw them out and get into the habit of tossing them out in the trash instead of leaving them elsewhere on the desk and mixing them with good ones. In addition, keep three separate small holders; one for pens, one for pencils and one for markers.

Pick up a flat desk organizer for your small items.

Small items such as paperclips, erasers and loose change can build up and be a contributor to a disorganized space. Make one drawer for items such as these and sort them into individual spaces in the flat desk organizer.

Don't let any paperwork to build up on the desk. Go through it right away and put it where it belongs to ensure that it doesn't build up and become overwhelming.