De-Cluttering Tips for Your Office space

Three Rules of Work:

Out of clutter find simplicity;

From discord find harmony;

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Albert Einstein

Clutter is everywhere! Without taking the time to organize your workspace, your office can get cluttered quickly. This would not be such an issue if all that clutter would help you to be more productive. But you know, all too well, that clutter is a productivity killer. In reality, a clutter-free office space is a productive office. You would be able to find things more quickly, and get more done without feeling overwhelmed or overly-frustrated.

You know that you need to make some changes to your organizational habits if you see piles and piles of papers, files, or junk in every nook and cranny. Once the clutter takes over your workspace it is time for you to fight back with some de-cluttering organizational tips!

Creating your clutter-free office

A clutter-free office starts, like everything else we do, with the desire to get rid of the clutter. Every morning make it a top priority to put away (or toss) ten things that are not in the right place, or that don’t seem to have a home any longer. You can use this strategy anywhere. You can use it at home, in your car, or at work. And you will begin to notice a huge difference in your day-to-day functioning. If you are feeling charged up and truly motivated, try removing 20 or more pieces of clutter. Think of how many pieces of clutter you could eliminate if you spent just one half hour on the situation!

You will also need to come up with a filing system for your papers. Paper is often the worst of all the clutter culprits. If you come up with a way to deal with all of the paperwork, you will invariably find that your office will be much easier to work in. This is often as simple a task as having “in”, “out”, and “to be filed” boxes. Getting the paperwork up and off your desk will change the whole look and feel of your space.

Empty your garbage can at least once a day. You probably already do this if you have a cleaning service at work, but if not, make sure that you do it regularly. You also need to make sure that you have an adequate-sized wastebasket. If it isn’t large enough, then you will find trash all over the place. Not only will this prove distracting, but you will have an even bigger job on your hands than if you had just emptied the bin to begin with!

Computer de-cluttering

Make sure that your computer is also clutter-free. It is remarkably easy to store everything on your computer. But this does not discount the fact that it is still clutter, even though it may indeed be virtual. Remove any unused icons from your desktop, empty your recycle bin, and make sure you check for viruses and spyware to ensure that your computer is running smoothly. Having virtual clutter on your computer will slow you down and distract you just as much as having real clutter in your office.

A clutter-free office really is a more productive office. You need to make sure that you employ one or all of these strategies on a daily basis to stay ahead of the clutter monster. It will take some time and effort to get rid of your clutter and keep your space that way, but the work will be well worth the effort because you will feel better, find things faster, and get a whole lot more done in a lot less time.

Thoughts?

Photo Credit: Bharath Kishore via Compfight cc