How to Organize Your Desk

Desks have the unfortunate tendency to gradually clutter up over time. To keep track of things, only one thing helps: radical tidying up. We'll show you how to bring order to chaos in less than two hours with a methodical approach.

In every office, you'll find all kinds of desk types. There are the "empty table" folks and the "full table" folks, or those who see their workspace, beautifully decorated, as an extension of their own home. If you're not one of the "empty table" folks, you need a system to keep track of things. Workspaces—whether in the workshop, kitchen, or office—tend to become wild over time. Paper stacks, folders, sticky notes, writing tools, and books quickly pile up. As soon as you start forgetting tasks and other things because of this, you have a problem that occupies more space than just a cluttered desk.

Show me your desk, and I'll tell you how you work

You might belong to the geniuses who really get going in chaos. But perhaps you'd like to be one. To assess the situation, you can ask yourself a few questions:

• Do you feel comfortable at your workspace?
• Can you find what you need within two minutes?
• Is your organizational system reliable, and do you forget nothing?

If your answer is no, there may be room for improvement. Contrary to fear, however, keeping your workspace tidy is not that difficult. Order can be created in less than two hours. A systematic approach helps.

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Suddenly, this overview

It's best to start with a clean slate. Japanese tidying expert and bestselling author Marie Kondo developed her KonMari method of decluttering primarily for the private sphere. However, one of her central commandments undoubtedly applies to the office: "Devote yourself to cleaning up—fully." You've decided to create order, so follow through. Perhaps you can choose a fixed time for it—not just quickly between two meetings. Friday before the end of the workday is a better choice. That way, you not only start the weekend with the feeling that you've done something really meaningful. You also have the "wow" effect on Monday: Suddenly, this overview!

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Cleaning up the desk

A clean slate means: Everything off the surface, out of the trays and drawers. But please don't create a messy pile. The efficient four-field method is so effective because the fields automatically lead to the next steps:

Sort out: This requires no further explanation. What is not regularly used goes in the trash!

Redirect: What do you need/can you delegate, return, or take home?

Do: The field is actually not one. According to David Allen, the inventor of the self-management method "Getting Things Done," the 2-minute rule should be considered for everything that needs to be done: "If a task takes less than 2 minutes, it should be done immediately." Did you jot down a specific email address from your inbox during the meeting? Why not do it right away?

Return: This should be the smallest stack. Important things that need to go back to the desk later are placed here. Be aware of why these things need to go back, as this may already suggest the next step—e.g., because they actually belong on Field 2 or 3?

Throw away and sort

Now throw away and delegate. You can then sort the few remaining things back. To prevent a paper clutter in the future, digital organizational tools like Wunderlist, OmniFocus, or Evernote are invaluable. If you don't want to do without the handwritten word, a desk book is very useful. In it, you can note tasks and check them off. Important to-dos on post-its framing the monitor and regularly sailing down—better not.

A desk organization integrated into the weekly routine from now on saves you a lot of time and nerves—and you can concentrate and be productive on the right things. Keyword: Desk cleanup Page Title: Setting.io - Properly Clean Up the Desk in the Office Masters at work

Masters at work