An organized desk equals more focus and productivity. Unfortunately, keeping your desk tidy at work is challenging. You may not have time to tidy up when you’re handling lots of different materials. Or maybe you are zeroed in on specific tasks. Or perhaps there just isn’t time to take to clean.
Office cleaning services like The Cleaning Concern can help to keep your workspace clean. However, you can also do your part to keep the surroundings tidy, starting with the office desk. Many people reduce their clutter and do a cleanup now and again, but that doesn’t last. Keep your desk tidy, and it takes ongoing effort. Follow this guide on how to keep your desk tidy at work:
1. Remove desk items
A great way to tidy is to subtract. Take away any items that are not supposed to be there. If something isn’t providing you with some function relating to work or your mindset at work, remove it.
2. Use cable wraps
If more than two cables are hanging down your desk, either on the side, behind, or elsewhere, invest in Velcro cable wraps. These will help bundle your cables together in a neat, straight line and cluster your wires to leave you with a much cleaner look.
3. Tidy under your desk
While we’re on the topic of tidying your desk, look underneath. You may see things that don’t need to be there. Tidy that up. You may want to add a few items here, such as an ergonomic footrest. That’s permissible if you don’t want our candy wrappers, garbage, or similar distractions.
4. Return office supplies
Your desk is not a gathering place for pens, scissors, and the like. Put these supplies back where they belong. Put any office supplies on your desk in an organizer or a drawer close by but not visible.
5. Mount your monitor
Mount as much as you can. Using a desktop computer with a monitor, use an under-desk mount for the operating system and a monitor mount for your screen. Your computer shouldn’t be taking up that much real estate on your desk.
6. Organize your screen
What you see on the screen in front of you matters. Just like you’re tidying your desk, tidy the screen as well. Clear away clutter. Put things into folders. In keeping your desk tidy, you want to have everything on or near your desk adopt the same organized tone.
7. Clean up desk after eating
If you have to eat at your desk, clean up afterward. Wipe away any crumbs. If needed, spray down the area. If there are spills, of course, handle them immediately. You may not realize it, but crumbs, stains, and food residue will accumulate even if your desk looks clean after eating.
8. Make your desk a paper-free zone
Paper clutters work desks. It always has. Instead of letting paperwork pile up, digitize it and go paperless. If you need to hang onto a specific document, put it somewhere away from your workstation. If the paper is not that important, you can still scan it and make a digital copy but shred it afterward.
9. Label and separate materials
Designate areas for specific things. For example, a box for office supplies, a cell phone holder, and a stack of organizers for different kinds of paperwork. Use boxes, stacked containers, holders, organizers, and labels to assign a place for every regularly-used work item that would normally come across your desk.
10. Buy a drawer or cabinet
You still may not have enough space to put everything you want on your desk. To make it feel more open, consider buying a small stack of drawers or a small cabinet that you can put under your desk or to its side. This way, you get a lot more storage space that you can fill in an organized way with items or materials you need close by.
11. Have a microfiber cloth ready
A big part of a tidy desk is removing distractions. A microfiber cloth in your desk drawer can be withdrawn when you want to remove smudges from your table, monitor, webcam, phone, or similar materials. You can also use this cloth to clean your keyboard and other devices. It’s a very handy tidy tool.
12. Fill an empty desk
Some people leave their work desks a little cluttered because when it’s not, it looks empty. If downgrading to a smaller desk isn’t an option, put on your desk items that will positively impact your productivity. Art. Sculptures. Plants. These sorts of things, if they speak to you, can boost mood and focus and help you work better.
13. Buy a daily organizer
A daily organizer set next to you while you work can be used to write out meetings, email reminders, phone appointments, and other important date-based information. The sight of a daily organizer keeps people more focused on organization, translating to a tidy desk at work.
