National Clean Off Your Desk Day

It is the second Monday of the year, and what you may or may not know is that it is also National Clean of Your Desk day. This “holiday” is scheduled for the 2nd Monday of each year and is geared towards helping you start the year with a cleared and neat desk.

Before you look around and scoff; declaring that this “holiday’ was made up by a bunch of neat freaks, (Don’t worry… I can hear you declaring that you know where everything is!) it would be good to note that a clear desk is more about productivity and less about being tidy.

Our offices are a never-ending barrage of distractions; email and text notifications, calendar alarms, and to do list; and our cluttered desk adds to this distraction and can mentally exhaust you, preventing you from executing high productivity and good time management.

---

So, how can you set yourself up for success?

• Only keep the items you need to work on your desk, such as your computer/laptop, pen, paper, and current project documents

• Tame the paper beast! Try employing the old adage of “touch it once” when it comes to paper: File it immediately – even if you need a file labeled “handle it later,” set it up… otherwise you run the risk of it becoming desk clutter. Handle it immediately; or Trash/Shred it Immediately

• Find places off your desk (or if you have a cubicle, a place not in your immediate eyesight) to put things that you are working on later, or need to delivery to another part of the building; i.e. mail that needs to go out, a file you need to review later in the day. etc

• Think up – you can have things close at hand and easy to access by hanging them on a wall and/or placing them on a shelf over your desk. This way they are not distracting you, but are still convenient to use.

These are some of my tips…how do you help make sure you desk is cleared off?

Share them in the comments below!

Michele

Looking for more expert tips. Check out this Blog from NBC News: Know Your Value: Why a cluttered desk kills your productivity and how to fix it (they show you some examples ... what would your desk's grade be?)