Order in the office is a factor that improves employees’ concentration. It helps us avoid distraction and saves time, not sinking in piles of papers. Chaos is definitely not helpful during work, so it’s worth sticking to a few principles that will help us maintain order. How to take care of cleanliness in the workplace and how to maintain order on your desk? Check out our proven methods!
Why is order on your desk so important?
No one needs to be convinced that working in chaos and disorder does not contribute to good results. Order definitely improves work comfort. Organizing objects streamlines work and avoids unnecessary frustration, such as searching for a working pen. Remember, your desk is also your business card. A dirty workstation doesn’t reflect well on the employee. Therefore, it is worth implementing a few rules in your work routine that will streamline and systematize the issue of order in the office.
The rule of a clean desk – or order on the desk in the service of information security
The clean desk policy is not directly related to the cleanliness of the workplace. It involves protecting personal data that may be on computer screens or documents left on the desk. Therefore, we should not leave documents when we are not at our workstation. Moreover, even when we are at the desk, there may be outsiders in the office who should not see this data. Proper segregation of documents and order on the desk will undoubtedly help us comply with this policy. Thanks to it, documents will always go to the right place and not get tangled up in the wrong places. As you can see, a clean desk is not just about cleaning up dirty coffee cups.
How to keep your desk organized? – effective ways
Keep the current minimum
One of the basic principles of maintaining order on your desk is to leave only those items that you use at the moment. This will allow you to focus your attention solely on the specific task at hand. This principle also proves helpful in preventing documents from getting mixed up. Get rid of all the things you don’t use regularly. Do you have 20 pens in your pen holder, half of which don’t work, while you use only one favorite pen every day? Or perhaps there is a dusty hole punch on your desk that you’ve never used? Stick to the minimum, and maintaining harmony on your desk will become easier. Digitizing documents is also helpful in a minimalist approach – creating computer files is an excellent idea for saving space on your desk.
Clean up after yourself regularly
Piles of paper, scattered pens, dirty cups, and empty snack wrappers are a perfect recipe for chaos. Cleaning up your desk space regularly will prevent you from having to spend a lot of time decluttering your work surface. Another important rule is to clean your desk every day after finishing work. It shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes, and leaving a dirty tea cup overnight is not the best idea. Remember that you’re not alone in the office. Keeping your desk organized shows respect for everyone who uses it.
Plan a thorough cleaning
Once in a while, it’s worth conducting a thorough cleaning – wiping the desk or getting rid of dust from office supplies. It’s also helpful to organize items in your drawer. For such a thorough cleaning, we recommend using the Three Group method, during which we divide all items into groups:
- Essential items
- Essential items not on the desk
- Items to throw away
During such cleaning, we often find things that are unnecessary and can simply be thrown away. Getting rid of them will certainly give us more space.
Use accessories that facilitate segregation
Nothing makes maintaining order easier than good segregation. Different types of folders will come in handy for this task. It’s worth stocking up on boxes for storing personal items, cable organizers, or document folders. Think about what accessories could streamline your work. For example, instead of several scattered sticky notes, a corkboard could be a better solution. Perhaps you have many customer business cards? Get an appropriate container for them. Although tidying up is easier than maintaining it, find ways that will make this process easier for you.
