You’re on a call with your team about that big project with the looming deadline. You’ve got notes with information that may influence the team’s next step. The problem is, you can’t find those notes. You had been having a conversation with a peer a day or so ago and you hastily jotted down what she had to share on a Post-it note that you carefully put where you wouldn’t lose it. And then the rest of your week happened. Papers piled up on top of papers. Folders got left on your desk. More Post-its filled up. You’ve got digital notes on your phone. Your email is full of helpful missives. Even if you weren’t trying to locate one bit of information in that pile of details you’d feel overwhelmed right now.
As we noted recently, organization is a gift you can give yourself. Disorganization amplifies stress. It may not even be the massive mix of papers and chaos described above. You may have ditched the ad hoc sticky note system years ago. That doesn’t mean your workspace (and habits) couldn’t use a little attention. As one calendar year winds down and eases into the next, make some space to gift yourself some organization.
There’s no need for a budget for new décor, but there may be a need to reconfigure your space. Here’s what you need: all the things you touch and use on a regular basis should be within arm’s reach of where you normally sit. That means, your laptop, a phone, files, and hard-copy documents of your priority projects, your coffee (of course), a notebook or other note-taking system, and whatever pens and other office supplies you need in a pinch.
If you can’t reach them without hunting hard, it’s time to rearrange your space. Those things you need the most – including whatever writing utensils you prefer to use – should be kept on the side of your dominant hand. If you’re left-handed, keep those items to the left and vice versa if you’re right-handed.
Your immediate workspace should have a broad swath of nothing. There should be a clean, open desktop between you and your keyboard, along with a radius of open desktop to either side. For one thing, feeling boxed in by clutter contributes to the overwhelm and stress. Clearing your workspace can remove some of the tension you’re feeling over your to-do list and deadlines. More importantly, you’re creating room to lay out documents on a flat surface. You’re creating space to sit and work comfortably. You’re creating room to work without distraction.
If your tendency is to hold on to things beyond when they are needed OR if you’ve ever looked at a bit of discarded paper and thought “I’ll toss that when I get up,” you’ll understand the value of this tip. Keep the trash can within arm’s reach. Yes, if you haven’t been keeping up with organization, the first thing you should do when you finish reading this is go through the piles of stuff you’ve accumulated and toss what’s no longer needed, file what should be kept but not used at this moment, and organize within arm’s reach the stuff you still need for current projects.
Once that’s done, however, keep up with the piles by tossing what is no longer needed as soon as you identify that it’s tossable. The easiest way to do that is to keep the trash can near enough to chuck that stuff in immediately. “I’ll get to it later” is the fastest way to accumulate clutter. “I’ll do it right now” is the best way to keep organized.
Your workspace should absolutely reflect you. Favorite photos, a couple of stress balls and fidgets, the painting your preschooler made you, and whatever else makes your space yours belong there. However, we don’t want to overwhelm the space with “stuff.”
Pick a few things that help you focus and smile to keep within close proximity. Hang your child’s artwork on the wall where you can admire it. Toss the stuff you picked up at a conference and haven’t touched since you returned 8 months ago. Drop the plant that you’re miraculously keeping alive on the file cabinet across from you. Give yourself room to function without being crowded.
Getting organized isn’t just about your desk. It’s also about organizing your time. This may be the tricky part because there’s not one right system that will work for everyone. Sure, you can find a host of articles outlining the best way to organize your to-do list or the best software tools and apps to help you track the demands on your time. You’ll find advice about giant whiteboards on your walls to group organizational calendars. And they are all great bits of advice if it’s a system that ultimately works for you. That’s the trick.
You need to experiment a little to find the organizational system that best suits the way you work. It may be a simple pad of paper with a to-do list kept on the side of your desk. It may be a list on your phone that you can also access on your laptop or your tablet. It may be that huge whiteboard on the wall or an online organization system like Asana or Trello. Play around with your options and select the one that keeps you on track.
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