Get Organized Month 2009 - Rethink Your Desk

Ok, it's -12 degrees! That's real temperature - not wind chill - at 7 am this morning! The high today is going to be 7, but I've been watching the temperature decrease since I've been up. Coffee is in order.

We missed Clean Off Your Desk Day, which was on Monday. Oh, well .... we can just pretend it's today. I haven't had time to tackle this job until today, and I didn't want to be hypocritical. :)

With a new year beginning, it's a great time to rethink how your desk is functioning. When stacks start accumulating on my desk, it's a clear indication that I need to rethink things. Some good questions to ask:

Have my responsibilities changed in the last year?
Are there items that have no home?
Have some areas increased in importance and others decreased?
Is my desk area functional and efficient? If not, why?

As I may have shared before, I HATE to file. Consequently, for my few most active areas, I have used open boxes on shelves. I can just drop papers into the boxes and be done! However, I find that I'm not doing this because I have to stand up and open the cupboard door each time I must file something.

As stupid as this sounds, if you can't do it while sitting at your desk chair, you're more likely to put it off or put it in a stack. Sad, but true.

So, as I have evaluated my desk, I'm going to break down and use some hanging files instead of boxes. I also need the storage space. A box takes up a lot more room than a hanging file.

I've looked at what accumulates on my desk and figured out what I can do to keep that from happening. And I'm going through my file drawers under my desk to remove files that are no longer active. They will go into a file cabinet in another room. I'm also creating new files for new areas, as necessary.

My goal is to take a few minutes at the end of the day and take care of anything that needs attention - filing, items that require action, shredding, etc. Since everything will have a home, my desk shouldn't be the repository of homeless items.

How do you like to keep your desk functional, efficient and neat? (If you receive this blog by email and want to comment, this link will take you back to my blog.)

More on similar subjects: A very simple filing system for email and paper, Can Clutter Cause You to Lose Your Job?


If you need more help organizing your office, treat yourself to Three Steps to Organizing Your Office.


P.S. We've made it up to -10 degrees at 8 am!