Want to improve your productivity by better organizing your workplace? We have a few strategies that can help you!
If you’ve ever spent thirty minutes looking for that one paper that would have taken you 30 seconds to file, the chances are that you understand the value of an organized workspace. There’s no more secret that the place you work in has a huge impact on how productive and efficient you are.
Here’s the deal: working in a disorganized workplace can lead to various work-related issues that could actually be easily avoided, including additional stress, distractions, and even an increased risk of illness. Even simple physical systems that help you reduce clutter and find what you need when you need it can go a long way toward creating order, reducing stress, and making you more productive.
That being said, here are some simple yet essential strategies that can help you keep your workplace more organized and improve your productivity!
Take a Few Moments to Organize Your Desks
After an 8-hour long shift, you’re probably in a rush to leave to get home (unless you already work from home) and relax out of that workplace environment. However, it would be best if you could take an extra ten or fifteen minutes at the end of your workday to organize your space.
Ideally, at the end of each day of work, you should make sure that 80% of the space of your desk is visible, meaning cleared of clutter. By doing so every day before leaving home, you set yourself up for a more productive day the following morning.
Picture this: what are the chances that you’ll have a productive and efficient day when you get to the office only to realize that your desk is completely covered with various papers, packaging, pens, and other desk-related things? Very likely, your mood will be influenced negatively by having to start your day by cleaning everything before you start focusing on your tasks for that day. In contrast, if you come to the office and find a clean, organized desk, you can quickly start focusing on what you have to do.
Plan Your Desk Strategically
One crucial mistake many people make is overcrowding their desks with many things they don’t really need or use. This leads to the creation of clutter, frustration for not finding what you actually need, and not having enough space to do your job.
We get it. Having a plant on your desk can boost your morale and reduce stress. So does having a family with a loved one or your pet. But, other small clutter can actually make things worse and lead to certain problems. For example, you may get distracted by all the things you have on your desk. Or, you may simply not have enough space to place your laptop or the documents you need on your desk.
So, it’s best not to let yourself get so caught up in the latest office design trends you see on Pinterest and actually plan your desk in a way that is functional and works for you. For example, you should make sure that you place things in a way that limits the need to reach up for items you use on a daily basis.
Try to keep the items you use every day to do your job on your desk or store them in drawers or cabinets close to you that you can reach even when you’re sitting. For example, pens, post its, and other office supplies should be stored in a place you can reach without having to get up and down constantly.
Take a Course on Organizing Your Workplace
If you’re looking to learn something new that is truly useful both in your professional and personal life, you should invest in a 5s lean training course. The 5S management system basically includes five crucial steps for keeping an office organized: sort, set in order, shine, standardize, and sustain.
Simply put, such a course can teach you how to go through everything in a space, decide what is or isn’t necessary, put things in order, clean, and set up certain strategies to perform these tasks regularly. If you learn how to master your work environment and how to make organizing your desk a regular practice, your productivity will shoot through the roof.
A course on organizing your workspace can also prove very useful for other areas of your life. For example, you can use the same procedures in your home to make sure that you have a well-organized living environment that produces less waste.
Keep Your Files Digital
Much of the clutter that ends up agglomerating workplaces is made of paper. Various documents, reports, wrong prints, and so on can quickly pile up on your desk and make it pretty messy.
Think about it: How can one work productively and efficiently when they can barely see the color of their desk underneath a massive pile of papers? It’s doubtful that you can do so. Every time you want to do something on your desk or find something you need, you’ll have to move piles of papers from one place to another or go through all those documents to find the one you need. Sounds time-consuming and frustrating, right?
Well, one way to avoid dealing with huge piles of documents on your desk is to simply keep your files in a digital format. It will be so much easier and faster to find what you’re looking for and your desk won’t be overcrowded with papers. Besides leading to a better-organized workplace, keeping your files digital has some other benefits as well. One crucial advantage is that your essential documents will be safer. No minor accident can destroy important papers, and their chances of being stolen are considerably reduced. Plus, you’ll also become an eco-friendlier office by reducing paper waste.
short url:
