Uncreative Mess: 15 Tips For Cleaning Your Workplace

Perhaps you spent less time at home before quarantine and did not even notice that your home space was by no means conducive to focused and productive work.

However, even if you work from an office or coworking space, over time it can also be filled with things that only interfere with work.

15 Tips to Clean Up Your Workplace at Home and Office:

1. Appreciate work surfaces.

Do you have a drawer in your desk, the contents of which can be described as “various little things”? Or maybe your entire table is a collection of knick-knacks, souvenirs, and photographs that take up a lot of space, but do not carry any value?

The work table is the most valuable work surface, so choose carefully what will sit on it. Next in priority are shelves and easily accessible drawers. For example, you shouldn’t keep a book on your desk unless you read it every day. And if you have three boxes of your favorite brand of pens, don’t store them all in the top drawer of your desk.

The same applies to your virtual workplace: keeping a bunch of files on your computer desktop so that they are at hand is not always a good idea.

2. Organize your desktop according to your tasks.

When you have to juggle different tasks at work, it’s easy to get confused by the materials associated with individual projects. To increase your productivity, try to prioritize your work over a period of time and surround yourself only with the priority task. Get the rest out of sight.

Put things in order on your computer — for example, close those browser windows that do not touch the current project. Hide your smartphone so you don’t have it close at hand.

3. Get rid of nobody and forgotten things in the office.

It happens that in the office no one can take the liberty of throwing away a thing that belongs to someone unknown. When you see something that looks like trash, ask people around and find out if someone really needs it. You will be surprised how often things turn out to be ownerless.

The same applies to the office “warehouse”. 5 pairs of removable shoes, 2 umbrellas, 7 food containers … Sometimes we bring things to work, but we forget to take them home, so they just lie there forgotten. This habit creates disorder. Look around your workplace every night to see if you need to take anything with you.

4. Throw away unnecessary papers.

Throwing away old papers is not as enjoyable as emptying out your closet or desk drawer. Nevertheless, review every document you keep: think about the chances that you will need it, remember if you have it in electronic format (or how easy it is to recover it) and who else has a paper version. You may not need as many printouts.

5. Do not store unnecessary stationery.

We easily accumulate some sort of useful stationery on your desk, but think about how often you use a three-hole punch, a ruler, calculator, paper clips, and all your notebooks? Only store the things you really need.

6. Try to maintain order in the common office space.

A common problem in the office: everyone uses the kitchen and meeting rooms, but not everyone cleans up after themselves. Dirt in public areas can lead to many fights. The best solution is to appoint a person for each zone who will be responsible for maintaining order.

7. Remove your “dungeons”.

The so-called dungeons can be at home or in the office. Get rid of everything sticky, moldy, or dusty: an old honey jar in the shared kitchen, a bottle of cosmetic product that has been used up for many months, but still lies in your table, a bag of stale nuts, or tea that no one drinks.

8. Be careful with free souvenirs.

At conferences we get not only useful knowledge and new acquaintances, but also cups, T-shirts, notebooks, pens … Sometimes these things are actually used later, but more often they turn into trash. And the solution is not to take such free things at all. Because a seemingly innocent little thing can eventually take a lot of space and energy from you.

9. Take pictures of the work area before and after cleaning.

If you find it difficult to tackle cleaning at home or at work, take some “before” photos: this will help you see the familiar space in a new way and decide which things should be left and which ones to get rid of. Take pictures of the work area after cleaning: the result of your efforts is usually very inspiring and proves that the time was well spent.

10. Stick to the “one minute rule”.

Without delay, complete tasks that will take less than a minute: read the letter and give an answer to it, put the document in a folder; throw away the pen that doesn’t write. Since these tasks take really little time to complete, this rule is not difficult at all. You will be surprised how much you can accomplish in a few weeks by completing the task according to the “one minute rule”.

11. Add beauty.

This beauty can manifest itself in many different ways: for example, in the formulations you use when planning your week. Or add a touch of luxury to your space, such as exceptional quality tools or beautiful stationery that is a pleasure to use.

12. Beware of fake work.

Tidying up is a worthy goal, but it’s best not to create tasks for yourself that are unnecessary. Finding the information we need, putting labels on a notebook that doesn’t need labels … Order and organization are valuable when they help us to work easier and more efficiently, but make sure that they do not become the ultimate goal.

13. Learn from your successes.

For example, you are good at sorting through correspondence, but poorly at clothes. Maybe you should take the same approach to clothe as you would to mail? Either you have a mess at home and order at work or vice versa. What makes it easier for you to maintain order in a certain environment when you fail in others?

Think about what specifically helps you maintain order, and draw conclusions that you can apply elsewhere.

14. Clean up your workplace at the end of the day.

Spend ten minutes tidying up your desk before you finish. So you mark the end of the day, and in the morning, when you return, you will be pleasantly surprised by the order. What to do:

• Throw away debris, such as food wrappers or dry handles, and wash dirty dishes.
• fold pens, paper clips, rubber bands, and other stationery;
• throw away unnecessary papers or put back the ones you need;
• close all drawers and doors;
• remove everything that is out of place, namely the folders that you put on the table “for a minute”;
• take home everything you need (if you work in an office).

15. Find your own way to clean up.

And finally, almost the main advice: everyone should deal with the clutter in the way that suits him. We are all different — both in our habits and in what kind of environment will be pleasant for us. And there is no single right or best way to create a comfortable space.

As soon as order reigns, take the opportunity to rejoice in it, to feel lightness, freedom, and positive changes, Enjoy it! Take time to stop and feel happy.