Select-an-Effort: Desk/ Workstation
One of the most long-lasting impacts of the COVID pandemic has been the increase in people working from home. Whether you are working remotely full time, part time, or are running a business from home, you probably have a desk somewhere in your home. Even if you don’t work, you may still have a desk for the “business” of running a household. Today on “Select-an-Effort: Organizing Tasks for 2023” we are going to be working on decluttering and organizing your desk/workstation.
There are a lot of factors that come into play when working from home, but the surface on which we tend to work is the most important. This may be a desk, counter, or table. Without attention, these spaces quickly become cluttered. Would you like to improve your desk today?
Here are three options from which to choose:
Low Effort
At a minimum, look at everything that is out on the surface of your desk and do two quick things:
- Remove and throw away/recycle/shred any trash
- Remove and return items on your desk that belong elsewhere, such as empty mugs, tools, clothing, toys, etc.
Medium Effort
To improve your desk even further, take a look at your “pen” cup (or whatever container you have on your desk holding pens, pencils, Sharpies
, etc.).
Test everything in the cup and throw out any that are no longer working well. Try to reduce the quantity of items until it holds a comfortable amount. If small things like paper clips or rubber bands have fallen to the bottom of the cup, pull those out and move them either to a desk drawer or a container designed to accommodate tiny objects. There are a wide variety of options for desktop organizers, so find one you like. If desk space is limited, you might like something like this one that sits underneath your monitor. This rotating organizer provides a lot of easily accessible storage while taking up minimal desk space.
I suggest keeping only one or two of each type of tool on your desktop. If you have extras, move these to a “supplies” location, such as a nearby cabinet or closet.
High Effort
If you really want to overhaul your desk, you’ll want to empty everything out and start fresh. For details on how to do this, check out this post. Bear in mind that it is impossible to organize small objects in a desk drawer without inserts, so measure the height of your drawers (if you have them) and get something like these.
Always remember that having a clear work surface enhances productivity.
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Do you have a desk in your home? Could it use a little improvement?
