Declutter Your Way to Productivity
The other day I talked a bit about identifying the distractions in your life holding you back from being truly productive. One scenario many people might fail to recognize is the environment in which they are attempting to work.
Sit back and take a good long look around you. Is it clean and tidy, with all of your resources and notes easily accessible to you? Or is your workspace cluttered and chaotic? In either situation, how does your environment make you feel?
It is easy to allow clutter to accumulate, especially if you are extremely busy. Taking the time to clean your desk or put away your supplies may seem like a monumental subtraction of time from your actual work. However, spending fifteen or twenty minutes a week organizing your space will result in an exponential increase in productivity.
So what are the first steps you should take to organize your environment?
If there are boxes of papers stacked you have not looked at in years, it’s time to go through them and eliminate what is unnecessary. If you do not have time for this archival process, secure a small climate controlled storage unit and store the materials offsite for later consideration.
Designate areas of your office or workspace for particular phases of your current project. Create “zones” which will contain individual tasks such as a research corner, preparation table, computer workstation, etc.
Keep only what is necessary for your project on your desk and relocate any extraneous items to either a shelf, bookcase or other room so that they are out of the distraction line.
If you’ve been putting off filing that mountain of papers, today is the day to begin! Purchase a filing cabinet for your office and spend ten to fifteen minutes at the end or beginning of each week tending to your “administrative duties.”
Do you have any other tips for creating a more organized workspace? Leave your feedback in the comments below for our readers.
Image attribution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nkeppol/