How to Organize Your Workplace

We spend most of the day at work, whether it’s an office or a home office. It is however that we often sacrifice our own comfort and rarely think about how the space around us affects our work and wellbeing. Running out of time and stuck in a pile of work, it’s probably the chaos of paperwork on the desk that causes the biggest problems. We share tips to help you organize your workplace more efficiently and work more productively.

Let’s be honest: Paper is the main source of clutter on the desk. And although we are working with it way less than before, a lot of companies have not yet switched completely to electronic document management.

In order to understand the flow easier, you can start with placing two trays or two folders on the desk, depending on the number of documents you have to deal with daily. Use one of those to put everything ’to-do’: applications for signature, unopened letters, and alike. In the second one, you can place the papers you’ve already looked at, or those which you need to attend later, so that nothing is left unnoticed.

To make the desktop look cleaner, it is highly recommended to get all cables and extensions away; you can buy a special container, or you can try to make it yourself out of a shoebox, for example. If there isn’t enough space or there is no place to hide the cables, try to at least tie them carefully together, so that they don’t get in the way.

Extra storage is extremely useful, especially for those working from home. While in the office it wouldn’t have been a problem to leave your papers on the desk for the weekend, at home you need the space to be as tidy and uncluttered as possible. To deal with this issue, you need extra storage. Add a few shelves above your desk or organize additional storage space underneath it.

This is a useful method that will help you to more efficiently deal with various tasks within one common space. Create a zone where you can have your computer to work on, and another area for performing tasks without it, like printing , filing, etc. You might also consider having a dedicated brainstorming zone. Even if you have a small table, you can still zone-out the space. It would be enough to sit at the other side, away from the computer screen, or sit on a sofa nearby.

And one more tip for those working from home. Do your best to create a separate area for your home office and have everything well organized within this particular zone.

We believe you’re already good at that, yet getting a good tip is never too much. When setting up a home office, organizing the space properly will greatly contribute to a better workflow efficiency. The most important things should always be at hand, depending on how you use various items. For example, keep printing paper next to the printer, and stickies and notes, near the filing area.

When designing and planning your workspace, don’t forget about comfort, even to the smallest details. Choose a comfortable chair to avoid back or neck pain. Make sure there’s enough light at the work place; if the office area is somewhat dark, add a desk lamp. Consider having  some other little details, too, that can make your office experience better. Add a pillow under the wrist to prevent suffering from Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), or a foot-rest stool that eases the load on your back and neck.

Although this advice does not directly apply to better organizing the work space, it surprisingly does affect workflow a great deal, as well as our health. Research shows that while having a meal at the desk, with our mind fixed on work tasks, we don’t pay attention to what or how much we actually eat. Good nutrition, however, is a key factor for working more efficiently. So, take a break for having your meal away from the desk. Meal breaks have another positive effect, too. The mind can rest from work stress and restore its productive capabilities to deal with work issues better.

Published in: Home advice | Author: Evelina