A clear desk leads to a clear mind, which leads to high productivity and laser focus. When you look at your workplace, what do you see? Is it clear and organized, prompting you to begin your most important tasks? Or is it cramped and cluttered, overflowing with printed reports, unopened mail, an array of sticky notes, and other distractions? The answer might be a strong indicator for how much you get done.
Many people have come to think of a disorganized area as the sign of a busy person who is getting lots of things done. The truth, however, is that a messy desk invites your mind to wander. No matter what you are doing, your attention is subconsciously pulled this way and that, wondering “what should I do with that thing . . .” and “when will I get to those?” Clean desks, on the other hand, lead to productivity and concentration by encouraging you to finish whatever you’re working on at the moment.
Here’s how to keep your desk distraction-free:
- Touch everything once. Dealing with the same file or piece of mail repeatedly is a waste of time. When something arrives on your desk, decide whether to file it, act on it, or throw it away the first time.
- Clean up your office. Naturally, it’s easier to keep your desk clean if you’re office isn’t overflowing with unaddressed paperwork or other distractions. Devote a few minutes each day to keeping your space orderly.
- Keep a tickler file. A tickler file is where you put paper you need to take action on in the future. To set up this system, follow these steps:
- Clear out one of your file desk drawers.
- Put in one hanging file folder labeled for each month of the year. Then label manila folders 1-31 to represent the possible days in a month. Put these 31 manila folders inside the current month’s hanging folder.
- Now, file everything on your desk into the day or month you want to deal with it. Each day, move that day’s empty folder to the next month’s hanging file. When you get to the end of a month, move that hanging folder to the back of the file, where it now functions as the following year.
For example, if it were March 15, you would have March’s hanging folder in the front of your file with manila folder days 15-31 in order inside of it. Days 1-14 would be inside April’s hanging folder directly behind March. When you get to the office, you pull out the manila folder numbered 15 and find exactly what you have to do that day, then place that folder in order behind folder number 14 in April.
Build your tickler system in a way that works best for your particular needs. Some people find it simpler to have a manila folder for each week instead of each day. Some might find it necessary to have two months’ of numbered manila day folders. Some fill in next month’s day folders as they go. Some would rather collect everything for the next month and a few days before the new month starts, they file the month into the daily folders they desire. Perhaps you’d like to take this idea, but make it digital instead. The point is that you adapt these ideas until you find what works for you.
The great time-saver is this: If you discover a task that doesn’t need to be addressed until a later date, then put it in the day or month you want to take action on it. You don’t have to think about it or try to remember to do it—it will pop up exactly when you want it to. Another benefit is the ability to look at the next few days and re-file or deal with urgent matters should you need to clear your schedule for a few days.
To keep your desk perfectly clear, you may need to add a few additional hanging files. I have extra files behind my tickler months for receipts, things to read, and things to file. “Things to file” holds papers I file in other filing systems at the end of each month. “Things to read” allows me a place to throw magazines and items I can pull out when I know I’ll be sitting in the airport with extra time. If keeping digital files of reference reading material is more up your alley, check out the application called Instapaper.
A messy desk or office isn’t the sign of a busy professional; it’s the sign of a disorganized one. Make it clear to yourself and others that you want to concentrate and work hard by keeping your space organized for that purpose.
Excerpt from “THE DAILY EDGE: Simple Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Make an Impact Every Day” by David Horsager (Berret-Koehler, 2015). For more information, visit http://www.DavidHorsager.com.
David Horsager, MA, CSP, is a business strategist, entrepreneur, and author of national bestseller “The Trust Edge” and his new book, “THE DAILY EDGE: Simple Strategies to Increase Efficiency and Make an Impact Every Day.” For more information, visit www.DavidHorsager.com.
