Manage Your Workspace: A Quick Guide To Creating An Organized Work Area

Truthfully, today’s corporate life is chaotic. People rush to reach the office promptly, whereas the extensive daily task lists keep them occupied the entire day. No one has time to rearrange or move around the files in all this hustle-bustle. Most employees continue working in a mess, thinking they don’t have time for office organization. 

In reality, disorganized workspaces cost employees their productivity. They have to spend hours looking for documents, supplies, emails, and whatnot. After all, finding things in the clutter isn’t anything less than a challenge. In turn, this leads to a loss of productivity. A tidy office space clears the way for higher productivity and more efficiency. 

However, creating an organized work area doesn’t have to take days or cost you an arm. All you need is some savvy organization tips and a little time. It becomes much easier if you treat it like an ongoing project. If you are ready to jump on this bandwagon, let us help you manage your workspace. Here is a quick guide to creating an organized work area. 

1. Sort and Purge 

Do you have piles of papers lying around your desk or shelves? If so, begin the organization spree by addressing this clutter. You have to take everything off your desk and give it a fresh start. First, start sorting all the mounds of papers into piles, file all the documents, keep the current projects separate, and shred the unnecessary documents. Likewise, put all the office supplies – pens, paper clips, notepads, together and see what you need the most. 

If you don’t have enough space to fit everything on the desk, put aside the essentials. For the rest of the stuff, find a handy self-storage unit nearby. For instance, if you reside in Indiana, look for Camby self storage units to safely store all your office belongings. Most storage facilities also have temperature-controlled units, ensuring the documents and paper quality remains intact. 

2. Organize the Desk Drawers

Desk drawers are nothing less than a trash can. Everything we don’t need on the table goes inside the drawer. When it comes to organizing these drawers, start by taking out everything so that you know what’s inside. After that, get rid of anything you don’t need. Once you have your essentials in hand, organize the drawers by function. Perhaps, you can create separate sections for paper files, stationery, notebooks, chargers, etc. 

Moreover, prioritize the top drawer since it is for the items you mostly use. Hence, think before you put anything and arrange everything in order. Having all the essentials here will ensure you don’t waste time finding things. 

3. Revamp the Filing System 

As we move into a digital space, the need for paperwork has significantly reduced. So, how about you revamp the current filing system? In addition to duplicating a few documents, you can create separate folders without worrying about storage space. Here we are listing a few file storing ideas for you. 

• Create a WOR Folder: Waiting for response (WOR) folder can hold all the pending documents. It will keep the messy papers and files that are awaiting a response. As soon as someone responds, you can move the file to another folder. 
• Magazine Boxes: People working in the fashion industry have to go through piles of magazines. If you don’t want them on your desk, create separate boxes and store them properly. 
• Meeting Folder: All pending discussions should go into the meeting folder. You can add reports or documents into this folder. It will help you prepare for the meetings beforehand. 
• Archive Files: Once a project is complete, put all the materials together and file them away. You can access them afterward whenever needed without any grunt work. 

4. Organize Your Desktop 

Often, people don’t have enough space to move around the mouse because their desk is all cluttered. In today’s digital space, you don’t have to keep an overflowing cup of pens or pencils on the desk. Instead, only a notepad, pen, and stapler should be at arm’s reach. All the items you use occasionally shouldn’t be on your desk. 

Most importantly, sort through the mail. Whenever you receive an email, go through it to limit clutter and distraction on the desk. However, if you prefer going through emails at a specific time, create a separate folder for all the emails. Lastly, delete all the old documents from your desktop to ensure there isn’t anything unnecessary on the homepage. 

5. Corral the Cables 

Have you ever peeked underneath your desk? If so, you would be aware of the twisted and clustered cables and wires. And in all this mess, finding the cable for your charger seems like a daunting challenge. Fortunately, you can sort all the cable clutter by adding a cable holder to your desk. It would organize all the cables separately, ensuring you don’t have to find wires every time. 

However, consider using the fun binder clip hack if you have a tight budget. You can place these clips on one corner of the desk. After that, arrange all the cables in each of the clips separately. It might not look appealing or aesthetic, but it does the job and saves time untwisting the wires.  

6. Think Vertical 

Undeniably, storage is a problem in every office. No matter how much paperwork you shift to the cloud, there will always be some documents lying around. Similarly, there would be pens, stamps, and other stationery supplies lying around. This clutter makes it difficult to organize the work desk, especially if you want things side-by-side. So, why not try thinking up?

Instead of piling everything on the desk itself, you can use the walls to create organizational space for your creative work. Perhaps, you can get your hands on functional storage solutions such as hanging clipboards. They allow you to store a bunch of items on the wall. Likewise, you can get cork boards to pin a few papers rather than stacking them on the desk. Lastly, think of hand baskets or mount shelves to score some additional storage space. 

Final Thoughts 

No one wants to work at a cluttered and messy desk, but does anyone have time for cleaning or organization? Most people think organizing is time-consuming, but it’s more like an ongoing project. You can adjust the wires, create a proper filing system, organize your drawers, and remove the things you don’t use. Making these few adjustments will keep your work desk clear, neat, and tidy, allowing you to enjoy work.