Desk Area Organization

This is my home office workspace. It’s been through a few transformations, different furniture, other wall colours …but by far this is my best work environment yet.

With nothing on the work surface, I automatically have a sense of calm when I walk into the office. I’m not caused to panic… there is no, “OMG I have to handle that file, call that person, or pay that bill”. Because I don’t have piles of paper or files on my desk acting as reminders, there is none of the “visual noise” that a cluttered office can cause. What I learned works best for me is to divide my days and weeks into categories or blocks of time for when I do a variety of tasks. This way I have control over when and how I spend my time. It causes me to be more pro-active in my planning, and less reactive in responding to visual cues such as files on my desk to inform me of an urgency. I use my agenda for my reminders. And I plan to transition to a more digital calendar approach…in time.

I’ve been through various shredding routines too. I recently placed my shredder with two small bins under my desk, one for shredding items and one for regular recycling. Now I shred as I go or when the small bin is full.

The filing cabinets are orderly, and the categories and sub categories are clearly identified with easy-to-read labels in plastic tabs. This is where I store my projects, and routine documentation. And at the end of the day, my desk looks like this on account of my having created a place for everything. Everything has a home in a drawer or on a shelf. Everything has its own home….