Whether you’re a seasoned remote worker, or you have just begun hybrid working since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, keeping a workstation tidy is a problem as old as time itself.
It’s likely that your job or hobby involves a number of necessary items, such as pens, paper, rulers, or other measurement items, as not everyone has yet made the transition over from paper notes and documents to a digital writing format. Keeping all of these items in their respective places while also allowing yourself easy access to them takes hard work and ingenuity.
That’s why it can be such a tiring task, especially if you are spending much of your precious time and energy on your full-time job, or other commitments such as looking after young children and other family members.
However, the phrase “a tidy room is a tidy mind” isn’t without basis in reality, and following some simple steps could put you in firm control of your messy desk for the foreseeable future—allowing you to unlock the potential of your productivity.
Read on to find out more about keeping your workstation perfectly tidy.
Routine
The first, and crucial step in ensuring you take control of your messy workstation is establishing a strong routine. As mentioned previously, most people have very busy lives, which if not spent working or playing at their workstation, is spent taking care of housekeeping, socializing with friends, or working on their physical health.
This means that in order to ensure that your workstation is tidied, a designated time needs to be allotted to the cleaning process, whether that is as soon as you finish using the desk, before you go to bed, or as part of your morning routine.
Having a routine will strongly familiarize you with the process of organizing, making it quick, efficient, and potentially even enjoyable.
Ample storage
Having plenty of space both in and around your desk is essential to keeping the working space clear. With storage space, your daily items can be taken out and put away at will, helping to keep the main working area clutter-free.
As well as the items that you use on a daily basis, you’ll have permanent fixtures such as a workstation desktop computer, printers, multimedia speakers, and PC monitors that are less easy or convenient to pack away—meaning that storage will be needed to put away other items to ensure that the space is clear.
Organization
Considering the incomprehensible number of desk tidying products available on the market, both online and in retail stores, it is a strong indication of just how widespread the issue of organizing desks is.
With the variety of desk tidy products essentially endless, it seems that no-one has decided which design is the undisputed best—meaning it’s down to you to find the one that suits you most.
There are some strong foundational items; for example, a pot for pens and pencils is an absolute must, and stackable trays help to keep papers safely in order rather than spread over the desktop.