Clean desk?

Experience teaches it, bosses demand it and numerous studies prove it more or less clearly: the workplace should be tidied up at regular intervals. Admittedly, supporters of the theory that a certain degree of primal order on a desk is conducive to creativity are not wrong. However, it is also true that when there is a certain level of chaos, productivity in the workplace is severely hindered. From time to time, even the most beautiful creative disorder has to give way to a considered order. When it comes to “the little desk cleaning,” experts recommend a well-thought-out quick action.

It's fun to start the next working day relaxed and with order at your workplace. No question. But what do you think about starting every day of your life relaxed, balanced and harmonious?

• The four-field system for quick successe
• Why should I keep order in the office?
• How do I create order in the office?
• Does order in the workplace promote concentration?
• Conclusion

The four-field system for quick success

One thing straight away: a little tidying up doesn't bring order to the workplace and at best delays the problem. In addition, a clean corner does not make for a sensibly organized workplace. Implemented as a concrete project, even the worst desk cleaning doesn't take longer than three hours. The floor in front of the desk becomes your best friend and helper - which is why we recommend vacuuming the floor around the work surface first. The entire desk, its drawers, base cabinets and work surface are then completely cleared away. However, there is very little point in having all of your belongings in your hands and then putting them back where they were.

A four-field system helps with sorting and throwing away. The floor around the workplace is divided into four imaginary fields, each given a meaning: “Waste”, “Forwarding”, “Important” and “Acute”. This means that every part – from the individual post-it note to the calculator – goes into one of these fields so that it can be put away again later. Experts recommend thinking about a system in advance, whether from left to right or from outside to inside - it doesn't matter. The main thing is that every sheet, every pen, every file and every file folder is removed from the workplace individually and only picked up once. There are no intermediate piles, it just takes time. “Waste” is self-explanatory. “Forwarding” collects everything that can be delegated or needs to be taken somewhere else, such as the archive, back to the library or on the bookshelf.

Things that need to be put back in the drawer or on the desk and worked on after the small desk cleaning are placed in the grid square for “Important” when ordering at the workplace. If you like, you can take advantage of the fact that you have already briefly thought about the topic in question and write down the next step on a post-it note and stick it on it. This saves a bit of time for further work, but be careful: don't get mental, just one or two keywords and no elaborate novels. “Akut” collects things that can be done either immediately or immediately after the clean-up operation and take less than a few minutes: stamping, signing and forwarding a letter, making an appointment or postponing a meeting, for example.

So, here we go: The receipt for gummy bears and cough drops? Waste! The cough drops themselves? If they are still edible: pass them on – take them home with you. If they have a matt coating or smell somehow strange: go to the receipt. A ballpoint pen that no longer works and for which you wanted to look for a new refill: waste. The folder with ideas for new projects: stick a post-it note on it, “clean out!” write it on it and put it in the “Important” field. A file on which the “urgent” post-it note is already looking a little crispy? Read across and either forward, i.e. delegate, or into the important field.

Once the table surface has been completely cleared, the drawers have been emptied and the filing cabinet is free of old items, the next step is to the cleaning cabinet: all surfaces are wiped, the computer, keyboard and printer are dusted and the drawers are vacuumed. First, the items you need every day are put back in their place. You read that right: their place. And what doesn't have a space is assigned one or is briefly but violently questioned: Do I really need two different sized hole punches, three rulers, an estimated 25 pens and two pen cups for work? The unnecessary things go back into the depot or, depending on their condition, into the trash.

Afterwards, erasers, a maximum of five pencils and the same number of ballpoint pens or fineliners are assigned their place in the top desk drawer, the notepad goes next to the telephone and the unread mail goes into a small basket that previously served as a surprise egg figurine dump, paper clip dumping point and greeting card interim storage and whose contents pretty much all went into the “waste” field. In short: The Desk is sorted according to old logic, but also according to current needs - so there is less time spent on laborious searches at work. The trash can goes to the bin and the things in the “forward” square go to the place or person they need to go to. Complete? Clean? Congratulations, mission accomplished.

THE EIGHT-POINT SYSTEM FOR PERMANENT ORDER

As is well known, chaos in the workplace does not arise on its own, but it increases to a considerable extent. One unrinsed coffee cup quickly turns into two or three - and no one really knows where the fourth one came from. This one printout, which you should have taken a lot of time to read and do something with, has long since grown into a stack of documents with similar content. And the drawer in which things are stored that you could probably use again at some point but have never used again will soon be overflowing at the seams.

So, even if you're a decent person, it's a good idea to add two dates a year to your calendar: “Little desk cleaning.” Since the Christmas season is rather stressful and January is more casual, January and June are recommended as good choices - if you approach it every six months, the campaign doesn't take that much time.

Following eight points You should still keep this in mind all year round.

1. Put back: Let things live in their place and put them back after use.
2. Throw away: Use the trash can immediately.
3. Take note: A large notepad instead of many small notes that can easily disappear makes work easier when phone numbers need to go into the address book and appointments need to go quickly into the correct calendar in the evening.
4. Structure: The same filing system on the computer as at the desk and the same structure for physical and digital folders helps to keep the workplace tidy and to find things quickly.
5. Hierarchical filing: the most current stuff goes at the top and the least urgent goes at the bottom.
6. Tame cables: sort strips and, ideally, let tangled cables disappear completely into boxes.
7. Pay attention to the range: Store things that are often used close by and store items that are rarely used further away.
8. Tidying up in the evening: If you organize your desk every evening, you will start the next working day more relaxed.

Why should I keep order in the office?

You should keep the office tidy because you want to. However, you often find that you lack motivation. There are two good reasons why you should declutter.

1. The workplace reflects your inner life and tells those around you what personality type you are.
2. Bosses love neatly tidy offices and work surfaces. Psychologist Cary Cooper found after his survey that four out of five managers choose employees who have a tidy desk.

The office serves as a projection surface: Many people associate an untidy secretary with an unstable personality. We know that it is nonsense to put colleagues in drawers. But we spend a lot of time at work and can't avoid personalizing our workplace. One or two plants, pictures of the family, chocolate or your favorite book for the lunch break. Unconsciously, you reveal a lot about yourself to your work environment. Your colleagues know how you work, know your preferences and, based on your status symbols, they judge whether you use your elbows to get to the top.

Creating order in the workplace makes sense. You have a huge influence on how you want to be seen by those around you.

How do I create order in the office?

The quickest and easiest option: Get a spacious box. Sweep everything that is lying around in there. They all wipe Office furniture with a damp cloth. First, take all the important things out of the box and assign them a place. Then do the rest. Dispose of items you no longer need without batting an eyelid. Et voilà: tidy your desk! Order in the workplace! Order office!

Does order in the workplace promote concentration?

A resounding yes. After you have given your workplace a thorough cleaning, you can face the demands of everyday work more consciously and focused. You avoid internal stress and save the most important resource in your life: time.

Conclusion

Creating order in the workplace can be a lot of fun once you understand that you are in charge. They influence how you are perceived and what abilities are attributed to you. You gain improved concentration and time. You gain quality of life. Does that convince you?

Expert tip: Declutter your desk

Get started with concentration!

So that you have a chance to work as effectively and undisturbed as possible, your work table should be as empty as possible. Only place the things here that you really need and want to do soon.
Things that have been stored there unattended for years can be safely disposed of. Items that you need often should be within easy reach.