No matter how big or small, an office desk without drawers gathers clutter sooner, due to lack of storage. Apply these golden rules for an organized desk:
What should an ideal desk have?
- Space for laptop or desktop
- A filing system for paper
- Small tray to hold a pen, clips and other essentials
- Empty space to your dominant side
- Maybe one small personal item to perk up your mood!
Here’s how you can get there:
1. Dealing with the flood of paper
Minimize paperwork with a simple two-folder system.
One for new documents that you haven’t had a chance to look at. You can mark it so others who walk by know where to drop the paperwork. The second is for paperwork that you need to deal with. Alternatively, you can use a two-level tray or box system.
Look closely and you will notice that you can digitize most of it. Some might be irrelevant memos, duplicate documents etc.
In this case, your office desk without drawers is a blessing because as soon as your folder or tray is filled up, it encourages you to de-clutter and organize on the go.
2. Stationery woes
Think about it. Do you need more than one pen and a couple of dog pins for work?
Your office supplies don’t belong on your table just like your entire month’s groceries don’t belong on your kitchen countertop!
If your nature of works demands it, then invest in a sideboard that stores everything from extra folders, pins, clips, markers, notepads, work materials etc.
Else, keep a small tray that has the right amount of space for minimal stationery and other everyday items like keys, sunglasses etc.
3. Maintain ‘white space’
Always ensure you have some space on your dominant side just in case you need to set down a book or sign documents or jot down a few notes when in a hurry.
4. Hang it up
Timetables, reminders, motivational posters, post-its – none of these should ideally clutter your office desk and interfere with your train of thought.
Keep a whiteboard or pin-up board which you can easily see from your office desk. So much better than rummaging through drawers to look for one piece of information!
5. Trash immediately
Invest in a large trash can so that whatever is not needed immediately goes into the bin instead of being stashed in places. You will be surprised to see how much nonsense comes to your desk every day. Its large size will ensure that there is no overflowing by the time the week comes to a close.
