February 2009, Issue 16

Say Yes to Your Desk

How's your desk doing? Are you sitting at it now? How do you feel when you're there? Calm and focused? Or anxious and overwhelmed? No matter how you're feeling today, below are some easy step-by-step tips that will inspire you to move from clutter to clarity. So let's get started - your organized desk is a hop, skip and an inbox away!

This month, assess your desk.

1. Evaluate the activities. Write a list of the things you do when you're sitting at your desk. Include even the simplest of tasks. For example, bill paying, responding to emails, coordinating your calendar, etc. Give yourself a few minutes until you're sure that your list is complete.
   
   
2. Gather the essentials. Now look over you list and ask yourself what materials you need to perform each task effectively and easily. You want to make sure that next time you need scissors, you have a pair within reach.
   
   
3. Drawer-ganize. Drawers may seem really unmanageable at points, especially when you can barely open them in the first place. Not to worry - a few drawer organizers (one for paper clips, another for index cards, etc.) will do the trick. Want a more cost-effective solution? Grab a few empty jewelry boxes or blueberry containers and use them to house anything from pushpins to staples.
   
   
4. Give incoming mail a home. Where do you put your incoming mail? Do you review it immediately, or drop it at your desk? Enter the inbox, the solution for all of your incoming paper woes....or at least some of them. Instead of seeing scattered piles of mail on your desk, place it in a bin or container that suits your needs and style.
   
   
5. Shine the light. Embrace your creative side and design a vision board for yourself. What's a vision board, you may ask? It starts off as a blank canvas and you paste images of all of the things you want. Use magazines, photos, Google images - whatever may work for you. The idea is that by seeing the things that you want daily, you will ultimately manifest those things and they will become your realities.