We spend a third of our lives at work on average, and while the traditional workplace has changed in many ways, our surroundings still have a significant impact on productivity. Whether it’s a home office, hot desk, or place of employment, your work environment affects your well-being and clutter can be a major drain.
Studies show that working in a disordered space negatively affects our brains and bodies by increasing cortisol levels. In other words, mess causes stress. Having too many things around you all the time is exhausting and can cause you to be overwhelmed. You also lose time looking for things and sifting through the clutter rather than doing the tasks you should be focusing on.
Nowadays, we are not just talking about physical clutter, digital detritus can weigh us down just as much. Research from Adaptavist revealed that workers spend around 45 minutes a day searching through digital information that they need to do their jobs. Lost time isn’t the only problem!
Having disorganised data and files also increases anxiety, slows down your devices and even poses a security risk with so much unprotected information hanging around. Many of us have multiple browser tabs and documents open at the same time, which makes it harder to concentrate on one thing and encourages us to keep switching between tasks before completing anything.
Not everyone is a neat freak, but keeping your physical and online work space in check clearly has much bigger implications for your performance, and, therefore, your success. So, if you’ve recognised that you have some sorting to do, where should you start? Try these tips:
Make minimalism habit
Crowding your desk with unnecessary items creates angst. I always ask “can you find it in five seconds?” and I use this mantra because I don’t want people to waste precious time looking for anything, including items on their desk. Remove any excess decorations or knick-knacks that take up valuable space.
Your desk should have your computer, printer, pen and pad. Anything else should be put away into its designated spot. Try not to have your phone next to you as this creates a distraction.
Think little and often
Doing a regular mini declutter works wonders for your space and your sanity. Spend 15-20 minutes each day for a week focusing on one area such as your desk, drawers, or cabinet etc.
I suggest you remove any items that you do not need, use or want. Once the area is cleared you can spend a few minutes organising what is left. Sort what you have in your desk drawers into different categories with action items i.e. pieces of mail or physical paperwork that needs attending to in the top drawer.
Do a digital detox
Use the acronym FAT – File, Act, Toss – to deal with any emails and paperwork you receive. As soon as something comes in, see if you can file it in a folder, act on it within two minutes or toss it into the dustbin. When you receive junk mail, always unsubscribe before deleting it.
Once you make this a habit, you will gradually get rid of more emails with the aim of dealing with ten or less in your inbox each day. If you have a really huge amount of emails, take all of them from one year and put them in a folder. Then, stick a podcast on and start grouping them in threads, deleting the ones you don’t need.
Unsubscribe from unwanted emails
It’s also really useful to regularly reassess what you’re subscribed to. Sometimes, there is a benefit to subscribing but that doesn’t mean the communication will always be relevant.
If you spot something unwanted or unwarranted, click on the unsubscribe button immediately. The more often you do it the less emails you will be bombarded with and you reduce the chance of accidentally deleting something you need when you’re deleting the junk every morning.
Clear your desktop
Have you ever revealed your desktop in a meeting or on a Zoom call and been embarrassed by how busy it looks?
I guarantee most people don’t need half the documents they have, whether it’s copies of things that are filed elsewhere, old downloads or finished projects.
Spend 15-20 minutes with another mini declutter, deleting all the documents and items that you no longer need. Doing this will feel incredibly satisfying and also avoid your mind going into overdrive from the clutter chaos you see every time you login. Anything you keep should be in a relevant folder.