5 habits of people with insanely organised desks

We all know those super efficient people in the office, the ones who keep freakishly neat, highly organised, desks. They also get to work on time, meet deadlines with ease, and finish their day at 5pm. Sharp.

But do you know how hard they are actually working to be this organised? Hint, not very.

Follow these few simple steps and you will be a lot more organised in the office. Which really means you will be more productive. Which really means you will get to leave work on time.

Start with a clean slate

Spend 10 minutes at the end of each day sorting out what you need, what can be stored off the desk and what can be thrown away. Making time for this every day will improve your workflow and ultimately save you time. As an added bonus, if you make the effort to clear it each day, your colleagues will eventually pick up the habit and clean their desks too.

Get dirty

Did you know that in an average office the toilets are cleaner than the desks? A typical desk has up to 10 million bacteria, that’s 400 times more germs than the average toilet seat – true story! Take a few minutes once a week to roll up your sleeves and disinfect your workspace. Regular cleaning will help keep your work area clean and germ-free and it’ll smell good too.

Be ruthless

To stay organised you need to put things away, in a designated spot, every. single. time. Prioritise the most important and most used items to have on your desk (phone, computer, desk calendar) and put everything else away.

Make it easy

Put frequently used items in easy to reach areas. Use draws or shelves and have a specific place for everything. Label everything.

Sort it out

Setting up a good filing system for both electronic and paper files is vital. Having a good system that is intuitive and easy to use will help you find documents quickly and save you time. Avoid saving your files to the desktop and make sure your computer is backed up regularly.

If you’re worried that taking time out from your hectic work schedule will slow you down, don’t be. Doing just a little bit each day can really help you save time in the long run. Remember, being more organised saves you time, which leads to productivity, which leads to finishing work on time, winning!