DE-CLUTTERING YOUR SPACE, DE-CLUTTER YOUR LIFE!

BY STACI WALLACE

PT. 2 - DE-CLUTTERING YOUR WORK/OFFICE ENVIRONMENT

Did you know that your desk can play a physiological role in your daily productivity and overall health? A messy desk and disorganized office environment could very well be the cause of deeper issues in life.

According to researchers at NEC-Mitsubishi, a computer-monitor manufacturer, many office workers are suffering from IDS, irritable desk syndrome (IDS), which can cause chronic pain, loss of productivity and other physical and mental symptoms. IDS is actually a sickness associated with working long hours at a cluttered desk (often with poor posture, as well). In a recent study of 2,000 office workers, researchers found that:

• 40 percent said they were "infuriated by too much clutter and paper on their desks but could not be bothered to do anything about it."

• 35 percent said they had back or neck pain because they knowingly had poor posture or an awkward position while at their desk.

"What most individuals fail to realize is that desk symptoms typically escalate very quickly, from persistent discomfort to chronic pain, which can end a person's career and reduce their quality of life in a wide range of ways," said Nigel Robertson, researcher and noted "deskologist."

Other studies have stated that working at a cluttered desk is less time-effective and often results in workers devoting excess time and attention to finding what they need, before they even get to their regular assignments.

"Studies have shown that the person who works with a messy desk spends, on average, one and a half hours per day looking for things or being distracted by things. That's seven and a half hours per week," says time-management speaker and consultant Dr. Donald E. Wetmore.

Of course, the antithesis of this syndrome is the person who spends excess time organizing too much. The key? Balance. Once you set your space, maintain it with a simple system of organization. Here are a few tips to getting started on a de-cluttered work/office environment.

1. De-clutter your raw space.

Not sure where to begin with a completely cluttered office? Start by de-cluttering your raw space. Take one drawer at a time and take everything out before trying to organize. You may have papers, files, or documents that are useless and just cluttering your space. As you begin adding things back to your drawers, be strict about what makes the cut back into the drawer. Your office is your sanctuary of productivity. Don’t let just ANYTHING be accepted into the drawer or in your office as a whole. Items must earn their way into your space based on their importance and their ability to produce income, productivity, or creativity to what you do.


2. Eliminate visible clutter.

Once you have gone through your drawers and eliminated the “inner” excess, you should have an organized “inner office”. Your “inner office” is what people DON’T see. Much like finding “inner peace”, your “inner office” will be the foundation of what others should begin to see externally. Now that your inner office is in order, clean off your desk completely, removing all pictures, notes, papers, etc. Once you have a clean slate, only add the essentials back to your space. If you are a picture lover, make sure that your pictures are organized, well displayed, and appropriate for your environment. Your desk will be a reflection of your life and if you have a disorganized mess of pictures, papers, or trinkets on your desk, it will show the lack of balance in other areas, as well. On the other hand, a clean desk is often a sign of a clear mind.


3. Place value on your open space.

Now that your inner and outer office space is clean and de-cluttered, choose wisely what you allow to take up space in the future. When new papers come into your room, read them and determine if they are to be taking up space or hitting the bottom of the trash can immediately. Open your mail and read it. Experts say that a major amount of office clutter comes from items we intend to get to at a later date that never end up being addressed. Mail is a good example; open it, read it, and then either eliminate it or file it appropriately. This will also help you in assuring that bills are paid on time and not overlooked in the shuffle.

4. Specify your space.

You can eliminate needless stress by labeling your space. For example, if you have a file or box that is labeled “IMMEDIATE ATTENTION”, that means that anything in that box gets your attention before the end of the day. Before you go home, look through the box and make sure you have completed the items of high priority. Have a space set aside for essential items. For example, by eliminating that mad scramble for your keys or any other item, you've spared yourself loads of unnecessary anxiety. Save yourself this precious energy and give your space labeled boundaries.

These are just a few tips for de-cluttering your work/office environment. Stay tuned next week for tips on how to de-clutter your home/life environment. :)