In Part 1 of Top 7 Reasons to Beat the Cluttered Desk, we provided 3 reasons to declutter your desk. Below are 4 additional reasons to maintain a clear workspace: keep focused, reduce stress and remain productive.
4. Calming effect
Sometimes, when you are preoccupied with your surroundings (whether it’s a home office, a brick-and- mortar one, or a family matter, etc.), the thought and sight of clutter (desk or otherwise) can play on the psyche and perhaps cause you to be a bit anxious, hyperactive, high-strung, demanding, unproductive and less than up to par. This may come from “stewing” on knowing your desk is a “clutter mess” that’s out of control. Taking the time to clean your desk can have a calming effect. You’ll also discover a pride in knowing how your “newly-found” desk looks.
5. Keep more organized
Facing a desk full of papers and telephone messages over time can eventually take its toll. Unfortunately, the more you don’t clean up the mess, the more the desk and office chaos can gnaw at you and cause you to lose focus. Additionally, with a clean morning desk, no paper piles will stare you in the face or be subject to an accidental push to the floor. On the other hand, your clean desk with its tidiness will help you to at least appear to have things organized and under control. And you’ll look like you’re running your business with ease.
6. Reduction in workspace accidents and spills
If your desk is cluttered or messy, there is an off-chance for some office mishap. Perhaps you inadvertently throw something away. You may have left a cup of coffee on your desk the night before and by morning you forgot it was there. So, when moving that stack of papers to get at your clipboard moved the coffee cup onto its side and spilled coffee all over your keyboard. Oops!
7. Time robber
Day after day that you enter your office with “the same pile of stuff” staring at you, you’re taking your focus from whatever it is you really planned to do that day. You’re robbing yourself of your productivity. Get back that time by starting fresh each day with a clean desk.
If your desk is clean, as you begin your day, you’ll find it’s easier to clean at night, and you will clean it more often. Additionally, there will be a calming effect, and your productivity will increase because you’re not spending your time moving your files and stacks of papers around. You’ll also know where things are; you’ll be less distracted when working on specific projects. Further, your empty desk will provide a place where you can put the items you plan to work on that new day; in turn, this will help you get to your projects in an orderly fashion.
You don’t have to look around the Internet too hard or in many magazines to find numerous articles and blogs about “the benefits of having a clean desk” or “how to organize and clean up the ‘cluttered mess!’” With which, even Albert Einstein took issue when he said, “If a Cluttered Desk is a Sign of a Cluttered Mind, What’s an Empty Desk a Sign of?”
Others will tell you a cluttered desk is a “sign of genius.” Which Einstein was; so there you go!
There is actually a sickness associated with working long hours at a cluttered desk: irritable desk syndrome (IDS). According to researchers at NEC-Mitsubishi, a computer-monitor manufacturer, many office workers are suffering from IDS, which can cause chronic pain, loss of productivity and other physical and mental symptoms.
If you’re like a good share of the entrepreneurial population, at some time or other you may have been (or continue to be) the owner of a cluttered, messy, hidden or otherwise over-burdened desk. Your argument for such clutter may be your desk is that way because you don’t have time to clean it; you know where everything is or because you like to be surrounded by familiar things.
While these arguments may be true, there is something to be said about starting each day with a clean desk. And the National Clean Your Desk Day (January 11) has been established to remind us of the benefits of starting your day fresh.
Our Top 7 reasons to declutter your desk include:
1. Fresh start
Walking into your office each morning being “greeted” by a clean desk is much like “beginning a new,” you’re starting fresh. It’s like everything that transpired the day before—whether good or bad– is “long gone.” The freshness of the “new day” with a clean desk is “eye candy” for the eyes and for the mind! And the “new atmosphere” you’ve created can influence you to feel at ease so you can easily tackle whatever comes along with less stress and fewer distractions; you’ll be able to stay focused and better organized.
2. Mess contributes to stress
Imagine you’re sitting at your cluttered, messy desk talking on the telephone. As you look around, you can’t find an important document related to the conversation, without which you can’t close the deal. While sorting through the piles on your desk, you see more documents that should have had your immediate attention, but have now passed deadline. Thinking about the mess and missed deadlines, and realizing how they could have been avoided may stress you out. So, de-stress by starting your day with a clean desk, which can help you realize which tasks you should be first on your list.
3. A distraction
All the clutter, the nick nacks and pictures, Rolodex cards, stacks of paper, magazines, holiday cards, Post-Its, and so forth can be such a distraction from what you intend to do that day. Having to move stacks from one side of your desk to another in order to be able to work on any given project can certainly change your mood and throw off your focus. Thus, the emptiness of your desk that you face when you begin each day will help eliminate distractions and allow you to focus on individual assignments as they present themselves.
Part 2 of Top 7 Reasons to Beat the Cluttered Desk Syndrome will identify other benefits of decluttering your desk. Is your work desk cluttered? Tell us your plans for keeping your workspace clear.
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