11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity

11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity
Desk shelves and monitor arm

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A clean, tidy, and organized work desk is one of the biggest secrets to improving productivity. A messy desk can lead to a cluttered mind, which in turn leads to more stress and a reduction in productivity. If you're frequently overwhelmed by a cluttered desk, that's a strong sign you need to rearrange and organize it. After all, it's the place where you spend a major amount of hours in a day, so it needs to be orderly. 

An unorganized desk can lead to low morale because it’s hard to feel successful when surrounded by clutter. On that note, let's glance at some of the tips for creating an organized desk that fosters productivity. 

1. Reduce the non-essential items

Setting out on a mission to organize your desk? First, take a survey of all the things that you don't find useful for your daily work schedule. Once you've figured out these items, clearing them off the desk will help you organize your work area faster and more efficiently. 

2. Have less mementos

We all love adding a personal touch to our workspace because it makes us feel homely, and mementos are the best way to add that touch. However, too many of these items can end up occupying valuable desk space that can otherwise be used for more essential purposes. Hence, having a limited number of mementos is vital to building a clutter-free desk.

There are two ways you can approach this. Either clear off the extra mementos or, if you've too many and don't want to get rid of them, try having your desk table against a wall. That way, you can use wall shelves in close proximity to your desk and make space for your mementos. 

3. Reorganize your desk

Once you've cleared off the unnecessary items on your desk, rearrange all the important ones again. Rearranging again will give you an idea if your current setup is okay or if you need to do more to ensure a clutter-free workspace.

4. Use a desk organizer

11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity
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A desk organizer is one of the first things to get if you're contemplating improving your desk area. We often lack storage space on our work desks, which eventually invites clutter. If you've got a handful of stationery items that you need at hand, having a desk organizer will work great at keeping them organized and within reach.

5.  Get a monitor arm

11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity
Source: HUANUO/Amazon

Monitor arms may be viewed as a luxury by many, but there's no denying the fact that it allows your desk space to look more spacious. Having a dual monitor arm allows you to work with two monitors without compromising your desk space.

6. Go paperless

Nowadays, using paper for documenting work seems like an ancient practice, and quite rightly so. Technology has enabled us to document our work using various tools and ditch paper in the process.

If you're using diaries or notebooks to make notes, better switch to using online tools like Google Docs or Sheets and say goodbye to physical paper so you can save more space on your desk. 

However, if paperwork is an essential part of your job, you can also use a letter tray to keep them organized on one side of the desk.

7. Divide your workspace into stations

If you're using your desk for multiple purposes, like working on a PC and drawing, you can divide your desk into separate areas for better management. One half of your desk can be dedicated to the PC, while the other can be for storing all the stuff used for drawing. 

8. Use cable ties 

11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity
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If you're using a bunch of devices, you need to charge them from time to time. That means you're going to see wires and chords in and around your desk. To make sure they don't look disheveled, you can use cable ties to tie them and keep them in one place. This way, it'll give your work desk an organized view. 

9. Use a hook board

11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity
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A hook board allows you to hang multiple items like headphones, scissors, glasses, chargers, and much more. If you want to keep all these things closer to your work desk, using a hook board is a great option. 

10. Install drawer organizers

11 tips to organize your desk and improve productivity
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Installing drawer organizers in your desk allows you to have more storage space. You can store a handful of small yet essential items like business cards, flash drives, sticky notes, and much more in these organizers and keep your desk free and clean.

11. Reduce visual clutter

You may not view this as a potential factor that decreases your productivity, but too many colorful items are sure to affect it in a negative way. For instance, if you've got too many sticky notes on the desk, they might act as a distraction and affect your focus and concentration on work.

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