How to clear your workspace to get things done

Yup, that’s all of it: my office workspace. It’s not very glam, but it’s functional. Keeping this space neat and organized has been really important this year, especially as I transitioned from 30-minute to 15-minute appointments. In this post, I’m going to walk you through my before and after process for clearing my office workspace in order to get more things done. If you work in a small space, here’s a step-by-step process to make it more conducive to productivity, because having a neat space makes all the difference when you have more than one passion and limited time!

1. Shred and recycle all old papers

First thing’s first: go through all the papers you have laying around and get rid of them. This means sifting through each and every sheet of paper and deciding whether you’re keeping it, recycling it, or shredding it (be careful with confidential documents). I have a tendency to keep papers tucked away in drawers thinking I’ll need them later, but what I’m really doing is creating clutter. More times than not, those papers just sit in a pile and take up space. Dropping a huge stack of papers into the recycling bin is always a nice feeling. Give it a try:

• Grab all your loose papers and put them in a pile
• Sort them into recycle, shred, and keep piles, then
• Let go of the clutter

2. Limit your piles

At this point, if you have any loose sheets, file them. This includes resources you think you might need – either make them electronic or file them away. Think about what broad categories each of your papers falls under, and make a distinct number of piles/folders for each of them (as few as possible). I have a designated area for all incoming papers and a deadline for how long each item can stay there. These are my 3 folders, and 2 turnaround times:

• Prescription renewals that have been faxed from pharmacies – max 1 day
• Reports – max 1 day
• Forms that need to be completed – max 7 days

I treat all incoming papers like an old-school Monica track; once they land in a folder, I want them So Gone!

It’s also good to have one organized pile for stationary. I put these items in 3 different organizer boxes: one for pens, one for coloured pens and highlighters, and one for miscellaneous things like paper clips and office stamps. The boxes themselves can get a bit disorganized, but at least everything has its own designated space.

3. Make your resources easy to find

Limit the physical space that resources can occupy. This was hard for me. I had handouts and reference documents scattered all over, but the honest truth is that I hadn’t looked at most of them for several months. In my office space, “good to knows” have to fit on the cork board. Instead of a cork board, you can limit your paper resources to a binder, bookshelf or drawer, but don’t let these documents hang out all over the place.

Once your designated area becomes too crowded (again, see my before), look into scanning your documents into an electronic resource keeper like Evernote, DropBox or Google Keep. The key is to make sure it’s easy to find these resources when you need them – either physically or electronically and filed by topic.

4. Make an area for brain dumps

This is the only area in my office that’s allowed to be cluttered. I put my brain dumps on yellow note pads that go on a pile on the left of my desk. Whenever something comes up that I need to get to later, I’ll quickly write it down and then get back to whatever it is I was actually working on. This way, I can focus my attention on the task at hand, knowing that I’ll get to those other items later because they’re written down as reminders.

At the end of the day, I’ll look at my note pads to make sure I got to everything. If something needs to get done first thing the next day, I’ll write it down on a notepad and place it on my keyboard. Then I head home with a clear headspace and ready to move on to whatever else I’m passionate about (Read: How to Do More and Stress Less).

5. Display something that restores your calm

I always used to wonder why everyone seemed to have a picture of their kids in their office. And then I got an office. These pictures were representations of joy in the workplace, and I’ve realized that this is so important in spaces where you spend a lot of time.

It’s also important to display things reconnect you to your cool. Something small will do, and it can be a symbol if you share your space with other people and want to maintain your privacy. Some examples:

• Your vision board
• A comforting quote in a nice font
• A photo of your dream destination
• A souvenir from that dream destination
• A caricature that you got at the office party (in case you were wondering what that was on my cork board)

Notes on workspace self-care:

• Try your best not to eat meals here (walk away from the desk for lunch), but do stock up on some life support items: snacks, books, headphones, chargers… One of my drawers is strictly for snacks, hand sanitizer, lip balm, lotion, etc. Basically all the things I never want to be without.
• Make it easy for you to move – bring dumbbells, a mat, or a resistance band to the office, and consider the ergonomics of your chair, keyboard, etc. If you can’t bring weights, at least make sure you get up and walk because if you don’t make a conscious effort, you could literally be sitting all day (I’ve done it)! (Read: 3 New Years Resolutions Every Professional Woman Needs to Make.)
• Consider a set of speakers to play background music or another item to lighten the mood if you’d like

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When you’re busy working on more than one great thing, the last thing you want to do is step into a workspace that feels crowded and disorganized. You don’t have time to clear your space every time you need to sit down and work, so organizing it will allow you to transition from project to project that much easier. So, in order to clear your workspace, we talked about:

1. Recycling old papers
2. Limiting piles of papers
3. Making your resources easy to access
4. Having one space for clutter and thought dumps, and
5. Displaying symbols of calm and joy

I hope this was helpful! Make sure to join our email community for more discussions on self-care and productivity, and I’ll see you in my next post!