From messy to classy! How to organise our home office so it’s functional and fabulous - 7 helpful tips

 by Nan Berrett - Word Solutions

I have a messy desk! It’s not always messy, but from time to time the sheer volume of stuff just overwhelms my space and I have to take some time to think about where to put it all.

When you work from home it’s sometimes difficult to be ruthlessly organised, particularly if you have to share your work space with the family. I’m one of the lucky ones, with a dedicated separate office in my home which doesn’t double as anything else. But for those of you who struggle with having to set up your daily desk on the kitchen table, or have a nook in the hallway or bedroom where you do your work keeping a tidy and organised space is critical.

I’m not exactly a hoarder, but I am a bit of a collector. I really love stationery, and newsagents and office supplies stores are my favourite shops, with hardware coming in a close third.

It’s also really important for my mental health to have a tidy workspace where I can find everything I need when I need it. Knowing where everything is, seeing a clean space with a couple of items on it which make me smile, like my house hippo and my cube timer, set my mood for the day and I know I am more productive and focused when I am calm and happy. 

“Everybody should have a tidy desk — a tidy mind draws a circle around the things that matter, and when you draw a clear circle, it forces everything inside of it.” – Yoky Matsuoka

So, how do I keep my own personal space organised? Here are a few tips: 

1. If you don’t do anything else, make sure that you tidy up your workspace – the place where your keyboard and notes sit – at the end of every work day. Make a list of things you need to do the following morning, including any phone calls you need to make – make the calls as soon as you can and get them out of the way.
2. Look around you and put items into categories. Books can go on a shelf. Notebooks too. Keep your pen and pencil collection in an old mug, not scattered about – and throw out any dried up pens or markers.
3. Tidy up your charging cords – we have so many things we need to charge these days, so think about investing in a space saving plug which has at least four hdmi ports. Pick up some Velcro ties from your favourite office supplies shop and use them to bundle up any bulky cords. 
4. Have a clean out – you really don’t need ALL those pens, or ALL those notebooks. Things I have discarded to be recycled include old envelopes, scrap paper (because I think I’ll use it some day, but I don’t) old business cards and so on. Useful items, but those which you have duplicates of, old tech, things you thought you’d use one day, but have never touched, the spare selfie sticks, magazines, empty boxes things came in once and that you thought you might reuse – either recycle or donate.
5. Take your time. If you have a cluttered space it didn’t get like it overnight, so tidying up can’t be reasonably done in a few minutes either. Don’t let clutter overwhelm you, because when it does it will paralyse your mind and nothing will be done. Tackle your decluttering in small bites – one book shelf at a time, one drawer at a time, one filing tray at a time, one bag from the floor at a time. Talking about time, I use my cube timer and turn it for a five minute sprint and tackle a cluttered zone. When the timer goes off, I stop and get on with some other work. You can choose 5, 15 or 30 minute sprints, but nothing longer, or you’ll become exhausted and probably won’t get back to any meaningful decluttering for days or even weeks.
6. When you’ve created a bit of order consider digitising your documents. This could cause some expense, as I recommend a dedicated document scanner. Flatbed scanners are cheaper, but scanners with a feed in tray are better because they are quicker to use, even though they cost more. Why not collaborate with a business friend or two and buy a scanner between you and share it around or look for a preloved one. I just did a quick Ebay search for document scanners and found several pre-owned models which would fit the bill.
7. Make a habit of giving your desk a wipe over at least weekly and checking to see that everything you have on your desk actually does have a purpose (apart from any house hippos which just like to wander around)