We’re just now starting to understand the importance of personalised workspaces. Ultimately, everybody needs slightly different conditions to reach peak performance. Where some office workers thrive in super organised environments, with a place for everything and everything in its place, others take a more relaxed approach.
If you want to build your perfect workspace, first you’ve got to identify your needs.
Is clutter a constant distraction? Is your flow easily interrupted by background traffic? Could your filing system really use an upgrade? Once you know where the weaknesses are, you can invest in high-quality tools and strategies to eliminate them.
This guide to restructuring the workspace and reclaiming your focus will help you get started.
Always Sit Properly
The importance of good posture, particularly when sitting at a desk, cannot be underestimated. It has a big impact on your general health, so it affects your mood and mind too. Finding the right monitor mount is essential, for example, because the top of the display needs to be aligned with your eyes. Otherwise, you’ll sit hunched over with your neck craned.
No More Piles
It is tempting to glance at papers and then throw them on the ‘later’ pile. The problem is that, for most, the later pile ends up getting so big that it’s a mini mountain by the end of the day. At this point, it takes longer to sort through all of the documents, memos, and notes that it would to have addressed and filed them immediately. Sort and store your documents properly.
Be Professionally Personal
While it is a great idea to have some personal trinkets and items on your desk (photos of the family are a big winner), try not to go overboard. Pick a few special items which never fail to raise a smile and keep the rest of the space strictly professional. Too many personal possessions can end up being a distraction and they take up valuable desk space.
Consider the Cloud
It is becoming rather old fashioned these days to keep extensive paper files.
Not only are they insecure, but they take up a huge amount of space. If possible, try to transition all or some of your files to the cloud. The benefit of cloud storage is that you can access these files from any computer in the world. So, even if you start working on something at the office, you can come home and pick it back up with ease.
Open an Ideas Folder
If you’re a creative type, you’ve probably noticed that your mind has a tendency to wander. This doesn’t necessarily indicate a lack of focus, it just means that you’re not always strategizing in a linear fashion. What you can to do stay motivated, without losing track of any cool ideas in the process, is create a ‘to address’ folder on your desktop. Drop links, articles, blogs, and other online content in there and sift through it all at the end of the day.
Why it’s Time to Take Back Control of Your Desk
Sometimes, all that’s needed to banish productivity blues and give your workplace routines a boost is a bit of a makeover. With a few small changes, it is possible to alter your outlook and create a more positive attitude to work.
Focus on creating new filing, recording, note taking, and brainstorming techniques which enhance your efficiency, rather than copying what you’ve seen other people doing. Everybody has slightly different needs, so find your version of perfect and let it supercharge your focus.