Why you should have a tidy desk
Is your desk clean and tidy? Or more organised chaos? You might not realise it, but working at a messy desk could be having an effect on your work and even on your health. Here are 5 reasons you should consider tidying your desk and keeping it that way
1. Professional image
Would you turn up to work with messy hair and stains on your shirt? Of course not, or at least I hope not. You wouldn’t come to work like that, because it doesn’t present a professional image, so make sure your desk does the same.
2. Keeps you efficient
Are you wasting time just trying to find where your pen is or that important file? Having a place for everything and putting everything in its place, keeps efficiency high.
3. It keeps you focused
A messy desk can be a distraction. You might keep losing your focus because you’re worried about the paper tower collapsing over you, or wondering what the smell is… oh yeah, it’s the chicken you had for lunch last week, still on your desk. Finding it hard to stay focused on something? Take two minutes to tidy up your space and try again.
4. It’s good for your health
Do me a favour, and have a quick look at your keyboard. Get in really close- see all that? That’s dust, crumbs and goodness knows what else. Now, just for fun, tip your keyboard over and give it a tap- you will most likely be grossed out by the amount of stuff that comes out.
Most people eat or snack at their desk, if you don’t clean up after, leaving crumbs about, or tidying up after spills, or even just leaving food out - you could be putting down a welcome mat for rats and mice and all sorts of yuckies.
Everyone at work sick with a cold? get the sanitiser out and sanitise your mouse, phone and keyboard. This will help get rid of germs and hopefully keep you from getting sick!
5. Feel less stressed
Being organised can actually help you feel less stressed, and more in control. If you’re finding yourself being overwhelmed or stressed, take some time to tidy your desk. It will not only give your mind a break from thinking about whatever is stressing you but also gives you time to reset, refocus and reorganise.
Some people are just naturally messy, and that’s ok. I’m not suggesting you go fully minimalistic and use tape to mark off where your pen goes, but give it a try and see how it makes you feel. Maybe take 5 minutes at the end of each Friday to tidy up and reorganise your desk.
Does a tidy space make you more efficient, or even just feel better about your space?
Here in the Saleslogic office, we take 5 minutes on a Friday afternoon to go through our desks and give them a tidy. We recycle the documents we don’t need, get rid of the things we’ve not used, or forgotten we even had. Clean the dust from our keyboards, sanitise our phones and computer mouses (this has helped to keep easily spreadable sicknesses, like colds, down to a minimum). On Monday morning we come into nice tidy spaces, and are ready to start the week off organised!
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