The pandemic has left a majority of us at home with our laptop or desktop computer to work or complete school work. It has become our home office, the epicenter of getting stuff done…but that also means it can become a bit chaotic. Especially if you have kids in virtual learning! Recently, I fell into the rabbit hole on YouTube on organizational tips and tricks and found YouTuber Raymond Strazdas. Raymond is a popular streamer and gamer; however, he shares some tips to help stay productive through our workspace. The first thing he mentions is having minimal equipment on your desk—just stick to a mousepad, keyboard and mouse (or laptop) and do not include your phone in this space. Other tips are having good cable management and getting movement throughout your workday. These are some good tips to get us started! Let us take a look at some other tips and the organizational products.
Straightening Up
First thing first! Clean up all the clutter, old Starbucks cups, glasses of water you never finished, or whatever does not belong on your desk. Harvard Business Review wrote an article “The Case for Finally Cleaning Your Desk” and says: “Cluttered spaces can have negative effects on our stress and anxiety levels, as well as our ability to focus, our eating choices, and even our sleep.” So keeping tidy will not only help us stay on track but it will benefit our overall health and wellness.
The article covers information about order and how our brain prefers to have order and structure. So cleaning up once every two days to keep your desk neat might prevent procrastination and create more productivity in your work day. So dust off your desk and start anew, let’s take a look at some products!
Products to Stay Organized
As mentioned before, we do not want a lot of clutter. However, if you are in a profession where you have a lot of paperwork, it can be hard to declutter. If you have room next to your desk or anywhere near it, this 5 drawer rolling cart can move with you! It is available in white or rainbow if you want to add a splash of color to your office space! If you need something to slide under your desk, there is a 3 drawer filing cabinet that can fit under your workspace! Keeping at task and finishing one task at a time will also help you become more productive.
If you have a monitor, you can purchase a monitor stand to keep your pencils, pens, highlights, sticky notes and whatever stationary you use hidden away. This will help clear off extra bins that are taking up space on your desk! A recently discovered item is this stand for your laptop that you can sit your laptop up to maximize space but also to store it safely. Personally this would have saved me at my dorm since the desk was so small, I had to put my laptop on the floor!
Like this article? Check out our article about the best format for your work to-do list here.
Stay Neat, Stay Simple
There is a plethora of products out there that you can buy at Staples, Target, Amazon and Walmart. You can also get custom made products on Etsy as well! Remember not to over organize your desk and to keep it simple. You want your desk to work best for the tasks at hand, even though the desks on Pinterest are tempting to copy.
It is tempting to fill your desk with plants, accordion folders and snacks but remember to stay neat. Also, remember that walking away from your desk for a few minutes is beneficial.
