9 Steps to a Clear Desk

Are you the one with 4 stacks of papers in each corner of your desk, papers stacked on top of your file cabinet, sticky notes on every imaginable surface, and a desktop calendar showing the month of March - of 2007 - which you refuse to remove because of the important notes you wrote in the sidelines? Raise your hand.

Organization methods are highly personal and you must uniquely determine which method works best for you, however there are a few essential organization tips that I use on a daily basis that will rid you of your piles and stickies.

1.) Create and maintain a database to store your contact info including websites, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses. Take advantage of the MS Outlook contacts or an alternate contact storage system. Try to keep your contact information all in one place for quick access. If you must keep hard copy business cards, store them in a clear business card sheet protector in a binder. You can easily rearrange and re-alphabetize your cards this way. Each time you receive a phone number or piece of contact info, immediately record this into your address book and toss the scrap paper or sticky.

2.) Create and maintain a common location for your login and passwords. Keep this in your PDA, or even on a notebook. Where is not as important as consistency, but also remember to keep your passwords in a secure location. Again, each time you receive new information, immediately record this in your designated storage location and toss the scrap paper or sticky.

3.) Never buy another pad of sticky notes, ever. Sticky notes encourage you to record your information and be lazy about permanent storage for important information. If you insist that you absolutely cannot live without your multicolored heart shaped stickies, then at least do this: Following your immediate use for that sticky note, determine if you will need that information again, and if not, through it away. If you will need it, record it in an alternate permanent location, such as your address book as detailed above. (Are you seeing a pattern?).

4.) Create a filing system for the papers you MUST keep. Go paperless if you have the ability and create filing systems on your computer. One way to do this is create a simple folder for each customer and store all documents for that customer in the folder. If your work is project oriented, create a folder for each project or job.

5.) File your paper files daily.

6.) Keep your current projects in a temporary location which is readily accessible. Use a desktop vertical file or trays labeled with the project name so you can immediately access and store your day to day activities on those projects or customers. When they are no longer current, you can move them to the appropriate long term storage.

7.) Make your lists short. Use tasks lists on a limited basis for projects you can’t complete right away. If I have several things I’m juggling for completion in one day, I prioritize. The items which can wait, I put on a long term list. If it’s “hot” I use a temporary list for the day just so I don’t forget everything I am working on at one time. At the end of the day, I toss it. I also review my long term lists to determine if any items can be forgotten about. If it is not urgent or critical that the task be done, do not add it to a list, it will remind you again in some way, shape, or form if it must be attended to. If you don’t do this, lists tend to become out of control.

8.) Do not procrastinate. Complete tasks as quickly as you can fit them into your schedule. Although it is important to prioritize, sometimes it is better to just complete small quick tasks immediately so they do not clutter your mind and your desk.

9.) A piece of advice I’ll never forget was from a manager early in my career. If all else fails, keep your trash can close to the desk and occasionally perform the one arm sweep straight to the can. If it’s important, it will come back. This is advice that was given to me early in my career and while it’s extreme, it works. This doesn’t work in every situation and I wouldn’t encourage you to scrap critical documents, but in a crisis this can be done!

Don’t forget that professional assistance with your daily office organization is just a phone call or an email away with virtual assistant services offered by Jackson Administrative Outsourcing.

- Sarah A. Bernstein -