DE-CLUTTER YOUR OFFICE AND MIND FOR A BETTER WORK ENVIRONMENT

Organisation is a key component for productivity. Letting papers pile up on your desk, sticking sticky notes on your computer monitor that end up covering your whole screen and un-opened emails from several weeks ago can just lead up to more and more stress at work.

Hence, when you de-congest your workplace you’re helping to organise your brain and time in a more streamlined manner. So here are 5 effective tips that you can adopt to better organise your workspace.

1. Set achievable goals — The first step you need to take is to sit down and think of all your objectives and tasks that you need to accomplish. Having these goals set right there in front of you will help you organise your time better as you would have a clearer idea on how to spend your time and how much time each task requires.

2. Prioritise accordingly — Once your list of goals is set, you can effectively prioritise your tasks in order to achieve those goals. Therefore, give more time to tasks that you will benefit the most of and that will lead you to complete your goals faster. For example, you can use the Pareto Principle which suggests that only 20% of your daily tasks are exceptionally important in reaching your objectives. So, identify these 20% in order to achieve the other 80%.

3. Do not multi-task (it rarely works) — Contrary to popular belief, multi-tasking rarely works. If you’re faced with a long to-do list with a number of tasks that need to be finalised on the same date, we suggest that you work on one task for a while, then you move onto something else rather than working on a number of different projects at the same time. Failing to do so may lead to getting confused on your objectives and becoming less focused since your mind is going back and forth between several projects which ends up creating a foggier approach to your work.

4. Decongest your email inbox — Your virtual workspace is as important as your real-life one. Apply an effective strategy and time blocks for when you should check your emails. We recommend that you at least establish 3 time slots per day to check your email inbox in order to ensure that each email you get receives the right span of attention. Reply to urgent and highly important emails immediately while filing others for later. Your preferred email provider may offer the service to tag a colour flag to each email, so you have better control on emails which you have already dealt with and others which still require your attention.

5. Organise your workspace — First and foremost, put your paperwork in its right place. Establish an efficient filing system which works for you and your line of work. Therefore, when a new paper document comes your way, you can either deal with it, trash it or file it away in its corresponding file to act on it later. Furthermore, de-clutter your desk from non-essentials. We’re not saying that you should throw away that family photo but remove some items that you have not used during the past 6 months.

And there you have it! 5 easy yet highly effective tips to be happier, more productive and more organised at your work. Give them a go!