Posted on: Monday, May 19, 2003

AT WORK
Taking time to organize your desk can boost productivity

By Andrea Kay
Gannett News Service

There's not a single piece of paper on Michael's desk. Not a folder, pencil, pen, paper clip or Post-It note. On the credenza next to his desk, a dozen hardback books and a single photograph of a woman under a beach umbrella are impeccably aligned.

It's hard to believe anyone actually works in this office that belongs to a manager for a nonprofit organization. But his associate down the hall assures me he really does. And by the looks of it, he seems incredibly organized.

But is he?

You can appear organized, yet be unable to get things done, says Jan Jasper, productivity expert and author of "Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work Information and Technology." On the other hand, she adds, "You can have a messy desk but still be effective."

With it being National Effectiveness Week May 19-23 — as proclaimed by Jasper — this could be the week to get your office not just more organized, but more productive.

A good place to start is your desk. A decent working space needs to be set up so you can work well. The kind that I just described is probably not a well-functioning desk. Picture-perfect, minimalist offices with nothing on them but a laptop are the worst clutter magnets, Jasper says.

Instead, a well-functioning desk would have papers, files and supplies that you're using or frequently use, she says.

That means you shouldn't have those stacking trays — the old inbox kind — on your desk, that make it tempting to just stick stuff there. If you have them, use them to hold letterhead and envelopes only. Plexiglas or wire vertical file holders are best for holding files you're working on.

The space around your desk that you can reach without getting up is prime real estate and should be used to the maximum, she says. So, that's where you put other things you use a lot — reference materials and supplies. The space above your desk is also choice and a smart place to put a hutch or attach bins for papers you use often.

Should you clean up your desk at the end of the day?

As a habitual non-desk cleaner, I was thrilled to hear Jasper say that cleaning your desk can actually interfere with efficiency. Instead, it's more important to have a good system for getting your work done than to have a clean desk.

That system might include taking a file you don't need but can't get rid of and moving it to a file drawer that's not next to your desk.

Jasper also advises us to avoid binders, of which I have dozens stuffed into my bookshelves.

"If you don't have time to file, where will you find the time to hole-punch?"

She's got a point.

She and I both like sticky notes to plan and remind us of things to do or that we want to have staring us in the face — goals, inspirational sayings, that sort of thing.

But don't follow my lead when it comes to newsletters. Never, she says, file a newsletter intact. Instead, note any events you plan to attend in your appointment book, tear out useful articles, file them by topic and ditch the rest in the trash.

When I asked her about one of my favorite filing techniques — putting stuff on the floor — she said it's fine for sorting things out, if you can do it comfortably. But she didn't seem to advocate it for long-term use.

I don't know about you, but I've got some organizing to do.