You’ve heard the saying: a tidy desk is a tidy mind. While in the past many were comfortable with chaos – Albert Einstein famously had a desk littered with piles of papers – today the variety of tools and amount of possessions available to workers has changed. Now it is widely agreed that people are more productive when their desk is tidy and uncluttered.

Across the world, many of us are currently grappling with the nuances of working from home for the first time, and in most cases this means trying to find the best home office ideas, the ideal place to set up shop and conversely how to keep organised.

While none of us claims to be an expert office designer, there are plenty of ways to tidy up and transform your workspace into a visually appealing and distraction-free zone. In this blog post, we look at 6 clever tips you can use to keep your home office desk in top-notch condition – and your mind beautifully at rest.

 

1.   Purge your desk

Clutter competes for your attention. Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience reveals that a disorganised desk is not only hard to look at – it can also make it harder for you to focus.

With that in mind, the best place to start is by clearing out your home office space. Go through everything on your desk and ask yourself when was the last time you used it and if you really need it.

Be honest and be brutal and simply get rid of the stuff you no longer use; keep the ones you do.

Old business cards, junk mail, stacks of papers you haven’t looked at in years, flyers for events long-gone, old tattered notebooks, ink-deprived pens: it’s time to chuck them out. You can keep things like old photos, gifts or anything else with a sentimental value safe in a storage box.

Now, add a tick to the first step on your journey to a more organised home office desk - a focal point to be proud of.

 

2.   Next step, clean

Once the initial paper clutter is out of the way, this is your perfect chance to start over. Dust and wipe down your desk, keyboard, and computer screen, clean your office chair, desk lamp, desk drawers – and anything else you can get your hands on (literally).

When you’re finished, your desk will have a sparking new gleam, ready for a new start. Bear in mind that viruses can linger on items such as telephones and keyboards for 24 hours or more; so having a work surface that is clean is not only visually appealing, it is also good for your health, (while having an organised desk has also been shown to reduce stress and anxiety!).

 

Meanwhile, if you’re hotdesking and moving around different places, it’s important to make sure that items being frequently touched are also kept clean. A study found that the average desk has more germs than a toilet seat! Stay healthy simply by wiping down your workspace daily.

 

You now have a clean slate to work with, so what clever tools do you have at your disposal to help you keep your home office desk organised at all times. 

 

3.   Get smart with storage

Perhaps the best tip for a clean desk is to consider your storage. Desk organisation boxes are wonderful work companions – and a really simple way to keep things neat and tidy. Loose headphones, chargers, unsightly wires can all quickly become a thing of the past. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes as an easy way to optimise space.

Again, if you’re hot-desking and used to your work desk moving around the house, a portable organisation box can provide the quick convenience you need to get going and keep things neatly organised from place to place. Small storage caddies and floating shelves can also help you maximise the space around you, while keeping things off your desk – from notebooks to photos and your favourite trinkets.

 

4.   Keep supplies and tools at hand

At home you are responsible for your own sorting and organization system and can quite quickly turn your home office desk into a masterclass in organisation with the right equipment.

Firstly, make sure all tools have a designated home – everything from scissors, to pens, pencils, staplers, highlighters, loose paper clips, should have their own spot so that they are not messily sprawled out. Similarly, any loose papers, notes and documents need to be in a place where they can be neatly arranged and easily accessible. Whether it’s a pencil holder, desk organiser, or paper tray, make sure everything has its own comfortable spot – and kept as close or far away as you are likely to need it.

Similarly, use drawer and folder dividers to keep things in their own compartments where they can be easily reachable, while any other reminders can be written on a mini whiteboard, saving your desk from being littered with post-it-notes.

 

5.   Label for organisation

While labels are vital for filing, they are also important in keeping your home office desk organised, making it much easier to find what you’re looking for. Labeling means you can quickly pick items up and return them to their assigned homes, for instance, labeling binders, files and folders, saves you lots of precious time to focus on work (especially if you have a shared work area).

According to a 2018 Kyocera research, about 2 hours are spent daily searching for files and documents – time which could be spent more productively. The last thing you want is the hassle of working out which items belong or don’t belong to you - so it really does pay to keep your work space tidy!

 

6.   Inject colour to boost your workflow

Vital for your filing system but also to your wellbeing, get creative with colour. Colourful labels are much more useful, as a quick glance toward the right colour can help you get your hands on the file you’re after far quicker.

 

Insert copy: Keep your notes and important documents in colour-coded folders and use colourful trays and storage boxes to save time looking for the right things.

 What’s more, our minds are inherently programmed to respond to colour – so if posible make sure you add some natural light, warmth and greenery (without it being too distracting) to your office desk at home to keep it visually attractive and somewhere you enjoy working.

 

Remember, it's up to you to stay organised. Research shows 80% of the clutter in most homes is a result of disorganisation, not lack of space. There’s always room for improvement.

 

For more products to help you keep your home office desk organised, browse our new Cosy range of home office supplies.