by Mandy Green, Busy Coach
Whether you’re working in your own office, a shared office, or your home office, your productivity depends a lot on the environment.
A well-organized office has huge benefits. In the first place, it provides a feeling of control and competence, which leads to higher levels of productivity. Second, the very fact that it’s organized defends against distractions. Your organized office can absorb the incoming work and position you for success.
On the other hand, working in a cluttered, messy, or distracting environment could affect your work in a negative way. I say could because there are those that thrive and have a secret love of disorder. If this describes you and this is the environment where you work best, keep doing what you are doing and more power to you.
But, there have been a number of studies which have attempted to prove that working in a cluttered and unorganized workspace have a negative impact on our work.
A 2011 study by Princeton neuroscientists, for instance, found that clutter directly causes stress – a problem which, if left unchecked, can quickly lead to employee burnout in the workplace.
Now, rearranging or moving piles occasionally doesn’t count coach. Neither does clearing off your desk by swiping the mess into a desk drawer (I tried that and it didn’t work well because there was too much to fit so I couldn’t close the door).
Fortunately, organizing your office doesn’t require a degree in interior design. There are a lot of really simple things that you can do which will help immediately.
So, if you’re ready to get started, the following tips on this infographic will help you transform your office into an efficient workspace. This was created by a UK-based business savings company Make It Cheaper.
Use one tip or try them all. The amount of effort you put into creating and maintaining an efficient work area will pay off in a big way. Instead of spending time looking for things and shuffling piles, you’ll be able to spend your time…well…working. Good luck.
What methods do you use to create an organized office space? Email me at mandy@busy.coach and let me know.