If you’re feeling stuck at work, it probably could have something to do with a cluttered workspace. The appearance of a cluttered desk often tells your brain that you have tons to do when in fact you may not! Seeing the mess may overwhelm you, triggering your body’s stress response. An organised workspace can easily eliminate this unnecessary stress and make you feel more in control of your life. In addition to being organised, a neat and ordered desk will also help you be more efficient at work. So, if the thought of working at your messy desk and organising it is giving you heart palpitations, here are some study table organization ideas to help you.
1. Create space for personal belongings
The things that you bring to work every day need to go somewhere. Rather than chucking them anywhere on your desk, create a dedicated space for them. In fact, get yourself an office table organiser to designate space for items like your bag, wallet and keys. That way, they won’t come in the way of your work.
2. Follow the Marie Kondo method of tidying
If you’re dealing with an exceptionally cluttered desk, you need to follow this method. Go through all the items on your desk one by one and ask yourself questions like “Do I need this? How is this useful to me in my daily work?”. Keep the things that you find essential. And by essential, we don’t mean a decorative plant on your desk that you probably don’t water daily! Let that plant grow somewhere else. The aim is to make more room on your desk for stuff that you need while working.
3. Clean your desk
It goes without saying — if you want a clean desk, you should wipe it down daily. As you follow this routine, you will begin work with a clean desk and a fresh start each morning. Do a thorough clean weekly to reorganise office supplies in their respective desk organisers, arrange folders that have been misplaced or deal with any trash that you may have missed.
4. Go digital
Still wondering how to organise your study table? Get rid of all the paper piles! Retain the physical copies of essential documents that you need. Scan everything else and save the files as PDFs on your computer. This will make it more convenient for you to search and access them when the need arises. It makes archiving easier and reduces so much visual clutter from your desk. While you’re at it, remove those extra and outdated sticky notes from around your workspace. You can switch to adding reminders on your phone.
5. Keep a notebook
You can’t probably use your phone all the time. A notebook is a great tool that can act as a study table organiser. Jot down all the important dates, events and reminders in your notebook and remember to keep it with you all the time.
6. Separate office table organiser
If some of your work is paper-based that can’t be turned digital, organise the scattered paper piles on your desk into separate trays. Designate one tray for the documents you’ve already dealt with and the other for new documents you are yet to work on. This is a key step in study table organisation.
7. Maximise the space under your desk
Measure the space you have under your desk and get a study table organiser to fit that space. If you’re up for a DIY craft project, you can make a DIY drawer using table organiser ideas from the internet. You’ll have more space to store items and have room for aesthetically pleasing items on your desk. Use drawer dividers so that there is a spot for everything.
8. Sort things by order of importance
Sorting things is an essential process in office organisation and the best way to do this is by order of importance. Take an item and ask yourself how often you use it or need it. This will help you figure out where in your workspace you should place each item. Keep the things you use often in places that can be accessed easily. The ones that you don’t need often can go somewhere less accessible.
9. Use a laptop or monitor riser
A laptop or monitor riser can be very beneficial for your posture. Apart from that, it can actually work as a great office desk organiser as you can store your things in it, leaving more free space on your desk.
10. Get a trash can
A trash can will greatly aid your study table organization efforts. Put one under or next to your desk. The moment you realise you don’t need something anymore, toss it into the trash can. Otherwise, chances are that the clutter will pile up.
An organised desk has many more benefits than just being visually appealing. Now that you know how to organise your study table, it’s time to go clean the mess!