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Clare Kumar Writes About Organizing Your Workspace – Photo Courtesy of GetConnectedMedia.com

By Clare Kumar

Every year, the third Thursday in Small Business Week is “Organize Your Desk Day”.

Why a day to focus on something that sounds as simple as an organized desk? For many of us, an organized desk is an elusive reality keeping us from clear thinking and maximum productivity. One study reported that employees spend up to 30% of their time searching for lost information. Not only is that expensive, it simply doesn’t feel good. Another study suggests that over half of computer users report pain from use during the first year after starting a new job. Uncomfortable workspaces lead to unproductive work.

Think about how much time you spend working in your office. Isn’t it worth figuring out how to ensure that your workspace is helping, not hindering your work? An organized desk is really a symbol of an organized workspace, one that is:

* consistently ready for use
* convenient for finding the tools and information you need
* comfortable and conducive to your work activities
* creative and inspiring

Over the next ten weeks, we will go step-by-step through everything you need to do to create an organized desk in time for Organize Your Desk Day. We will explore how to effectively manage your space, time, information and ‘stuff’ – the tools of work and your sources of inspiration.

Simply tailoring your workspace to suit you and how you like to work will boost your productivity. People are different sizes and shapes and have different learning styles and responses to their environments. Some things in your office may be working well for you, but chances are your space could be further customized to suit your preferences and work style so you can work more efficiently. Worth exploring?

Here are three important steps to take to get the most out of the following weeks as we tackle organizing your workspace:

1. List what currently frustrates you about working in your space.

It could be things such as recurring neck pain when using the computer, not being able to find files, suffering too many interruptions, glare from the afternoon sun, a calendar that’s never up to date, or bills that go unpaid. You get the idea. This is your chance to think about your daily work experience and identify what’s not working. Rank this list in order or frustration. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s time to think positive.

2. Define the benefits you will value from being more productive.

What if you could solve the problems you’ve just identified? What would the benefit be to eliminating neck pain, for example? What will the impact be of increasing your physical comfort and reducing stress on your body? Will it affect your relationships? How about the ability to accomplish more in less time? Think through what you will actually do with the additional time.

Write down at least three major benefits and keep them handy. Write them in a notebook or on your smartphone or computer. Add them to the top of your whiteboard to keep them visible. Create a file called “Organizing” or “Productivity”, choosing the term you are most likely to remember. You’ve now got a list of meaningful benefits that will continue to inspire you to pursue change.

3. Make it your intention to create order.

This simply means making a commitment to invest time and energy to establish order. If it feels daunting to work alone, it can help to engage a partner. Find a colleague or fellow entrepreneur and work on your spaces at the same time. Each week set up a time to talk through your projects, what’s working and what’s not. You’ll keep each other accountable. Even better share your stories and successes on our blog or at http://www.facebook.com/organizeyourdeskday.

Armed with your commitment, motivating reasons, list of trouble spots, and the strategies and tools we’ll explore in the upcoming weeks, you’ll be quickly on your way to greater productivity and peace of mind.

ACCO BRANDS CANADA is proud to sponsor this 10 week series on organizing your workspace leading up to ORGANIZE YOUR DESK DAY on October 21, 2010. Get the tools you need to get organized from world-class brands such as Swingline, Quartet, Day-Timer, GBC, Kensington, and Wilson Jones. Clare Kumar, founder and Chief Organizer at Streamlife, an organizing company, will take you on a practical and inspiring journey from chaos and clutter to productivity and peace of mind.

Source: http://www.getconnectedmedia.com/blog/author/Clare%20Kumar