In a study commissioned by Professional Organizers in Canada, 7 in 10 Canadians who work say their workplace is disorganized, and disorganized Canadians report feelings of stress, frustration and failure.

Organize Your Desk Day, a yearly event on the third Thursday of Small Business Week, brings focus to the need for order in the workplace to indeed boost productivity, but also to improve disorganized Canadians’ peace of mind.

If you’ve been reading along over the past 10 weeks as we have journeyed the path to greater order, you’ll be celebrating an organized desk right now or be well on your way.  Congratulations!  Please feel free to share your story on www.facebook.com/organizeyourdeskday.  If not, I invite you to read through the previous posts to begin to create order in your workspace.  

A messy desk may be the most obvious sign of disorganization; it is however, not the only indication.  If you notice any of the following signs of disorganization, consider sharing what you have learned or passing along this series of articles to encourage others to become more organized and more productive.   Disorganization not only affects the individual’s work, it affects others – both colleagues and customers.

In addition to a messy desk, the following are signs of a disorganized approach to work:

We’ve covered a wealth of material in this series which is applicable to any office, but working from home presents unique challenges. Numerous stats show productivity gains of 15% or more through working from home. Why is it then that some people can work successfully from home but others say they simply can’t? The foundation to work successfully from home comes from planning an effective work space and developing appropriate work practices.

Here are six strategies you can implement to ensure productive work from home:

1. Pay as much attention to creating your home office as you would an office in a traditional work environment

Identify the tasks you need to accomplish and determine the work surfaces, storage and tools you need to support those tasks. Invest in ergonomic equipment to keep you working safely – this includes among other things your chair, keyboard and mouse, keyboard tray, monitor stands and footrests. Be mindful that the least expensive office tools are not necessarily the best value if they don’t function the way you need them to, or you end up replacing them more often.

2. Set boundaries

It is important to create physical boundaries to preserve your ability to work in a focused manner. This may mean repurposing a room with a closed door to create a quiet environment.

We’ve covered the theory behind getting organized, but what about the practical side? How do you go from a cluttered to calm desk space?  The following 5 steps show you how:

1.  Commit

Set aside 30 minutes to tackle the re-organization of your desk top.  Once the space has been redefined, it will take much less time to clear at the end of each workday.  

2. Clear  

File any papers, folders or reference material.  Recycle or shred any unimportant papers. 

Set aside – perhaps in a bag or box – items to be returned to others, or taken home.

Use a box – perhaps the one copy paper is delivered in – and place in it all the remaining items from your desk.  

3. Cull  

As you place items in the box, edit your supplies.  Get rid of pens and markers that don’t work or that you simply don’t like using.   Throw out dried up glue sticks. Let go of the three jammed staplers that you think might work one day and replace them with one that does.

Keep only one each of basics such as tape or glue at your desk, and place backups in a supply cabinet.

Take a closer look at all the awards and office trinkets you have accumulated. It is alright to let them go if they are taking up valuable desk space.  

If you like to keep photos in your office, consider mounting them on the wall, or changing to a digital photo frame to reduce their footprint.

Here we are, 8 weeks after beginning this series on organizing your workspace, finally talking about how to organize your desk. We have covered space planning, ergonomics, time management and information management before getting to the desk – the most used space.  

Why?  To have an uncluttered desk space that lets you focus on your work task by task, you need to have a place or a strategy to handle everything that might land there.  Only then is it possible to clear your desk without causing chaos.

Take a look at your desk - you may see amongst the screens and wires an assortment of office supplies, papers, sticky notes, a snack or drink, files, calendars, a telephone, a lamp, and a planner for example.  We have already reviewed how to store items that may accumulate on your desk while you work, but which of these really ought to be there?

The following 5 items are truly worthy of your desk real estate:

1. Task lighting and the telephone

Make space on your desk for task lighting – preferably on the opposite side from the hand you write with to avoid casting shadows across your writing.  This is also the ideal place for a telephone, as it facilitates note-taking while you’re talking, and keeps the cord from interfering with your work.

2. Filing supplies

New features have been designed into data storage supplies to make them easier to use and to save you time.  Take a look at your data storage processes and especially for any that are repeated often, consider feature-rich quality tools for a smoother, more efficient experience.

Here are a few of my recent favourites:

Sheet Protectors 

Perfect for preserving important papers, the average sheet protector opens at the top and can be somewhat fiddly to use when inserting documents.  If you want fast and easy access and a clean look you’ll want to try the Wilson Jones EasySnap™ Sheet Protector for its two-sided opening and uncluttered appearance.

Easy to use Staplers and Hole Punches 

If you often collate documents or prepare binders, consider the Swingline® Optima® 40 Reduced Effort Stapler and the Swingline® Optima® Low Force Punch, both  designed for repeated use with less effort.  The stapler requires 50% less effort than a traditional stapler and has capacity for 40 sheets to easily accommodate a variety of projects.  Comfort is increased through the thoughtful addition of a soft grip surface. 

Index Tabs 

Fourth-generation wireless: A tale of two providers [Globe and Mail] 

Apple to make iPhones for CDMA network [Mac Rumours]

A satellite phone (and it's the size of a cell phone) [Engadget]

92% of U.S. Toddlers Have Online Presence [Mashable]