14 LIFE-CHANGING DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR WORKSPACE
Are you looking for some decluttering tips for how to organize your desk and office space?
You’re in the right place. This video marks the start of our 31 Weeks of Productivity Challenge! In this video, we dive into some of the most life-changing tips for decluttering your desk and improving your desk organization. If you love minimalism and want to improve your organization and productivity, you’ll love the decluttering tips in this video! Remember to subscribe if you want more tips on decluttering!
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There are endless decluttering tips for your workspace and I have a few of those ideas myself.
Before we get into today's video, I just want to welcome you to my 31 weeks of productivity challenge here on YouTube.
These next few weeks are going to be challenging. They are going to be motivating and they are going to be very, very productive. The purpose of this challenge is to give you one action step that you can do every single week, that’s not going to take up too much of your time that you can do to help increase your productivity and create more balance in your daily schedule as a business owner.
We are going to be covering organizational tips like the topic that we're kicking things off with today along with mindset shifts and productivity hacks to really just make sure that we're covering all bases.
And the best thing about each of these challenges is that you can come back to them again and again and again.
You don't need anything for this challenge, you just need you and a little bit of motivation. I'll be here every single week with your action step for that week and you have seven days to complete it and I'll be doing these with you as well.
So if you want to take part and follow along and make sure you tag me on your Instagram story so I can see your progress and see how you're getting on.
And then also make sure that wherever you talk about the challenge, make sure to use #ProductivityBoss because you know we are all about that boss life.
So today we are getting started with week number one snd your first challenge is to declutter your workspace.
14 LIFE-CHANGING DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR YOUR WORKSPACE
Now, unless I'm having a little bit of an off day, you can usually find working at my desk in my home office pretty 24/7.
Now, everyone's workspace is going to look slightly different, but it's really important that you have a designated place to work so you can associate that place with you being your most productive self, that version of yourself that gets things done.
But what I do know is that if your desk is a mess and you've got stuff all over the place and you can't even see the surface of your desk because there's so much on it, then we've got a problem. Because that is definitely going to affect your productivity and not in a good way.
So if it is the case that you have got a messy desk or a messy workspace and you need to sort it out, then I have 14 quick decluttering tips to share with you today that are life changing in their own way for many different reasons. These tips for decluttering your life can make a massive difference to your life in general and none of them require spending any money.
Plus they can work for you whether you've got a whole room dedicated to your home office or you've got a desk in the corner of a room at home or it's at your kitchen table, it really doesn't matter. Enjoy these tips for decluttering!
P.S. If you want to know how to make decluttering a part of your daily schedule, download your free guide below!
#1 | Have A Simple System For Decluttering
I don't know about you, but when I've got a mammoth task ahead of me and I haven't got a plan for getting started, I find it so difficult to actually get started in the first place.
So when you start decluttering, you want to actually create a system that's going to allow you to get started and that's going to make the whole process so much easier. Plus your system will be filled with tidying up tips!
For example, you could have separate piles or you could grab a couple of bin bags or some boxes, grab some sticky labels and then I like to separate things into these different piles:
Trash
Recycling
Shredding
Anything that can be given away
Anything that belongs in another room
Anything you actually need to keep that lives in your office.
Then you can start collecting everything from your office, everything from the top of your desk, everything from your drawers and start putting them into these different piles.
And every time you’re looking for tips on decluttering your home, this is the system that you've got to follow.
#2 | Just Start
I know decluttering is overwhelming. There is no way around that. But I can promise you that it won't get any less overwhelming the longer that you put it off. That’s why I’m sharing these easy decluttering tips with you!
So if you're not one of those people that wants to get it done all in one day, then take a few minutes today to just get started. Clear one piece of clutter or two or 12. It really doesn't matter as long as you just get started.
Or you can set a timer for 10 to 15 minutes clear some clutter, and then when that timer goes off, you go back to your regularly scheduled day.
Bonus points if you block this out on your calendar!
If you do this every day, you will be amazed at how quickly you hack your way through your workspace clutter.
#3 | Have a Quick Win With A Dump Bin
One of my favourite hacks for decluttering your home is to have a dump bin and that gives you such a quick fun organizing win.
All you do is grab an empty box or a basket, whatever you've got in your house, and fill it with every single item that continues to keep cluttering up your desk. Then spend five to 10 minutes each day sorting through the items in the dump bin until it's empty.
If you start clearing off the top of your desk, you'll feel immediate relief from the overwhelm that the clutter causes, and you'll also know exactly where you need to find something if you end up needing it.
The only thing with this hack is that you've got to take that time to actually go through the items in your dump bin and organize them or else you've essentially just relocated your clutter and that's cheating!
#4 | Only Keep Out What You Use Frequently
I like to think that there's an everything hidden away / everything in view spectrum and it's going to vary where each of us fall in that spectrum.
I only prefer to have the necessities out on my desk:
Office lamp
Laptop
Water bottle
Calendar
Pen pot
Daily planner
A few other trinkets and inspirational quote cards that I have on my window sill.
Everything else is tucked away out of sight.
You need to decide where you fall on that spectrum. You might prefer to have all of your office supplies out with your notepad and pens and other tools, or you might fall somewhere in the middle. No matter where you fall on the spectrum, for your desk in particular, only keep out the items that you use most frequently, AKA the items that you use multiple times throughout the day. This is a good rule of thumb when it comes to tips for decluttering your home too.
#5 | Assign Every Item A Home
When it comes to top tips for decluttering this is a great one and it works wonders for your workspace as well.
When every item has a home, it makes tiding up after yourself a breeze. It's so easy to put items away and clear your desk in preparation for another productive day at work.
Assigning a home for something could be as simple as putting your pen back in a pen pot or it could be a little bit complex in terms of things like filing paper.
The point is that you know exactly what items belong and you know exactly where you need to find them when you need them.
#6 | Use A Desk Tray To Catch Paper Clutter
It's highly likely that your workspace is doing double or even triple duty. So it's important to have a catch-all filter for incoming items. An office inbox or in other words, a desk tray allows you to control the flow of information and papers that are coming into your office on a daily basis.
It means you can avoid having stacks of papers on your desk and also means that you can review all of the information that's coming in.
I especially like the clear acrylic trays. These are perfect if you want to avoid those bookie looking trays and also if you want easy access to papers and notebooks as well.
#7 | Clear Your Desk At The End Of Each Day
Now I get it. It might seem like a lot of work to clear your desk at the end of each day, but it's going to be so refreshing for you to end the day and start the next day on a clear, clean slate.
I highly suggest clearing your workspace at the end of each day so you are greeted each new morning with a decluttered workspace. This is my favourite piece of decluttering advice.
It's going to help you feel so much more creative and productive when you sit down at your desk each morning.
And this is even more important if your desk space and your office space is where you do your morning routine, which for me it is.
Honestly, this is probably the most life changing habit on this list because not only has it increased my organization, but it's also allowed me to increase the energy that it takes in order to maintain that organization.
All you need to do is put all of your items away, which should be super easy now, especially if you followed the tips that we've just outlined because every item should now have a home!
File your papers and again, they should be super, super quick, especially if your filing system is within an arm's reach of your desk space. Then put anything else on your desk away and make sure it is nice and tidy and exactly as you left it first thing this morning.
By taking the time to do this each and every day when you clock off means you will never sit down to a cluttered workspace again.
Your productivity will improve and your whole office and workspace will stay way more organized.
If you want to know how to turn this into a daily habit, download your free to-do list detox exercise below!
#8 | Get A Daily Planner
If you've watched the videos on this channel for any length of time or you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I love my Google Calendar. I live my life by it. It truly is wonderful and I will admit that now it's almost impossible to function without them. I mean, where is your phone right now is probably right by you or you're even watching this video on it.
But I also think it is so important to have a daily paper planner.
Having a visual physical planner helps our mind process the tasks that we need to complete.
A daily planner is also a great way to have your notes and to do lists all in one place, which means you can throw away all those random post it notes and just have everything in your daily planner.
It also works as a great documentation system for things that have already happened. So if your memory is not 100% spot on, then your daily planner could end up being your best friend.
#9 | Eliminate Distractions In Your Environment
Our mind is constantly being bombarded with information, so it's really important that we have a system to weed out everything apart from the essentials. And the first step with this is to eliminate any auditory or visual distractions in our environment.
If your mind is full of off-target things, that is a massive productivity killer because it's essentially just mind clutter. So here are a few things I find helpful to make your environment more conducive to a more productive day.
First of all, reduce background noise
Turn off all those notifications on your phone, or at least put it on silent when you're working. And definitely listen to lyric free music as this will really, really help with your concentration.
If you are in an environment with people who are making a lot of noise, you could even get some noise canceling headphones. They might not eliminate background noise all together, but they can be a game changer when it comes to keeping you focused.
Reduce the visual distractions
So we've already talked about how to reduce distractions on your desk, but there's also some other visual elements that could be distractions as well.
Are you sitting by a window that has a lot of activity? Do a lot of different people walk by? Are you working with the TV on?
If you can take care of little factors like this, I promise you, you will feel so much more productive.
Sometimes even just shutting a door or changing the direction of your chair can solve a massive problem. This is one of the best decluttering tips out there!
#10 | Stay Off Social Media
This area doesn't really require that much explanation, does it? It is what it says on the tin!
I won’t spend too much time on this because I know that you know that spending way too much time on social media is a massive time suck.
So if you feel inclined to look at your social media accounts throughout the day, especially when you're working, then maybe save it for when you're on your lunch break or even as an afternoon treat.
There are lots of different things you can do, but the point is when you're in focused work time, unless you are using it for work, stay off it.
#11 | File Your Emails Or Delete Them After You’e Addressed Them
If you have your inbox open all the time, that is not the best relationship to have with your emails.
Address your emails only a few times a day and take action on items immediately. Block that time out throughout your day.
Turn off your email notifications, that ping constantly telling you that you've got a new email coming through.
If you don't do that, then you'll end up going off task and it will be a massive time waster because as soon as you see that notification pop up, you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else until you see what it is.
Now I realize that not every job will allow for this for even just setting certain times of the day aside to look at emails. That is definitely doable.
#12 | Keep Plants In Your Office
There has been so much research around plants and productivity.
Having plants in your workspace has been proven to make your workspace feel more calm and relaxed and anything that is going to help reduce anxiety is going to lead to better productivity.
So get a plant or five…depending on how big they are, you don't want it to be a jungle!
#13 | Use Draw Dividers
I know what one of your draws looks like in your workspace. You can't fool me. And the reason why I know this is because I have one that is exactly the same.
Drawer dividers are perfect if you have messy drawers and want to get everything in order. It means you'll be able to keep everything organized and you'll also be able to separate things by categories and everything.
Plus, it'll save you so much time when you go start looking for an item in your drawers because as soon as you open one of your drawers, you'll be able to see at a glance where everything is because of these dividers.
#14 | Make It Your Own
The most important thing to remember is that this is your workspace. It's where you work and you need to make it work for you.
It can turn into your haven, that safe space where you can go, that's just yours, your personal space. There is so much power in that, so look after it as you would yourself and even just committing to it. Just saying, I will look after my workspace. I will show the same care for my workspace that I show myself and knowing that sign that when you declutter through your desk at the end of the work day, that is when you are clocking off and you can go and enjoy the rest of your evening.
Your workspace will never work for you unless it's based on what you want it to be. Don't copy someone else's, base it on what makes you the most happy.
Have you grabbed your copy of my latest free guide, The Fab Four? This is your guide for learning the four daily non-negotiables I prioritize in order to help me create balance in my daily schedule. So This is the manual for which tasks you should be prioritizing on a daily basis and what that looks like for you. Plus there's an exercise called The To-Do List Detox which is going to give you some options for how you can add these things into your daily routine so you can have a well rounded, balanced day every day and live that boss lifestyle.