As a knowledge worker, you likely spend your hours glued to a computer screen, scour tons of tips and articles on how to get more done and raise the bar for productivity. While at it, give this a thought – did you know that where you work could be a big factor that decides how efficient and productive you will be?

A recent survey reveals that average employees lose an hour a day due to disorganization of their workspace i.e. six weeks a year. Most Americans believe clutter has a negative impact on their lives and work, and damages their productivity.
Here are five tips to organize your workspace for maximum productivity.

#1 Adopt a clean-desk policy (CDP)

CDP involves a set of corporate guidelines and rules regarding how employees’ working space should look like after they leave for the day. Besides the obvious benefits of pushing organizations towards a digitized, paper-less workspace, enforcing a CDP boosts corporate productivity, reduces time and cost wastage associated with finding, keeping, and safeguarding assets. What’s more, it improves creativity by freeing employees from the burden of navigating through a cluttered environment.

#2 Create a dedicated space for the incoming things

From important documents to umbrellas, rain coats, jackets, and trash – a lot of items make their way into your office on a typical day. If you don’t have a dedicated space, like a shelf/trolley/hanging hooks/drawer where all this can be stored, the junk is likely going to be strewn all over your working space, making it messy and prone to distractions. Create a catch-it space for all kinds of incoming items, preferably near the entrance of your office/cubicle so junk doesn’t get a chance to come anywhere near the working desks. Remember to clear this catch-it space regularly though.

#3 Keep personal knick-knacks to a minimum

A family picture, postcards from your last vacation, greeting cards from friends are all great at reminding you to maintain work-life balance and not work beyond office hours regularly. However, too much of personal stuff on your desk can create clutter, bringing down your productivity.

#4 Get yourself a sit-stand ergonomic desk

Energy management plays a vital part in determining how productive you will be through a day, and a sit-stand desk is perfect to balance your physical energy. You should be able to stand and complete urgent, closed-ended tasks such as making a call and typing at the same time.
Here the screen height of your monitor matters most so you are able to keep our neck straight. Your keyboard position should be set so the elbows can be at 90 degrees angle to the chest, and your desk height should let you place your feet flat on the floor. You should sit down for creative or technical tasks that require deep thinking such as content writing, strategy planning, coding, etc.

#5 Color yourself productive

Colors influence our moods and consequently, productivity and energy management.

• Red: The fiery shade is for imparting a boost of energy – think red wallpaper on your desktop, red color in your office drawers/upholster, etc.
• Yellow: The sunny shade stimulates creativity – if you are a design professional, go for yellow in your workspace.
• Purple: Stimulates problem solving abilities – if you are an analyst or a strategy planner, choose this one.
• Green: It calms the mind, causes zero strain to the eye, and is ideal for those who spend long hours in the office.
• Orange: It boosts social interaction and collaboration, making it ideal for conference rooms, cafeterias, and thinking spots in the workspace.

Your desk is really the cockpit, the design of which has a cascading effect on a number of factors including better time and energy management, turnaround of tasks, job satisfaction, and innovation. Revisit your desk organization today and watch your productivity better consequently.

About the author: Linda Sanchez is the Chief Communication Officer of Habiliss. She considers herself a writer at heart, a communication specialist professionally, but most of all a fellow human trying to help out many with stress and lifestyle management while gaining back control over their life. Linda loves networking with people globally with similar interests, of varied cultural and professional backgrounds, and a lot of information to share. You can read more of her articles here.