Office Organizing Ideas to Control the Clutter in Five Minutes or Less

The average person works approximately 80,000 hours in their lifetime. Given that huge time commitment, shouldn’t we feel positive and inspired by our workspace?   If you don’t, could it be that you are bogged down with office clutter? Most people would love an organized office space, but who has the time? Your NYC Professional Organizer has good news for you. You can have a clutter-free, creativity-enhancing workspace in almost no time at all. You can accomplish any of the following quick office organizing ideas in five minutes a day or less:

Are you working in a tiny, cramped corner of your desk because of all the clutter? Try taking five minutes at the end of your day to organize your most important workspace. Remove anything that you don’t use constantly, including pens, staplers, paperclip holder, etc. Unless you use it every five minutes during your day, it should live in your desk drawers, not on your desk top. Then wipe your newly visible desk top clean. You will feel inspired when you come to work the next day and see your desk clear, organized and ready for your best work.

Make a dent in that mountain of papers that are blanketing your desktop. Have an inbox for new documents, and file those that are no longer needed. Take all those scattered post-its and notes, put the information in your daily planner, and then throw them out. Toss junk mail, old flyers, old memos, etc. If it’s been lying untouched on your desk for two months, get rid of it.

Our email inbox is another clutter culprit. Happily, with a few email organization tips, you can remove a ton of irrelevant and distracting emails in five minutes. PSAV, an events technology company, recommends that you use the “Four Ds of Email” as your guide: 1. Delete junk mail or requests that you have already answered; 2. Do what the email asks right then if you can complete the task in two minutes or less;   3. Delegate the task to someone else on your team; or 4. Defer it for another time. Your NYC Professional Organizer predicts that within a few five-minute sessions, you will be on top of your email situation!

There’s one more very important office organization idea that concerns the most valuable equipment at work, which is YOU! Peter Bregman of The Harvard Business Review reminds us to take five minutes at the end of the day to pause, breathe, and reflect. Ask yourself, did I accomplish what I wanted? If not, what can I do tomorrow to accomplish my goals? Is there anyone that I forgot to contact or thank? Can I do that right now? And finally, what did I learn today? Allowing yourself five minutes to clear your mind and reflect on your day has a demonstrated, powerful, and positive effect on your job performance and satisfaction.

So everyone, Take Five!