Today, I was pleasantly surprise when I walked into work and found my desk neat and clean! I completely forgotten I had cleaned it off Friday afternoon.You see, I’m not normally a neat and tidy person. Usually I’m running around like a nut, leaving piles of various things in my wake. Those places include my Jeep, the kitchen counter, couch arm, anywhere in my family room…(you get the point). I’m obviously not a neat freak but I do prefer things to be clean and organized. I just can’t manage it most of the time.

When I started my current position a few years ago, I made a concerted effort to keep my desktop ready for the current project. It was so helpful for my brain to see a clean slate every day and then focus on only one project (or disaster!). Over the last several months, there has been more “disasters” and “fire drill” type projects that I haven’t been able to keep up. This has lead to some serious anxiety and near paralysis when it came to completing my work each day. I’d rush around all day working on a multitude of different projects with random papers to file, regulatory documents, binders, file folders and all kinds of things piling up because I never felt like I had the time to put away all of these documents. On top of all of that, I always eat breakfast and sometimes lunch at my desk. And I am always drinking a big cup of hot tea. The result is an occasional few drops of spilled tea or grease spots.

So late Friday afternoon, I seemed to be in a good place to address my organizational issue. Papers were sorted, some were filed, file folders arranged and a ton of papers were recycled. It never ceases to amaze me that in a world so hooked on electronics, the amount of paper that is always around! With the advent of file storage programs and larger computer hard drives, I thought by now our society would be killing fewer trees. I hope that the next generation who has grown up with electronics, we are able to reduce the need for paper, but for me, I like to have a paper copy to read and provide security in case of a server malfunction.

But I digress…

Once most of the papers were at least sorted, and things mostly organized, I cleaned the top of my desk. Several disinfectant wipes were needed to combat the accumulated dust and dirt on my desk top, as well as my computer keyboard and mouse. The phone and front of the desk drawers were also wiped down thoroughly.

It felt great to start off Monday morning with a clean desk. No pile of old projects staring me in the face. I can start the day (and week!) working on my current top priorities, not struggling to get through last week’s leftovers. My brain can function on a project without first attempting to navigate the clutter.

So give it a try this week! On Friday, give your desk or work space a good spring cleaning. It will make the world of difference.

Have any tips for making Monday morning more productive? Or for increasing productivity for those of us who spend the day sitting behind a desk?

(I think my next office space project will be a desktop essential oil diffuser, a standing desk or exercise ball seat!)