Tips For Decluttering Your Workspace

Is it time to declutter your workspace?  

A cluttered home or work office can negatively impact your motivation and productivity. Clutter also means that confidential information may be exposed and at risk of a security breach.

In fact, a tidy workspace can actually boost your efficiency - according to interior design company oka.com, people make better decisions in a tidy space and 83% of people say they feel more productive, accomplished and in control.

Here are 10 tips and tricks for a tidy desk:  

1. Declutter the work area by picking up every item and asking, does it have a purpose? Anything that doesn’t should be thrown out or securely disposed of.
2. Clear your desk. Place only the items that are needed for daily work within arm’s reach - your phone, keyboard and monitor, work light and other essential work supplies.
3. Do not use sticky notes - they are messy and expose information. Instead use calendar reminders and a password manager.
4. Keep your personal items organised in a drawer or cupboard.
5. Organise your drawers by importance – items used most should go at the front of drawers that are easiest to reach.
6. Digitise paper documents when possible and keep all paper documents in locked cabinets or drawers.
7. There are data protection laws around how long you can keep certain documents, so create a comprehensive Document Management process to make sure that you can identify, file and securely dispose of documents when they are no longer needed, in line with the compliance regulations.
8. Organise digital information in clearly labelled and, where necessary, password protected files and folders. File all emails using a simple filing system, for example ‘reply’, ‘waiting’, ‘archive’. 
9. Do not download unnecessary (or personal) apps onto work devices and delete all unused apps and software.  
10. Implement a Clean Desk Policy so that your working area  tidied at the end of every day.

We can help protect your information and your business

For more information on how Shred-it can protect your documents and hard drives, please contact us for a free service quote.
 
Disclaimer
 
This article is provided for your convenience and does not constitute legal advice. Readers should not take, or refrain from taking, actions based upon the content of this article. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Please seek professional legal advice.