Step 2: Clear Your Clutter

By Jessica Hoelzel
 
When your desk and surface areas in your office are covered with clutter, you can experience:Lack of clear thinking
Difficulty focusing
Lack of creativity
Lack of productivity
Feelings of being scattered
Frustration and overwhelm

Some people say they thrive in a mess, but the fact is the energy of clutter is distracting and draining. Many different pieces of paper, notebooks, publications, binders and other materials all hold the energy of the information they hold and where they came from. They pull you in different directions according to what you are meant to do with them. Even if you are “ignoring” them, or “trying” to work around them, they are crying for your attention and weighing you down with their burden.

Spring is a great time to give yourself the gift of a fresh start. Dig into the clutter, sort it out and eliminate what you don’t need. Then, store what you do need in an efficient way. For example:

Set aside about three hours to start (it will probably take longer, depending on how much stuff there is to go through; papers typically take longer than you think – 100 papers can be condensed in just a short stack)
Gather a bag for recycling, a bag for shredding, a box for things to go elsewhere (that don’t belong in your office), and a box for storage
Sort through your papers and materials, putting them in one of the above receptacles, and in piles by category. Label the piles’ categories with brightly-colored sticky notes
Once you have eliminated what you don’t need, decide on a system for what you do (filing drawers or portable box, trays, decorative boxes)
Keep what you need most often the most accessible. Store records in bankers boxes outside the office, if you can
Shop a store with lots of organizing containers and ideas to fine tune your system over time (my favorites are www.containerstore.com and www.target.com)

Stick with it - clutter is not something you clear and are done with. Things are constantly accumulating. But, if we’re diligent on a day-to-day basis about keeping it functional, we can keep the energy positive and flowing.

Want to feel more in-control of your life? Set your office up for success.

By Jessica Hoelzel
 
Step 1: Make Sure Your Desk is in the Command Position

Often surprised by things? Burn yourself out by dealing with one crisis after another? Feeling helpless or excluded from decision-making?

Take a look at where is your desk situated in the room. When you sit at your desk you should have a view of the door, but not be too close to it or directly in line with it. Ideally, you should be diagonal from the door. This placement is called the command position. “Command” meaning YOU are in command of your work, time, commitments, planning, even attitude and energy levels.

Position your desk so that it is not “shoved” in a corner. (Thus, “backing you into a corner”, making you feel stuck or helpless.) Many office systems – desk, filing, shelving all in one – are designed this way to maximize functionality. However, these units can be limiting; usually there is only one way they work in the room.

If you are in a cubicle, or it is otherwise impossible for you to see the door, place a mirror on your desk so that you see the reflection of the door in the mirror. This way, you minimize surprises. Things aren’t sneaking up behind you or bowling you over, but instead you can see what is coming.

Doors or entrances are mouths of chi, and special attention needs to be paid so that you are able to receive the opportunities and good fortune that comes in, but protect yourself from being vulnerable to too much coming at you at one time.

Keep following for more to come!