The second Monday of January is National Clean Off Your Desk Day (Yes, it’s real, I am not just making that up!).  So embrace the day, and clean off that desk!  Set yourself up to succeed:

1. Clear an hour on the schedule, grab a trash can, a couple of recycling bags and a shredder.
2. Designate a box for old electronics that need to leave (check my recycling guide for destinations), and a bag for items that need to go to someone else.  
3. This is not “Get Everything Done Day”.  The goal for today is to set up your Desk and space to succeed.  Stack work to be done to one side and note your To-Dos as they occur to you on a pad of paper at hand. 
4. Set up some empty vertically held file folders, either in a hanging folder file drawer or in a holder on your desk.  Files standing up are ready to receive info, instead of piling them flat.  As soon as files fall flat, they start to pile up.

Getting It Done:

1. If you have the space and time, clear everything off the desk and put back only what you really want to keep. 
2. If time and space don’t permit clearing your desk top entirely, then Start at the Left side of your desk, and work to the right.  That way, if you get distracted, you can pick back up where you left off. 
3. Clear clutter.  Work through each pile, deciding to “Keep” (for example, To-Do’s, file, long-term storage, keep but put in a different room or desk) or “Toss” (options may include recycle, shred, reference for other people, just plain garbage, donate).   And wipe off your desk at some point, it is amazing how dusty it gets!
4. Do not get distracted by other tasks to be done, just jot down those other tasks, and focus on clearing clutter and restoring your work space.

 Things to Remember:

1. Your desk top is prime and valuable real estate, like beach front property.  Dedicate your desk top to work, not to clutter. 
2. Use Horizontal space for work space, and Vertical Space for storage.  The more you can store close at hand above your desk on shelves or in cabinets, the more desk top space you will free up for work space.
3. Move electronics off your desktop, if possible.  Stack your printer or scanner on a shelf or stacker to open up desk space.  I have my All-In-One on a stacker, and store my project baskets beneath the stacker

 What Does and Does Not Belong on your Desk:

1. Does:  Lap top / Computer
2. Does Not:  Out-dated data storage, un-identifiable computer or accessory cords or connectors, non-functioning electronics of any kind.  Beach front property, remember?
3. Does:  Papers / files / binders for projects you will work on today and this week
4. Does Not: Books or reading materials you are not currently reading 
5. Does: Today’s coffee cup or water bottle, in a tip / spill proof container (voice of experience here!)
6. Does Not:  Any beverage or food item older than a few hours.  And certainly not a Candy Dish (mainly because it will be tempting to eat the whole thing!)
7. Does:  Pens / Pencils / scissors / stapler / letter opener that you use regularly. 
8. Does Not:  More than 10 of any type of pen, pencil or tool. 
9. Does:   One useful container paper clips or binder clips.  Just one.  And it has to actually be functional, not just cute.   And maybe one useful container for spare change.   Just one.
10. Does Not:
    1. Shoes, unless you are a cobbler (yes, I’ve really seen this)
    2. Houseplants.  Move them to a shelf or a table near by.  The water overflow and dirt dump potential make these bad desk-top choices.
    3. Candles.  Shifting piles of papers, open flame, yikes.
    4. Photos.  Hang these on the wall or on a shelf nearby.  Desk top space is at a premium, and I can see photos on the wall better, anyway.
    5. Legos, Matchbox Cars and Goldfish, living or crackers (or maybe this is just my desk)

Ways to Maintain that lovely clear desk space:

1. Make it Easy for things to leave:
   1. Leave the garbage and recycling cans and shredder nearby.  Make an appointment with yourself to use them, and to empty all of those receptacles once a week (Thursday morning for me).
   2. Leave a Donate Bin (for example, for books or old and obsolete electronics) and an Errand folder (for mail to mail, bank deposits, etc.) nearby, to help things leave your office in a timely manner.
2. Plan to convert subscriptions for professional journals or magazines to an on-line option, and purge all the old ones, since many are available on-line for free or as part of your subscription price
3. Cut down on your paper consumption.  If you have a paper Filing System that you like, duplicate the system and file names on your computer hard drive (and back-up often, of course!!).  For example, instead of printing an email with a marketing idea and putting it in a folder for later, I can save the same email to a “Marketing Ideas” subfolder on my laptop.  This makes it easier to retrieve, convenient to cut and paste info as needed, and my desk stays neater. 

Here’s to a cleaner desk!  Have fun!