How to Get Organized and Concentrate on Work

If your desk and computer desktop at work or home are in such disarray that they're distracting you or making you waste time by searching for necessary files and tools, it's time to take drastic measures to get organized so you'll be able to concentrate and get more done in less time.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Take everything except for your computer and phone off the top of your desk and place the items in a large cardboard box. Also include any clutter that has accumulated on your bulletin board, on the floor or even inside your drawers if you can't remember what's in them.
   • 2
     Buy a drawer organizer for your top drawer if you don't already have one and a desk tray with

     three levels that will sit atop your desk (see Resources).
   • 3
     Remove items from the storage box when you need them. Once you've used an office tool like a pencil, pen, scissors or stapler, store it in the drawer organizer. Once you've used a file or piece of paperwork, file it in the three-tiered desk tray.
   • 4
     Designate the bottom desk tray for paperwork that you'll need to reference in the immediate future. Use the middle tray for work in progress. Leave the top tray for incoming mail, assignments or items you need to evaluate. Empty the top tray before leaving the office each night, leaving only a "to do" list of the tasks you need to tackle the next day.
   • 5
     Evaluate the items left in the storage box after a month. File any old paperwork that you need to retain in a file cabinet or folder file on your bookshelf and toss the rest. Donate or give any remaining office supplies away to colleagues.
   • 6
     Keep any personal items like family photos, your kids' school art projects, executive puzzles and even awards off your desk if they pose a distraction throughout the day. Although it's sweet to gaze at portraits of your kids, remove the images if it means you can concentrate on your work and get home earlier to spend more time with them in person.

Tips & Warnings

• Adopt the same clean-up system with your computer desktop. Move all of the files cluttering your screen into a single file off to the side. Only move files back onto the desktop as you access them throughout the week. Place the remaining files in appropriate folders or back them up onto compact discs and delete the originals from your hard drive to conserve space.

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