We all breathed a collective sigh of depression at the news that we would be returning home for another month. A brief sojourn to the office over the past few weeks has been enlightening for the few of us who have been allowed back.
Drinking coffee from a proper coffee machine, printing reams of A4 pages in colour just because we can, filling up bottles of water from the chilled cooler … there are simple perks that working from home just fails to deliver. However, there are ways to make sure that the desk in your living room (or the surface of your bed) channels proper office organisation in just a few simple steps.
Tidy In Stages
This is just a basic rule that needs to be followed. Just as your mother always told you to make your bed first thing in the morning, so you should keep your work space neat and dusted. Remove those chocolate wrappers, wipe away those cupcake crumbs and keep a box of eco-friendly wet wipes to hand for regular wipe downs. If the level of tidying you have to do is too daunting, do it in stages from low effort (cupcake crumbs) to high effort (book colour coding).
Start The Day As You Mean To Go On
When you are setting about your day’s work, move any unrelated items off the desk and implement a mood-boosting routine. Marie Kondo strikes a tuning fork when she’s ready to start a fresh day. But you could do anything: light an incense stick, hit a pan, clap, stand up and shout, pour yourself a coffee – whatever works for you.
Bring Joy To The Room
Bringing joy is Marie’s main mantra. Add a cute house plant, a bunch of flowers or one of those irritatingly positive framed quotes to your desk to give you positive vibes throughout the day. Then whenever you are feeling unmotivated take a look at them to bring a smile to your face. Carpe diem and all that.
Organise Your Emails
You might have always rolled your eyes at the person who has their books stacked in alphabetical order or their herbs all facing the same way, but there’s something to be said about this kind of anal organisation. And it applies to emails too. Apparently, the average office worker spends half their day going through emails, so schedule specific times to look through them and organise them into folders to minimise distractions.
Top Up On Stationery
While you can’t raid the stationery cupboard at work anymore, nothing is more rewarding than a brand new pencil case and crispy clean Post-Its. But you’ll need to make sure they’re not cluttering your space. Find some pretty pots for your pens, and divide your drawers and shelves with storage boxes and trays to keep it all in order. Perfection.
