Do you ever feel like your work area is being bombarded by files and folders, surrounded by sticky-notes or getting pummelled by overflowing in-boxes and in-trays?

Will you wave the white flag of defeat or are you ready to take on a messy desk in some serious hand-to-hand combat?

A recent study in the office habits of workers and the associated costs to companies conducted by the Butler Group stated that employees are suffering from both information overload and information underload. As a result, a typical worker now spends up to one-quarter of his or her day searching for the right information to complete any given task.

In other words, many professional people are finding themselves overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to deal with, yet unprepared or perhaps uneducated about how best to deal with it.

Lost time spent looking for files, contacts or the right piece of information is your enemy when trying to work productively.

Nobody is asking for perfection – but a bit of organisation and good presentation can make all the difference in how quickly you can find things on your desk, how you feel about your work and of course, the way you are perceived by others.

Here are some simple, yet effective ways to win the war over your work area and information overload.

1. Get an simple index file. Use this for important contacts, client information and notes of previous conversations.

2.  Clean your desk and work area once a week. It will not only feel and look better, but dust, dirt and germs can also effect your health.

3. Throw away those sticky-notes! A spiral notebook is all you need; it can be referred back to with ease and does away with all those bits and pieces of scrap paper!

4.  Use a paper diary. Whether you choose to use an online calendar system or a paper version, a paper diary holds information that needs to be accessed daily such as appointments, meetings, deadlines, contacts and personal details.

5.  Colour Code your projects in order of importance.  For example, red is urgent, blue is in progress, yellow is to be done later. Then keep these files within reach. By the way, the colour-code system could just as easily be replaced by numbers, letters or anything you find works for you!

6.  Get rid of any excess personal items. Junk, free promotions from companies and all that superfluous stuff covering your workspace. If you do want to keep a few personal mementos, put them away from your main work area. After all, that’s where you should be keeping your critical files and things you are working on.

7.  Finally, sort your old papers using a ‘D’ Box recycling system. File any unwanted papers in a cardboard box, which is kept under your desk. When the ‘D’ box gets full, seal it up and recycle it. This way if you do ever need a piece of paper from a week ago, you’ll know where to find it.

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About Author

Paul is an author, teacher and speaker on leadership, innovation and worksmarts. He is the Training Director of The Success Institute – Australia and for the past 15 years has written over 30 professional development programs, 10 books and other career development material.