The Ultimate Guide to Organizing a Desk
Most people have many responsibilities and have to juggle homework and various project deadlines. Their desk is filled with papers, books, stationery, and even unnecessary things such as their mobile phones, headphones, water bottles, and magazines, that clutter up their work area. There are many solutions to this problem.
Clutter is not the prettiest thing that an individual can experience. According to Harvard Business Review, effects of a cluttered work area can harm sleep, eating choices, focus, and stress levels. Clutter does not only have negative impacts on rest, It also has an impact on the brain’s function to process information.
To collect data for this story, I sent out a survey asking people at ZIS, including some of my friends, to answer questions. How long can you focus at your desk while working on a challenging task? What was noticed around the students that they have challenges handling home learning. Students were also asked, can you take a picture of your office to be published online? Below are some images of anonymous student desks.
How long can people focus while working on a challenging task?
According to Kwiklearning's blog Having a cluttered desk will affect the brain's ability to process information, and it will become overworked, making the person feel tired and stressed. Studies done by researchers showed how the brain responses to cluttered and organized stimuli. To do this, they have used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), physiological measurement tools to map the brain's responses to a cluttered and organized stimulus, and to monitor performance. “The conclusions were firm; they showed that if you are less distracted you will focus more on what you need to do. On the other hand, if you have a cluttered desk area, you will be more likely to focus less on your task.”
According to data that was collected, 7 out of 9 students said they can spend less than 1 hour on a challenging task. 2 out of 9 students said they can spend, on average more than an hour of their time on a challenging task. This research shows that most people can concentrate on less than an hour.
7 out of 9 students said they can spend less than 1 hour on a challenging task.
5 ways to organize your desk that will increase your productivity
Get rid of all distractions; this means not having irrelevant papers or things that don’t belong on your desk. Have a place where you won’t get distracted and have good lighting.
Pause yourself, especially when your week is cramped up with things such as important meetings, responsibilities, and other tasks on your To-do list. This will affect how much work area is taken up,and how fast work gets done.
Make sure you keep your laptop, computer, monitor 20 inches and 40 inches (50.8 cm and 101.6 cm) away from you. According to Zapier blog having a monitor a right distance away from your eyes is better hunching over and causing back pain and various other health problems.
Your viewing angle shouldn’t be greater than 60 degrees. Don’t tilt your computer to more than 10 to 20 degrees,more than that can affect the visibility of reading objects.
If you don’t have plants near your desk it is recommended to get one because it will increase happiness and productivity. According to Zapier blog plants provide you with 15% of productivity boost.
By following this guide you will be saved form those not so pretty situations, life-impacting desk clutter, serious health problems,tired hurt eyes, screaming for help back nerves.
Further readings on desk organization:
https://hbr.org/2019/03/the-case-for-finally-cleaning-your-desk
https://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/6-minimalism-tricks-t
https://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/6-simple-ways-have-more-productive-day.html
https://zapier.com/blog/how-to-set-up-your-desk/
https://kwiklearning.com/kwik-tips/this-is-how-a-messy-desk-affects-your-brain/
