▲GHQ-CRO-Nan Chen
Little Tip: Put just one object back into its place each day, and in time, everything will be neat and clean
Recommended Book: The Magic Book of Organizing
Are you constantly angry because you can’t find certain objects or documents? Here are some tips from the Group R&D Chief’s administrative assistant Kitty (Nan Chen) for effectively organizing your work environment.
Kitty’s office is like a warm home – it is not only clean and well organized, but also very complete in that it has everything you can think of or need, including food, clothes, and all kinds of things that you may need to use during your workday. The key thing is; everything is within an arm’s reach, and everything can be accessed quickly and easily, without have to go on those long, messy, annoying searches.
Getting into a good habit is not difficult at all. Kitty recommends forcing yourself to put just one item back to where it should be every day. This way, after a while, all of your items will be in their respective well-organized positions and you won’t have to angrily search for anything ever again.
▲Kitty’s desk is filled with warmth, just like a home.
Everything is Well-Organized and Right Where it is Supposed to be
Kitty’s personality is the reason why she is able to maintain near perfection in her working environment. She likes each and every object to have its own dedicated location, and, no space can go unused. She says that she shares a sense of recognition with all of the objects in her workplace and that she views them as an important part of the existing space around here.
▲Each of Kitty’s things has a Dedicated Space on Her Desk
Everybody’s desk is about the same size; how is Kitty able to fit all of the things she needs in such a small area? Kitty provided us with a simple method: Mivide your desk into a main area and a secondary area; the area with your computer screen as its center and expanding out 45-degrees to its left and right is the main area. As its name suggests, the main area is the space that you most frequently use, therefore in this area, you can place necessity items that you use every day in addition to your keyboard and mouse, or you can use it as your writing space. The secondary area can be further categorized, with items falling in the same categories being collectively placed in the same sub-areas according to personal habits.
▲The area centered at your computer monitor and expanded 45-degrees to its left and right sides is your main area of activity.
People who habitually pick up the phone with their left hands can place their phones on the left of the secondary area; otherwise, place it on the right side. Items such as tissues and other secondary items can also be placed according to personal habits. For example, Kitty places her tissues on the lower left because she is used to pulling out tissues with her left hand and can easily reach her box of tissues by simply lowering her body a little bit. In this way, Kitty not only makes the most efficient use of her space, she also in a sense has expanded her space because her tissue box has become an object that does not take up any space. Kitty’s pen container and mobile phone fall in the same category and are placed to the right of Kitty’s main area.
Left or Right – However You Like It!
Books and documents are categorized as larger items, and Kitty, who is used to using her right hand, places these items in the less frequently used and less accessible space on the left. Therefore, another organization principle is formed – frequently used items on the right, and larger and less frequently used items on the left.
Strong magnets and organization boxes are Kitty’s secret weapon. She uses strong magnets to hang used boxes left over from drinks and snacks on the metal wall of her cubicle, effectively transforming them into useful organization boxes. Small items such as paper clips can be placed in these self-made organization boxes easily and conveniently. Place anything that can be hung up with strong magnets on the metal wall, such as paper slips and small shopping bags, and after categorizing and organizing these items, you will be able to find them by simply lifting your head and looking up on the wall.
▲Taking advantage of strong magnets, most items can be hung on the wall.
The metal cubicle walls have another function, which is hanging up clothes, scarves, and jackets using the little holes in them. This way, you no longer have to hang a bunch of clothes on the back of your chair, and your chair won’t feel heavy and depressing anymore, giving you an excellent mood for working in your cubicle.
▲The outer wall of your cubicle is also an excellent space resource that you should take advantage of.
People who tend to forget what is inside the boxes can use little stickers to remind themselves what is inside. For example, you can write labels like “small stationary items,” so that you know the objects inside are little clips and staplers, etc.
You want to be sure to avoid the disastrous mentality of thinking “I’ll need to use this again later” and not putting things back into their respective positions. It is much better to simply lift your hand to place your item back in its place than to leave it in an incorrect location due to an “I’ll need to use this again later” mentality, because shortly after you leave it in the wrong place you will forget where it is, and you will end up spending much more time looking for it the next time you need to use it.
When you first begin practicing these techniques, it may be a good idea to put everything back to their respective positions before you leave the office and go home. This will not only serve as an ideal ending point for today’s workday, but will also allow you to have a nice and refreshing mood the next day when you come in and see a clean and well-organized environment.
▲Take advantage of empty spaces in your work environment to grow plants. This will help give everyone at work a good mood.
The True Path to Enlightenment is Learn to Allow Your Belongings to Not Only Come In, but Go Out as Well
If your belongings start to just sit there for a long time without you ever having a chance to use them, chances are those items will start to accumulate and clog up your living space. If there is an item that you don’t use for half a year or more, that is a sign that you should find a way to get rid of that item, either by giving it to someone who needs it or by simply recycling it – doing this will allow your workspace to remain clean and tidy.
Sometimes it can be hard to remember which items have exceeded the “maximum usage period” of half a year; in this case Kitty performs a minor reorganization once every two months. Place items that haven’t been frequently used a little bit farther out, this way it will be easy to see which items have hardly been used during your semi-yearly major cleaning and reorganization.
Another method is to force yourself to get rid of an item every time a new item comes in. Your workplace isn’t a recycling station. When it comes to personal belongings, quality is more important than quantity. If your workspace becomes messy and congested, your work mood and efficiency will also be adversely affected.
The advantage of always organizing your things is that this will avoid the need for you to perform “recycling” work every morning when you first come in to work, which could affect your mood for your entire workday. It is not worth it to have your day ruined by yesterday’s left over drinks and unused sticky notes.
▲The area under your desk is also space that you can take advantage of.