How To Maximize Your Desk Setup For Better Work Days

In the grand scheme of things, the chaos of a messy desk can cause mental overload and make your habits of unproductive procrastination worse. Effective stress relievers and mood boosters, plants are amazing productivity boosters. Research from the University of Exeter found that simply enriching a plain and minimal office space with plants helped to increase work productivity from participants by 15%. Overall, green houses have also been found to house happier and more productive workers. Delightful aromatherapy benefits can also be enjoyed through many floral plant varieties.

It’s important to set yourself up for success, and making sure that the space around you is tailored to your own needs is one of the best ways to do that. For this reason, putting thought into your desk setup is one of the smartest things you can do. Here are a few quick tips for setting up your ideal desk setup. To create a comfortable https://www.producthunt.com/products/asiatalks and productive workspace, select an ergonomic chair that provides proper lumbar support and can be adjusted to your height. Your feet should be able to rest flat on the floor, and your knees should be level with your hips.

Clear Clutter

So it comes in handy as a general approach to use when organizing your desk and office/cubicle. When you are actually working on something, then you can create piles to orchestrate your work (for example, you can see an example of this in how I process my inbox). But get to the bottom of those piles before closing up shop for the day, or, if you can’t, put them away rather than keeping them around as reminders. Reference The last category of permanent stuff is reference.

Set Up Your Workspace Ergonomically:

I covered the basics of how to understand the stuff at your desk in my second post on productivity tools and in my notes on workspace organization. But I did that mostly in anticipation of this series, so here’s the gist in a bit more detail. I don’t regard that as an advantage, typically, because it seems that a lot of desks are not made with an understanding of how to use a desk effectively. Therefore, you often end up stuck with the wrong kind of drawers or the drawers are not in the most effective locations. I find the L-shaped provides the best workflow pattern, which I’ll describe in the post on how to use your desktop.

We selected the paper very carefully to ensure it can withstand daily use. Studies have shown that a whopping 75% of working Americans do not drink the recommended ten cups of water per day. There’s a strong link between your water intake levels and your level of productivity. Even the slightest bout of dehydration can make us feel tired and lethargic. Often, you will feel refreshed and creative by organizing your desk. Implementing some strategies makes you think more productively, more creatively, and with greater success.

• Delightful aromatherapy benefits can also be enjoyed through many floral plant varieties.
• Distractions can come in many forms, from the constant pinging of your phone to the lure of social media and the internet.
• For those reasons, avoid sitting directly in front of or with your back to a window unless you can draw the shades.
• You can create this configuration by putting together two rectangular desk unit or a rectangular unit and a bookshelf or credenza-type-thing.

Now, with an L-shaped or U-shaped desk, obviously part of the desk is going to have to be against the wall. The point is that the place where you sit should not face the wall or away from the entrance. Your desktop is for doing your work, not for storing your work. And as long as those items are on the left side, it makes sense to put everything else on the left side. This also leaves your right side free, which is important because it is the area you would look over when meeting with people.

Put what you have to do on your action lists and put the support materials in pending files or, if they are too big, a project shelf. Action reminders go in your task management software or, if you are paper-based, your planner. Support material goes in files or, if it is too big to fit in a file, on a project shelf or project area away from your desktop. And obviously most of your support material these days will be electronic.

The most important part of optimizing your workspace is productivity. No one aspect of your setup should interfere with another. Proper optimization and organization will also streamline regular cleaning and the implementation of new equipment. While most desks will share the similarity of having a display, keyboard, and mouse, where you choose to put those components is what makes your desk unique. First, you should ensure that your desk is comfortable to use.

They may also benefit from having a comfortable keyboard and mouse. Choose the one that hangs on the top monitor to decrease space usage and minimize distractions. Additionally, some developers may prefer to rotate one of their monitors to optimize their coding experience.