The Art of Desk Management - Sangeeta Rana

(Published on 4 April 2006 in 'Women at Work' - W @ W - a supplement of the Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka)

The desk they say speaks volumes and reveals all about the person who works on it. Imagine walking into an office…. and observing different work stations without their owners being around. Let us conduct what we could call an Executive Desk Health Check up! In general the specimens you will observe will fall into five main categories:

1) The ‘anorexic’ desk
2) The ‘malnutritioned’ desk
3) The ‘obese’ desk
4) The ‘healthy’ desk
5) The ‘constipated’ but clinically perfect desk

Usually a rare commodity, the ‘anorexic’ desk is a stark desk that is usually used by consultants and temporary staff who walk into the office once in a blue moon. Not used very often the desk is in one dull corner craving for action and attention. The telephone instrument usually has a layer of dust and the cord is often yanked out by frustrated neighbours who have had to often answer the phone calls to Mr Nobody.

The ‘malnutritioned’ desk belongs to the sapiens of this world who have really not much to do and their contribution to the bottom-line of the company is questionable. An odd pen stand, lies orphaned with a few occupants - couple of which do not work at all and have not seen the light of day. The telephone cord is twisted into a tight mangle divulging the hours spent on the line. The back of the chair leans backwards to a comfortable angle. Numerous post-its are stuck on the computer as reminders – some dating back to the last financial year. The only file that grabs attention is the leave folder. This desk spells disaster. The message going out is that if there is need for retrenchment the management don’t really need to look too far.

An ‘obese’ desk can be recognised from a mile. Splitting at the seams the drawers often don’t shut properly and chances are that some files are dumped under the desk on the floor. The user could shamelessly encroach on the neighbour’s space. The pile of files on both sides is almost supporting the computer as if to hold it up straight – and the evasive mouse has to be hunted down every time it is needed. In the midst lie an oily empty snack carton and a half eaten sweet distributed by a colleague on the birth of her daughter, who by now has already started kindergarten. One little hint for colleagues here. If you are looking for your staplers, punching machines, and even reading glasses – this is where you should start your search. The users of these desks often have days when they think it would be easier to quit their job and start over elsewhere than it would be to make sense out of the piles and stacks!

The ‘healthy desk’ is buzzing. Lots happening here. A diary and a file marked ‘for urgent attention’ lies at the centre. The family picture on the side clearly states priorities.
The money plant balances the ‘chis’ and sends the right vibrations. The board is neat and importantly all that’s pinned up is straight. The telephone lies at an easy reach with the name and number of the user clearly marked on it. A team photograph demonstrates the bonhomie that exists. Display of the last successful campaign is not to blow one’s trumpet but rather for the sake of motivation.

And finally, the ‘constipated, clinically perfect’ desk! Few and far between the users of these desks are obsessed perfectionists. The stationery is all lined up in a neat row height wise. The files have identical labels that are all marked in the same font. The objective and goals of the company are printed and pinned on the board. The contents of the in tray are numbered and the ones in the out tray are signed and bear a bold tick. The calendar looks like a piece of art with holidays marked in red, weekly meetings in green, deadlines in blue and bosses birthdays in pink!

If you look around an office many of the desks are overwhelming disasters. With perseverance, a hopeless mess can become a model of efficiency. Most people's problems are a result of poor space planning, poor time management and poor work habits. For a large number of people, the desk is where they spend most of their waking hours. However, more than often they do not give their desks a second thought as it just becomes an extension of their own being. Proper desk management could improve efficiency and production levels. It is as important as a surgeon having everything he requires readily available to him at an operation table.

Space Planning

Getting organised means more than just cleaning up your desk! Whether you spend one hour or eight at your desk every day, careful thought should go into how you use it. Make it functional. Know your work habits. If you like to spread out material as you work, provide yourself with enough space.

Space planning leads on to organising your desk area to best suit your kind of work. You must be able to find what you're looking for quickly. "A place for everything and everything in its place" is an important principle to follow. Clutter in the workplace is always detrimental. A cluttered work environment also projects an unfavourable image. When the desktop becomes a storage place rather than a workspace, it's time to reorganise.

Getting an appropriate desk to suit the demands of your work is crucial. Your personal work habits as well as your business activities will determine what style is appropriate for you. If you refer to books or publications regularly in your business, a work area with shelves would be suitable. If you use a computer consider an L-shaped desk so as to also have a large workspace. Shelves and wall boards are a great way to display personal items while keeping your work area clean and functional.


Time Management

Conscientiously improve on management of time. One of the simplest ways to make better use of your time is to rethink how long tasks will actually take, and schedule accordingly. Don’t plan meetings back to back. Designate time for regular paper work. Make it a habit to check your voice mail at a given time daily. Allocate an hour every Friday to file papers. There is nothing more energising than seeing a spotless desk on a Monday morning. Always allow for unexpected circumstances such as extended meetings, demanding clients or simply the boss having a bad day.


Establishing Better Work Habits

• When it comes to desk organisation, stacks of paper are the single biggest problem. Prioritise your work. Keep separate folders for things that need urgent attention and for others that can wait. Mark out deadlines.

• Paper is the largest contributor to clutter in an office environment. Many people accumulate paper clutter due to a fear of throwing away something important, or a concern that it may be needed later. The result is that they end up keeping everything and not being able to decide which things have value and which don’t. The reality is that most of the paper saved is never needed again, and if it is, the chances are that it can be obtained from another source. The key is to not let paper and piles keep multiplying. Process each paper as it comes in, and get it off your desk. Designate time once a week to clear, sort, file and trash.

• If you have taken files out of an archive or storage for reference, gather them up when the work is completed and take the time to put them back where they belong.

• Use your planner. It is invaluable for recording ideas in the working, conceptualising and developing stages. Instead of jotting down notes on scraps of paper and never knowing where to find them, you'll have one place to look when you want to refer back.

• Don’t clear out the junk piles in a hurry in preparation for a visit from an important client or the top brass. For the next couple of weeks, you will pay a great price because you won’t be able to find much of the stuff you need and that won’t help efficiency levels anyway…. and those you aimed at impressing will be far from it.
  
  Remember, there is no golden rule. No expert can advise you on what is best as you are the only person who can judge what is best suited to your work style. What works wonderfully for one person may not work for a person with a contrasting personality. It is important that we appreciate colleagues who need an opposite set of conditions to thrive. Your desk doesn't have to be either sparse or cluttered. With a little creativity, you can add interesting things and aesthetics to your desk. Some interesting visual tools and a few items can transform an ugly mess into an interesting collage of work-in-motion. If you can find most things in 3-5 minutes or less, your system is working. And when you find yourself lost in your own clutter, you'll know it's time to stop and revisit your strategy.
  
  Getting organised is a process rather than an event. Don't expect miracles… work at it and you could soon pass the Executive Desk Health Check up with flying colours!