March 2, 2016

By: Chelsea Haley, DKI Ventures, LLC

According to a survey by Adecco, 57 percent of workers admit to judging a coworker based on the cleanliness of their workspace. Don’t allow a dirty office to misrepresent your potential and work ethic. Follow the tips below to create a cleaner, less stressful, refreshing workspace.

Declutter

  1. Remove anything from your desk that you do not immediately require. Keep your purse and personal items off your desk to limit your distractions.
  2. Your office and cabinets should be organized as well. Don’t let old files bury the current. Run through your files at least once a year, and throw out what you no longer need.
  3. Clean up your digital space. Your desktop should open to something motivational. All DKI employees have their core values formatted on their desktops. Other ideas are to place a motivational quote, poster, or a photo of a relaxing location. Make sure you don’t have a scattering of icons across this; make your desktop clean to look at as a fresh start to the day.
  4. Next, clean up your email. Having email pour in day in and day out can be distracting and stressful. Don’t allow your inbox to run your professional life. Checking it occasionally, unless something urgent comes through, is typically a good system to follow. It might be a good idea to set up your messages to move to a specified folder if they contain specific keywords. This is helpful if you manage multiple tasks within your position to keep everything more organized, and to allow you to streamline your email more efficiently. Also, utilize Outlook reminders to return to important emails once you have availability.

Motivate

A clean office can make one more productive, but it’s helpful to surround yourself with items that make you happy, refreshed.

  1. A beautiful plant at your desk can offer a calming feeling and add some color to your workspace without creating a mess.
  2. Place a motivational poster in a location you will see every day – on your desktop, above your computer, next to your phone, etc.

Sanitize

  1. Prevent spring allergies and illness around the office. Wipe down your desk, phone and keyboard with disinfectant wipes.
  2. Dust your computer screen and between any nooks and crannies of your office.
  3. Clean your breakroom and the areas you and your co-workers eat. Make sure to clean out and wipe down your coffee maker.

Bonus: In order to wipe down and clean these areas of the office, you’ll be more likely to tidy up any stray paperwork, toss any trash, etc.