Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Tidy desk competition - contest ends Friday 7th

5 steps to a tidy desk



You won't believe all the excuses I get from people about their untidy desks! "It's because I'm creative" or "I know where everything is".

SOUND FAMILIAR?

This may very well be true. However, for most people, an untidy desk makes you feel overwhelmed and out of control. And how can you be productive when you feel overwhelmed? Right?!

The good news is you can have a tidy desk in just 5 steps:

1. Set up your desk properly
If you answer the phone with your left hand, then keep the phone to the left of your computer. Now this might seem obvious but you'll be surprised at the number of people I encounter who have to scramble and reach behind their computer to get to the phone. It's like that game Twister!

2. Touch each piece of paper once only
This is going to force you to make decisions - throw away, action, forward or file. Those are the only choices you have ;)

3. Have one notebook for all your notes
When you take messages or need to quickly jot down a note, write it in your ONE notebook. There should not be 10 post-it notes and lots of other pieces of paper on your desk. Better still, write the date on the top of every page so you can reference old information quickly. And start each day on a new page - literally ;)

4. Clear junk regularly
Every time you get up to go to the loo or for a coffee break, clear your desk of empty mugs, glasses, snacks, etc. The same goes for all those dry markers and pens that don't work. Throw them out!

5. Have only the papers you are actually working with on your desk
I have a rather strong fondness for plastic envelopes (R6,99 for 2 at Pick 'n Pay). I use these nifty tools to keep my many projects sorted. When I want to work on something, I just grab one of these and open up on my desk.

See? Easy! You can also have a neat and tidy desk in just 5 steps.

Now, let the games begin...

I would love to see your desk - before and after you used these 5 steps to organise it. The best entry gets the Your organised home - BASIC pack.

Now get organising!

And remember, even if you don't win, you still get the peace of a tidy desk.


If you have a blog, please post your pictures on your own blog and link to this post. Otherwise, you can email your photos but only if you compress them to around 50kb each. The competition closes next Friday 7 Sept - 2pm South African time.

25 comments:

Reighnie said...

Hi Marcia,
Thanks for visiting my blog.

Great Post! These are some great tips. I'll be coming back to enter this contest. If you could see my desk right now. *blush*

Karen said...

My desk just got a partial overhaul before our school year started, but that was mainly the surface. I'm digging deep and going through it all for this contest!

And....I have to say....I LOVE YOU for this contest! :)
I found an old purse shoved in a cubby and in it I found a $25 Wal*mart gift card AND....TWO $50 gift certificates to the cross stitch store (which I had thought I lost 2 years ago!!!!!!) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!

Jenny said...

Are you looking to step on my toes, or what?!?
I actually hope I don't win, 'cause that would be bad since I'm supposed to have already cleaned up my office. And, I saw this after I've done ALOT of paperwork!! But, here goes....

Tricia said...

Ok so Tomorrow is the day I am going to start working on my office and desk organizing. I will post before and after pictures. Thanks for this. I needed a little motivation and since tomorrow is a holiday I will have time to do it since I will not be working. Thanks again and I will be back to post my link.

http://www.gardnerdragonflydreams.com/

Anonymous said...

Hi Mracia

This is My desk is a mess and i lways loose my important pages. I should be starting to pack up my desk.

Karen said...

Marcia,
My Linky isn't up yet, so I thought I'd just post my link here:

http://www.pediascribe.com/20070903/a-tidy-desk-competition/

This was fun!!! And it's great to have workspace and peace!

Annie said...

Great challenge Marcia.
I'm not going to play because although I have several desks, I just don't use them for papers or phone. I cart the laptop around with me...

I am sorry your template is not working. Is it the old blogger template or the new blogger? I would be happy to take a look at your html and see if I can see the problem.

Tricia said...

Thanks for this. I needed it.

Laura said...

Hey Marcia, just thought I'd link up my desk re-do I did last week!

Laura

Marcia Francois said...

Well done, Karen, Tricia and Laura - what about the rest of you??!!!

;)

Lu said...

Hi Marcia,
great idea! If that's ok with you, I could write a portuguese version of the contest in my blog and link to yours so my Brazilian readers can join your contest. Please let me know :-)
Take care

Lu said...

Thank you!!!

Lu said...

I've just posted my photographs :-)

Anonymous said...

Hello - arrived by way of Laura's blog.

Great idea, and very timely, as my desk really needed an overhaul.

Amanda said...

Thanks for the motivation to clean my desk. it needed it badly!

Qtpies7 said...

Oh, I wish I had known about this and put it in my column! I am telling my mom about it and hopefully people will see it in the comments and stop over to join in.

Reighnie said...

Ok, I've done it (Sasha) and I love my "new" desk!

Thanks for the tips!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great tips and motivation to get my desk cleaned up. I feel better already!

Bubblegum109 said...

Hi Marcia,

You're the gal I need to declutter my house!! Motivate me!

Uploaded chicken curry and chickpea recipes. Will upload carbonara later. The hotpot and Chicken casserole are new recipes for this month, so will upload each when we have them!

Nat :-)

Bubblegum109 said...

Hi Marcia,

Not entering the competition; thought that was how you signed in so to speak for TT - I'm still learning!

Nat :-)

Anonymous said...

Hi, Marcia.
I was wondering if I could participate this promo, and finally I decided to try.
So I post on my blog [in portuguese] http://lilibollero.loginstyle.com and I added an english version on my other blog [I made for my scrap friends] so you can see in both! http://lilibolleroinenglish.wordpress.com
Good luck for all...
Bye hugs hugs

Anonymous said...

just to say here in Brazil is 22:05 of september 7th.
so... i supposed i am on time. =) hugs

Annie said...

Hello Marcia.
Yay! You got the mail! I'm so glad and sorry that your M came off! That's sad, but glad the believe is there. Did the crystal stay too?
I loved your thoughts over at Jenny's blog and agree with you 100%. Thanks for sharing your faith.
love ya.
Annie

Mayogi said...

I wish I had participated in this challenge, it was a fun one. I hope you'll host another one soon.

And thanks for visiting my blog! :-)

Anonymous said...

It was certainly interesting for me to read this post. Thanks for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to them. I would like to read more on that blog soon.

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