The benefits of de-cluttering your workspace

By Becky Stanton

The benefits of decluttering your workspace

Clutter is inevitable.

Unless you’re fully embracing the minimalist movement and you’ve donated all your belongings to charity, your workspace will become cluttered every now and then. And that’s absolutely fine!

What’s key is how you manage clutter. The first step is to be more mindful of what clutter is and how it directly impacts your mind and body. As clutter is more than just a slight annoyance or something to trip over.

What is clutter?

I believe that clutter is anything that doesn’t add value or provide any support to your life. It’s anything that you have no passion for, or that you feel is mediocre or beige, or has no practical role in the gorgeous life you live.

For a workspace, I take this one step further and believe that workspace clutter is anything that doesn’t add value and support your business success or your role as a successful business person!

Managing clutter is about being intentional with your belongings. Anything that doesn’t create those emotions and feelings you want to feel working, can be categorised as clutter and doesn’t deserve a place in your workspace. Simple!

Follow these 3 steps to get started and create your dream Work Sanctuary:

Spend some time working through everything in your space and asking yourself this simple question:

“Does this add any value to my work?”

To help with this question, you can also spend some time becoming really clear about how you want to feel in your workspace. It may be feelings of creativity, happiness, inspired, effective, focused, calm, joyful or in control. Once you have connected with how you want to show up, clearing your clutter physically will become a little easier.

NOTE – I would suggest sorting through paperwork at the end. This can be draining due to the conscious effort required to read through each document and sort.

Once you have removed clutter from your space, it’s important to create organisational solutions so that you know where things are, such as filing papers, storing books and organising stationery.

This avoids time looking for items and supports your overall effectiveness, as well as being pleasing and efficient to your mind’s eye!

Create decluttering habits to maintain a clean and tidy space.

At the end of every working day, tidy your desk and prepare for the next day. At the end of your working week, complete step one again and remove or store away anything that does not directly support your forthcoming week.