A Clean Cave is Better
Does a clean space enable productivity?
One area I decided to improve in the New Year was my workspace at home. This involved a relocation—a move downstairs and a different desk. What was my goal here? Well, I’m a big believer in the idea that a clean, tidy workspace promotes productivity. And even though my old desk was usually fairly clean, I’d come to realize that it was cluttered with ‘office’ items that never got any use.
Although I do not read Zen Habits regularly, an article of Leo’s has stuck with me the past year1. He had a picture of his desk and an explanation of why and how he keeps it so clean and free of any objects. Thinking on this idea, I realized I had a lot office tools and accessories on my desk that never got used. Although they are perfectly legitimate, useful tools, they were not useful to me because I simply didn’t need them.
Only keep what you need!
And moving the office was a great way to get off to a new start and give my workspace a double shot of fresh. Gone is the old L shaped desk with keyboard tray and extra space, in is the new minimalist desk. Gone are all the supplies, paper trays and file folders that were gathering dust. As you can see in this image, I still have a few items in the office, but they are greatly reduced. As well, I set up the space in a way that keeps them out of sight when working at the computer, but still within arms reach when needed. Throw in some better cable management and I’ve got a room that is a joy to enter.
When you have that feeling, work simply feels less like work.
- Though apparently not well enough that I could actually find this article on his site. After 20 minutes of searching, I’ve given up. [↩]
