Is A Messy Office Bad for Your Career?

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Some people say that a cluttered cabinet makes a bad impression. Others say bosses only care if you do your job. Who's right? People often don't realize that piles of paper, boxes in the corners, and piles of stuff behind office doors can affect your ability to move upwards. Appearance is very important. For what? Your office is a reflection of your abilities. While a cluttered desk isn't a sign of a personality flaw, it tends to make your manager and co-workers feel like the work is too much for you to handle, and that you can't bring it up. make any decisions that you can't make. job. , or all of the above. Alright. Time to clean. Here's how to get started:

Keep the information and documents you use most often within easy reach, such as in the right drawer of your desk.

Put things away as soon as you stop working with them. If you're working on something and get interrupted, try posting a sticky note on the page, jotting down your thoughts on it, and then putting it away. This will help you catch your train of thought faster when you come back to it.

Keep a to-do list handy, preferably organized by category (Do, Call, Write, etc.). Update it at the end of each day.

Set up a filing system. Many people feel safer when all their active projects are in sight, but that doesn't mean everything has to be spread out all over your desk. If the projects are visible, they should be just four or five projects that need your immediate attention on any given day, stacked in a vertical file. Store them as you go. Your day is over when all the files are out of your office. By jotting down each project on your to-do list, you'll keep everything on track and reduce your "out of sight, out of mind" anxiety.

Plan your day. A daily briefing to review the day's accomplishments and a weekly plan to track your goals a week or two in advance are essential. Planning helps prevent many fires that cause our time to spiral out of control. If you do this carefully, it will also discard most of the paperwork from your desk.