The Scone Advocate

Organise your (working from) home desk

Organise your (working from) home desk
Organise your (working from) home desk

School's back! With the kids out of the house and so many people continuing to work from home, being organised is now more important than ever.

Avid bullet journaller, self-confessed neat-freak and ambassador for Pilot Pen Australia, Sophia Le shares her top tips on desk organisation for the year ahead.

Make your space work for you. Design and organise your desk in a way that is not only pleasing to the eye, but based on your natural workflow. Place your most used items at the centre of your desk so they are at arm's reach the moment you sit down. Have three pens you always love using? Pop them into a cute cup and put away anything you don't use as often. Choose the path of least resistance by reducing unnecessary clutter, even if it's pretty.

Motivation/inspiration board. When working in the same space every day it is easy to get bored and lose motivation before your day has even started, especially for those working from home. Put together an inspiration board filled with photos, motivational quotes and souvenirs to help re-centre and focus on what you need to work on, but also why you need to show up and do the work. On the weekend, re-evaluate what you have on your board and change it up with new things that are important to you so you can start afresh the next week.

Bring the outside in. Find yourself wishing you were outside constantly? Create a calm, green space you want to work in by adopting a plant family that will remind you that great things take time as they grow and change each day.

Try bullet journaling. Created by Ryder Carroll, the bullet journal method is described as a "mindfulness practice disguised as a productivity system". It is a super flexible way of not only organising your tasks but also encourages you to reflect and engage with any thoughts or details that are significant to you throughout the day.

Choose the right tools for you. Choose a good notebook and your favourite pen.

Track your goals. Creating a simple tracker page helps you stick to your work and personal goals, whether it be building healthy habits like drinking more water or seeing how close you are to saving enough money for a holiday. Not only do you get instant gratification every time you mark something off, but you also get a clearer idea of the progress you've made.

Schedule in breaks. It is important to also make time for yourself to make the most of your day. Make sure your block out time in your diary for lunch, a walk, or a quick stretch. This gives you the opportunity to set expectations of what you can realistically do in one day, manage your energy levels, re-evaluate your priorities and increase productivity overall.