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Arranging Your Work Area for Efficiency

Written by: Michael D. Diercks

Article Overview: The arrangement of the work area – particularly of your desk or work station – should be governed by two considerations: • Easy access to necessary work materials • Elimination of distraction Manage these two concerns and your performance will increase!

Arranging Your Work Area for Efficiency

The arrangement of the work area – particularly of your desk or work station – should be governed by two considerations:
• Easy access to necessary work materials
• Elimination of distraction
Ordinarily, an uncluttered desk is most conducive to efficient work and greater productivity. Your telephone and dictating machine, if you are right handed, should probably be on the left side of the desk leaving your right hand free for note taking. Other equipment you use, such as a computer or a fax machine, should be placed where you can use it efficiently. One corner of your desk or your
credenza near your telephone is an ideal spot for your calendar and “Do List” for convenient reference and to help you stay focused on your top priorities. Covering your calendar prevents the nagging annoyance or feeling of hurry that sometimes comes from seeing a long list of items. An assistant or other departmental coordinator may also have a copy of your appointments or meeting times and will remind you of these commitments as the time approaches. Then you are free to concentrate on whatever is before you at the moment.
You also need an “out” basket to deposit items as you complete work on them for the assistant or mail clerk to handle as appropriate. You receive a psychological boost when you see the completed items stack up. The “in” basket, when placed somewhere other than your desk, eliminates the distraction of seeing incoming mail until you are ready to give it your attention at the scheduled time.
Desk drawers should hold any files you need frequently, such as “See Me” or “Talk To” files for key people. A folder labeled “Pending” holds any item of work that should be done within the next few
days, but must wait for a report or information you have requested from someone else. This file should contain only those items that you know will receive your attention in less than a week.
All other pending items should be placed in a tickler or a follow-up file. The tickler file Contains 31 daily folders and 12 monthly folders. Items for the current month are in the numbered folders that you check daily or that your assistant gives to you daily. Be sure that your “Do List” provides for these items. Anything scheduled for attention later than the current month can be placed in the monthly folder and transferred to the daily file when the new month begins.
Another consideration in arranging the work area efficiently is the need for removing distractions. Knickknacks on the desk provide sources of subconscious distraction. Unfinished work also exerts a tremendous negative emotional effect and a feeling of urgency that destroys concentration. Remove these items from the desk to some unobtrusive location in your work area.
An efficient work area is comfortable as well as convenient. Light and temperature control are of prime importance. The furniture, including the desk and chairs, must be comfortable for you. Office decor, including color, decorations, and furniture style should be pleasing to you but not distracting. It is not really important that others approve your office decor if it is in basic good taste and is conducive to your productivity.
Plan placement of office furniture to eliminate distractions. If your desk faces a busy hallway, everyone who passes looks in and at least nods a greeting. This destroys your concentration. If no other arrangement is possible, a closed door prevents such interruptions.
If your desk faces away from the door, you do not see people passing and they are not as likely to stop for a chat.
Also consider that the location of your work area may be contributing to the number of drop-in visitors who interrupt your work. If your office or work area is near an important entrance or traffic area in your building, take steps to change the location of your office or install a door or partition to shield you from dropin visitors. If changing your location or installing partitions
is not an option, careful arrangement of your furniture can assist you in discouraging nonproductive interruptions.

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Article Tags: annoyance, appointments, commitments, credenza, departmental coordinator, desk drawers, dictating machine, distraction, easy access, fax machine, few days, folders, hurry, incoming mail, mail clerk, meeting times, productivity, tickler file, top priorities, work materials



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