How your desk is destroying your productivity

You go out for a midday snack with your co-workers. You come back to your desk after what seems like a good half-hour, but is actually more. You jerk your non-responsive mouse around for a while because your PC's gone to sleep. And voila, you're ready to get back to work. Oh wait, what was it that you were doing exactly? Beep beep buzz buzz. You have a new message in your inbox. Must check that. And since you're on your phone anyway, why not play a little Happy Jump. Or maybe today's the day you're finally going to solve the Rubik's cube that you keep on your tabletop to show people how intelligent you are. If only you could find it amongst the heaps of papers and candy wrappers. Now, what was it that you were doing exactly?

Can't get to work? It's not your fault, it's your desk's.

Desktop playthings

First thing's first. Get rid of that Rubik's cube. At least put it away in your drawer. Although there's a career advice article somewhere that advises you to keep toys on your desk to boost brainpower, they are a source of distraction most of the time. Like that co-worker who keeps inviting you to smoking breaks every 15 minutes, desk toys are counter-productive and depending on your workplace culture, potentially unprofessional.

Now we all love decorating our personal space with fun trinkets, but make it a point to keep out of sight things that are either causing you to take frequent breaks or need to be moved around a lot to make space for your work things.

Papers and sticky notes

I, for one, have a habit of keeping work papers or class notes on my desk, in my direct field of vision, to remind myself of all the things I still need to attend to. This isn't efficient. In fact, it's promoting a very bad habit because by the end of the week I have a leaning tower of paper that is so unappealing that I don't want anything to do with it. File your paperwork or separate it into meaningful sections and put it away in a cabinet or your drawers. Better yet, trash it. Anything you don't need goes straight to the bin.

Do not clutter your desktop with sticky notes because you want it clean for your current work. Unless you have excellent self-control, avoid sticky notes because it gets really easy to overuse them. Have too many and it's hard to keep track. They also have a tendency to fly off, owing to their exceptional aerodynamic quality. 

Instead, learn to keep to-do lists. Put up a mini-whiteboard on your cubicle wall for reminders or be a grown-up and use a planner.

Sitting for hours on end

Does none of the above apply to you? Are you more of the workaholic type who'd rather stay put until the biannual financial report's all done? Well bad news buddy, long periods of inactivity are not good for your health or your brain. It shouldn't take a genius to understand that sitting in front of a computer screen too long is mind-numbing. Since you're already so efficient, it shouldn't be too hard to take timed breaks and get active (for 15 minutes long every 45 minutes or so). Stay on top of your game by going for a walk or doing some quick push-ups.

And if nothing helps, get a small standing desk that's just big enough for your computer, a piece of paper and a pen.

Writer is Sub-Editor of the career publication of The Daily Star. She is also a junior at the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka