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| Sunday, 14 July 2002 |
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So your desk is covered in crap. Is anyone except your mother going to care? Like any respectable student, you have a vague idea of where most pertinent documents sit in that pile of compost you call a work area. From where you stand now, another newspaper that you're surely going to read later cannot possibly do any harm. Right?
Luckily, you are not alone in suffering the messy desk syndrome. And help is also at hand. "In order to be highly functional, a desk needs to be like a cockpit, with everything easily reachable," says neatness specialist, who has identified keeping desk spick and span and spotlessly clean as his particular forte. Says Mr. Neatness, the "The key to a work-efficient desk is having everything you need available on top of the desk, so that you don't have to spend time getting up and down or searching through drawers." It may seem like no big deal to take two steps to grab your stapler, but at the end of the day all those short spurts add up. "If you have to get up every five minutes and get something, [you're] not really being efficient," he says. Mr. Neatness recommends keeping the following on the top of the desk: computer monitor, printer, stapler, staple remover, pen and pencil cup, paperweight for notes, disk box, paperclips, post- it notes and a small writing tablet. But when you are sharing a room with a brother or sister at home or with your buddies in a dorm, there's not much space to begin with, so how can you relegate the entire desktop for studying purposes? Consider your options for space management. According to Mr. Neatness, the key to making a small room operational is using vertical space. He modular shelving unit that would sit on top of the desk. You can also keep your desk pile-free by filing the stuff you're not using at the moment. This will help the whole working and studying process. The best thing to do, says Mr. Neatness, is use a series of file folders stored under or away from the desk. Your various work projects, other reading materials, bills, letters, etc., can be stored in separate file folders. That way, you'll concentrate on one project at a time and know exactly where everything sits. In the effort to remove clutter and keep your desk simple and organised, don't make it too barren. Clearing everything except the computer and a telephone isn't good, he says, because it will isolate you. "A couple pictures are pretty good to have on the desk,". You can glance over at your pals or Mom and Dad, then get back to work - knowing exactly what you're doing and where everything is. -Mr Natty Neato |
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| Produced by Lake House |
Wrong.
When push comes to shove and you must have that outline for the midterm
essay about Charlemagne's legacy as it pertains to the Napoleonic code in
Cajun Louisiana in the early 20th century, it sure would help to be able
to know exactly where it is instead of burrowing through a menagerie of
pizza boxes and comic clippings.
