As a young lawyer, Abraham Lincoln “was a frightfully #messy person” who stored important speeches in his hat in order to not lose them in the #clutter, according to President Lincoln’s Cottage. “Papers, briefs, letters and notes scattered to the four corners of his office,” and his desk had an envelope on it marked, “When you can’t find it anywhere else, look into this.” As revered as Lincoln is for his accomplishments as president, take advantage of this Presidents Day to clear your desk or another space of space of clutter — and donate any lightly used #stuff to ClothingDonations.org. #PresidentsDay
Tag: organize your desk
U.S. Presidents Aren’t Immune to Clutter
The holiday reserved to celebrate the birthdays of founding fathers George Washington and Abraham Lincoln is often recognized with sales on mattresses and other household goods. But U.S. presidents had a range of organizing habits, says Clutter.com. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for example, had bookshelves built into every available space in his “Little White House” in Warm Springs, Georgia. His successor, Harry S Truman, had a desk built of scrap wood from a White House renovation that had at least 10 drawers, but nonetheless attracted a lot of stacks of important paperwork. So if #clutter ever gets you down, remember that it’s a problem even for the most powerful. #PresidentsDay
Follow CDC Guidelines to Keep Your Office Safe
Offices and schools should to revisit CDC guidelines as they attempt to reopen during the #Delta variant’s “fourth wave” of coronavirus infections. Depending on the office layout, transparent shields, physical barriers, and signs or tape markers may be necessary to keep employees apart. “High-touch” communal items such as coffee pots and bulk snacks should be replaced with single-serve alternatives. Offices should consider upgrading their #ventilation systems and enhancing #cleaning protocols to keep workers safe, in addition to keeping facemasks, wipes and #sanitizers stocked and ready for use.
Keep Papers in Check to Cut Desktop Clutter
Students and office workers alike do the majority of their work on a computer, but papers can stack up nonetheless. Best Life suggests creating a zone on your desk distinct from the computer’s area to keep papers organized and cut down on #clutter. To stay on top of the piles, review papers at the end of each day, deciding what can be scanned, filed and shredded. Then, do a complete desktop #decluttering and #cleaning once a week to “deal with any papers or trash you missed” [and] reorganize office supplies, stray folders and misplaced files.
Keep Only what You Need on Your Desktops
#Cleaning and organizing your desk can not only reduce the threat of colds, flu and #COVID-19, it can make you more productive. Having a #disorganized desk makes it harder for most people to process information, and getting rid of #clutter can help you focus. Medium recommends starting with a purge that involves moving everything off your desktop and adding back only the things you need for one week; anything else can be stored or tossed. The same goes for your digital desktop: Extraneous files and open browser tabs only compete for your limited attention, and should be judiciously culled to the ones you actively use.