Though convenient, working from home can offer you tons of challenges, especially when it comes to making yourself productive. Because you don’t have that clear line between work and personal, work has become more tiring, too.
When it comes to keeping yourself productive, freelancers have been sharing a lot of tips. This includes setting and maintaining a routine, creating a to-do-list, and, probably one the most common, cleaning and organizing your workspace.
But why is it important to clean and organize your home office?
Here are eight different ways of having a clean workspace at home can improve your productivity:
Increased Focus
Studies have found that clutter or a messy environment makes it hard for people to focus. This is because these things tend to distract you from doing what you need to do. Like, if you are working on one project and there are things needed for another project that’s just right beside you, it distracts you from thinking that you still have other things needed to get done.
This is why cleaning and arranging your workspace helps increase your focus, as you’d have less clutter to worry about. You also get to concentrate better and thus, become more productive.
Save Time and Energy
Cleaning will also help you save time and energy. Why? Well, imagine needing something, and you’d need to go through all the mess on your table and desks just to find it.
This is most common when we’re talking about paperwork and documents. Since papers all look the same, it takes time before you find what you’ll exactly need.
It’s highly recommended to organize documents into folders and files. Get a filing cabinet, too, and label your documents based on their purpose. This way, if you’re searching for something, you wouldn’t need to go through everything before finding what you need. You just need to open your cabinet, get the folder, and that’s it!
Cut Down the Number of Sick Days
One of the most significant advantages a clean workspace can give you is that it keeps you healthy. When you refuse to clean, dust, dirt, bacteria, and viruses can gather and cause you to get sick. And when you get sick, that means you’ll be missing a workday or some workdays, which will affect your earnings.
So, reduce the potential of you getting sick by making sure you clean regularly. If you don’t have the time to do it yourself, you can get some cleaning services NYC. This way, you get to have some assistance from experts who know how to make a home clean, including your workspace.
Reduced Stress
For some people, a cluttered or messy workspace can cause a lot of stress. Since you can’t focus better, finishing tasks tend to be harder, which can be very frustrating. However, a clean environment can prevent this.
How?
Think about it. If you can focus better, healthier, and function with your full energy, you’ll not be missing any deadlines, which is the number one reason why a person gets stressed out. On top of that, your mind seems to just keep on working and allows you to finish more work.
Lift Spirits
Another advantage a clean environment offers is that it helps make your day better.
I don’t know about you, but for me, a clean environment always makes me happy. With everything arranged and everything smells fresh, working doesn’t feel like too much of a task. However, if it’s the exact opposite, you wouldn’t even be slightly motivated to work.
And since we already mentioned that a clean workspace reduces stress and anxiety, you’ll be working happily, too.
Efficient Practices
Maintain a clean workspace so you wouldn’t even have to worry about cleaning the entire day. I’m the type of person who will stand up from my desk just to clean out a smudge on the window and pick up dirt on the floor.
If this is you, you should clean before even getting started, so you wouldn’t have to worry about certain things while you work.
With a clean environment, you get to become more efficient. As we mentioned earlier, you would have fewer distractions, which means you’d get to finish the same work in a lesser amount of time or finish more work in the same amount of time.
And this is great news, not only for you but for the people you work with, too.
Improved Morale
A clean environment can also help improve morale. What does this mean?
If you’re always stressed and frustrated every day with the work you do, you become unhappy. You start to wish that you’re not working on the job you have right now. But if you’re always happy and enjoying yourself, then you would have something to look forward to every day.
If you feel like you’re not happy, take a look around you because maybe, just maybe, your workspace is the reason why you think that way. Start cleaning up and observe how your mood starts to lift because of a more comfortable environment.
Boost Creativity
Last but not least, a clean environment boosts creativity.
I know you’ve already heard a widespread belief that creative minds have a messy work desk because they have many ideas. But, a clean work desk is actually what helps you think better of an idea.
As mentioned earlier, less clutter helps you focus as you don’t have any distractions. And because your mind is clear, thinking about innovation can be easier.
As you can see, there are several ways cleanliness can affect your productivity. So, if you’re not doing any cleaning and organizing yet, it’s probably time to do so and enjoy each of these benefits.
