7 Easy Steps to Organize Your Desk

If you work at a desk, you likely spend a lot of time there. It should thus be a tidy and functional place that allows you to focus and get work done. Whether your primary workstation is at home, in an office, or elsewhere, here’s what you need to do to make your desk neat, organized, and conducive to work.

1. Buy Anything You Need That You Don’t Yet Have

Before you do any organizing or rearranging, you have to figure out if there’s anything you need that you don’t currently have. Do you need a keyboard, a lamp, a monitor, a mouse, a power strip or surge protector, or shelving?

2. Clear Everything Off Your Desk

The next step is to clear everything off your desk—cables, coaster, computer, cords, keyboard, mail, monitor, mugs, pens, mail—everything! You should unplug anything that is plugged in so you can move cords and cables off to the side, too. Clear out any drawers and shelves at your workstation, too. I like to do this step when I’m alone so that I can make a little mess in the areas next to my desk and not worry about inconveniencing anyone else.

3. Wipe Down All Surfaces

Now that your desk is a blank slate, wipe it using whatever cleaning products are appropriate for it. If you aren’t sure, stick with a towel or sponge that is slightly damp with water. Wipe down any hard surfaces on your chair, too. If you have a lint brush or feel like pulling out a vacuum cleaner, you might clean any fabric parts of your chair, too.

4. Position Your Laptop, Monitor, and Peripherals

Start putting items back on your desk by focusing on the biggest and most important pieces first. These are your laptop or computer, monitor, and any bigger peripherals, such as your keyboard, lamp, microphone, and webcam. Don’t plug anything in yet! Take your time to make sure the placement is right first.

Adjust your equipment with an eye to good ergonomics. For example, the top of your monitor should be at eye level. When you place your hands on the keyboard, your elbows should be at a 90-degree angle. And give yourself a wide, empty space where you use your mouse. If you need a laptop riser or a keyboard tray installed under your desk, you hopefully already knew about it in Step 1. If not, buy the missing equipment you need now. Don’t short-change yourself. If you sit and type all day long for your job, you need to be comfortable and protect yourself from injury. Don’t cut corners on the tools you need to do your job.

5. Streamline Your Cables and Cords

Once your biggest and most important items are on your desk, lay their charging cables and cords flat from the devices down the back of your desk or through the cable hole if you have one. If any cables are longer than needed, decide where you want to loop up the excess—on the desk or below near the outlet. There are a ton of inexpensive tricks to organizing cables and cords, though my favorite one for desks is to use Velcro brand cable ties or One-Wraps to cinch excess cabling.

(Credit: Jill Duffy)

Stream all your cables down toward the outlet or surge protector, making sure they aren’t tangled. Now, you can start plugging them in.

6. Use the Other Spaces You Have

At this stage, you probably have a bunch of extra stuff off to the side of your desk. How much of it needs to be on the desk? Can anything go into a drawer or on a shelf nearby? People often forget to use all the available space they have in their desk drawers and cabinets, but those are ideal places for items you need only sometimes, like over-ear headphones, pens, hand lotion, and so forth. Put anything you really need back on the desk, and try to use all the available space, especially toward the back. Keep the front of your desk minimal (for example, just your keyboard and mouse).

My desk drawer has two tiny containers of hand lotion, a microfiber cloth for wiping my monitor, a nail file (I go crazy if I snag a nail and can’t take care of it immediately), a lint brush, six cotton swabs for cleaning my keyboard, and the number pad from my external keyboard. They’re all things I need, but not frequently enough to keep them on the surface of the desk.

7. Add Your “Happy Items”

Last but not least, add a few items to your desk that make you happy, like a small houseplant or a photo of your family. If you have a tendency to collect clutter, limit yourself to two items. Better yet, if you can, put those items on a nearby shelf so you can still see them, but they aren’t right on your workspace.

Get Our Best Stories!

Sign up for What’s New Now to get our top stories delivered to your inbox every morning.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links.
By clicking the button, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our
Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy.
You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

About Jill Duffy

Contributor

I’ve been contributing to PCMag since 2011 in a variety of ways. My column, Get Organized, has been running on PCMag since 2012. It gives advice on how to manage all the devices, apps, digital photos, email, and other technology that can make you feel like you’re going to have a panic attack.

My latest book is The Everything Guide to Remote Work, which goes into great detail about a subject that I’ve been covering as a writer and participating in personally since well before the COVID-19 pandemic.

I write about work culture, personal productivity, and software, including project management software, collaboration apps, productivity apps, and language-learning software.

Previously, I worked for the Association for Computing Machinery, The San Francisco Examiner newspaper, Game Developer magazine, and (I kid you not) The Journal of Chemical Physics. I was once profiled in an article in Vogue India alongside Marie Kondo. I’m currently pursuing a few unannounced long-form projects.

Follow me on Mastodon.

Read Jill’s full bio

Read the latest from Jill Duffy