Organizing a Small Desk Top: Solutions for "Flat Surface Disease

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

This thread explores various personal experiences and challenges related to organizing small desk spaces, often referred to as "flat surface disease." Participants share their struggles with clutter and seek advice on effective organization methods while reflecting on their own habits and experiences.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, describes their struggle with maintaining an organized desk due to limited space and shared usage with family.
  • Another participant recalls a previous thread with pictures that could provide inspiration for desk organization.
  • Several users express confusion about the relationship between desks and organization, sharing humorous takes on their own messy workspaces.
  • One participant shares a personal experience of consolidating piles of paperwork while on a phone call, finding it easier to focus on the task at hand.
  • Another participant mentions using post-it flags to evaluate the necessity of items on their desk over a month, which they found helpful.
  • Some participants engage in a light-hearted discussion about personality types and how they relate to desk organization, referencing a concept called "Psycho Geometrics."
  • One participant shares their ongoing struggle with organization at home compared to their ability to maintain order at work, highlighting the challenges of working from home.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ among participants regarding the effectiveness of various organization strategies, and no clear consensus emerges on the best approach to managing desk clutter.

Contextual Notes

The discussion reflects a range of personal experiences with desk organization, emphasizing the emotional and psychological aspects of maintaining a tidy workspace.

Who May Find This Useful

Participants within the consultant community who are facing similar challenges with desk organization may find the shared experiences and strategies discussed in this thread relatable and potentially insightful.

quiverfull7
quiverfull7
Gold Member
Messages
3,142
Okay... I'm a confessed reforming pack rat and my husband says I have "flat surface disease" ... thus it's VERY hard for me to keep my desk and work area organized and clear... which makes productive work more time consuming. I looked just a bit at OD yesterdaybut I don't even know where to begin. I need some help on WHAT to use to organize my space which is VERY LIMIITED and shared by my family as well. I have a very small desk but am blessed with a thin monitor so the only other thing that has to be on the desk top is my phone charger. My fax/copier/printer is off to the side on a file cabinet that is for me. I have 3 very small drawers that I need to purge again but they don't hold much. SO.. I need to have help on the TOP of the desk. I MUST discipline myself to file things right away b/c that is what causes most of the clutter but there are some things. ..like a PC CATALOG that I would like to keep at my fingertips. ANYONE who had suggestions of what type of thing to put on my desk to help me out .. that would be AWESOME! I've just put EVERYTHING in a big bag to sort out while we watch TV later so I'm wanting to start out fresh.
 
A few months ago there was an thread on this complete with pictures. Might want to search the pictures to get some ideas.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #3
Yes... I remember the thread.... I'll see if I can find it. I'm very interested in what kind of desktop organizer system others here have found helpful.
 
The title of this thread confused me. "Desk" and "organization" are two words that don't usually go together in my house. :rolleyes:
 
I'm not sure how to link files, but I searched files for "desk" & those were the pictures that I remembered. Wish my desk looked like that!!! You can link to the parent thread from the pictures.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Thanks! I will check them out ... and YES ANN... I understand but I must admit that sitting here with virtually NOTHING on the desk is a pretty calming feeling so I may just have to work harder at this! All I had before was a tunnel to the monitor!
 
Oh Jilleysue where are you??????
 
Diane, i have your same problem. BUT yesterday I managed to consolidate some piles. And I know this is going to sound crazy, but I got the most work done while I was on the phone with a friend. Instead of taking time looking at EACH piece of paper (that should've been tossed MONTHS ago), I was actually more focused on my task.
I'm happy to report that the boxes of supplies have now been put away, and they (boxes) left the house FULL of garbage! I'm determined to start my year organized, to the best of my ability, and KEEP a clean work area.
 
chefann said:
The title of this thread confused me. "Desk" and "organization" are two words that don't usually go together in my house. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
The Organization of Desks, or OD, was a division of the AFL/CIO and was a labor union of desks. Once large companies eliminated desks in favor of cube systems with "work surfaces" instead of desks, there became fewer and fewer working members of OD, and it collapsed into the past with the Union of Buggy Whip Wrights.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #10
Oh KG... leave it to you to bring some fun to a bad job!!!!!!!
 
Here's something I used once to get squared away. Buy yourself some of those smaller sized, post-it flags like people use to mark book pages. For one month, everything you use on your desk gets a flag stuck on it. They are small enough you can be creative to where they don't all stand out. But at the end of the month, everything without a flag can be evaluated as far as it's real estate worth on your desk top.

... Worked for me...
 
  • Thread starter
  • #12
VERY interesting!!!!!! I will make that part of my desk rebirth ... honestly that's what it feels like to see the top of this desk after so long! I'll probably get really *itchy about anyone putting ANYTHING on it now! :)
 
Dr. Susan Dellinger used to be the head of human resources at a very large corporation, ,and one day, decided she had enough and quit it all. As she says, she immediately became the president and CEO of Susan Dellinger & Associates.Anyway, she created something called "Psycho Geometrics" which is like Meyers-Briggs but a lot more fun!So, are you a box, a rectangle, triangle, circle or a squiggle? What your desk looks like might be a reflection of your geometric shape!See Psycho Geometrics and take the test to see.
 
That was fun. I'm a circle. The really interesting thing is that the areas of concern for the circle are some of the very areas on which I've worked over the last several years (like avoiding conflict/backing down).While it's not a perfect description of me, it comes pretty close.
 
I had you pegged as a circle/squiggle a long time ago. :)
 
How wonderful it is to be known and loved for exactly who I am. :)
 
  • Thread starter
  • #17
OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!! This is TOO COOL! I cannot WAIT to have my husband do this too! I'm a circle with a rectangle inside... I LOVED reading the results... it's amazing how all but just a couple things were exactly me! :)
 
I decided to retake it. (Nope. Not obsessive at all. Why do you ask?) I'm a circle/squiggle or circle/triangle. The funny thing is that the same statement applies. The areas they say I need to watch for are the ones I've been working on.One big exception: I'm extremely organized. I'm not neat, but I'm organized. As a result, I'm very rarely late.
 
Interesting.. I'm a circle+box+squiggle... does it show? LOL
 
Does that make you a square peg in a round hole?
 
I would predict that almost everyone in this thread, and probably this site, is of the non-linear shapes. Boxes may hang around the fringes but triangles don't have time for foolishness like this. ;)
 
I took it again and got circle/squiggle... apparently the box is not strong within me. LOL
 
raebates said:
Does that make you a square peg in a round hole?
Click to expand...
I don't even think I'm a peg... :rolleyes: LOL
 
lkprescott said:
I took it again and got circle/squiggle... apparently the box is not strong within me. LOL
Click to expand...
Box is learned behavior for you, that's why it doesn't dominate.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #25
Meanwhile in all this fun... MY DESK STILL HAS NO ORGANIZER ON IT!!!!!! I guess it should be a circular one with a rectangle center!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Well, it's not learned.. I AM a Virgo.. but my propensity to hoard (it's the dragon in me) overrides my space and the ability to keep things organized. Now at work? I had no problems but at home? A whole 'nother story and now that I work at home? Those worlds have collided. LOL... and I too am a mess desk-aholic... I struggle daily with the piles that collect... and I'm always putting off needing to file, store and properly take care of things. Yet, in the kitchen, my spices are alphabetized.... yeah... weird world I inhabit at times.
 
Yup - yer a squiggle, alright.And I'm a dragon, too, for whatever that's worth.
 
quiverfull7 said:
Meanwhile in all this fun... MY DESK STILL HAS NO ORGANIZER ON IT!!!!!! I guess it should be a circular one with a rectangle center!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
My hubby attempted to help me once and got me one of those little plastic drawer thingies that one could organize paper and such in. I'm thinking of getting another one but for all my organizers, I still have a mess... I have plenty of pen holders, drawers, et al... and I know how to use them, something in my brain keeps me from that though and in an odd way I find some organization in my chaos.

Have you ever been more unorganized for organizational efforts? I have.. and it's almost made me swear off trying to stay organized! LOL... perhaps we just need to start a support group. LOL
 
The_Kitchen_Guy said:
Yup - yer a squiggle, alright.

And I'm a dragon, too, for whatever that's worth.
Click to expand...

Then it's a compliment from the likes of you.. LOL... dragons are good... we hoard yes, but are passionate about what we believe in and like shiny things... like knight in armor - they're crunchy and go well with ketchup... :p
 
Poor Diane - her thread has been completely hijacked by squiggles.I'm going to start a separate thread for this.
 
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