Archive for ‘Office’ Category
Paper Doll Celebrates National Clean Off Your Desk Day
January is National Get Organized and Be Productive Month. It’s sponsored by National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and known lovingly to the professional organizing and productivity community as #GoMonth.
During GO Month, we celebrate how NAPO members work to improve our clients lives by helping develop functional environments, schedules, and attitudes to support productivity, good mental and physical health and well-being, and achievement of goals. Aren’t we nifty?!
But today, in addition to being almost the halfway point in Go Month, is its own special day. The second Monday in January is National Clean Off Your Desk Day.
While I’m sure you know that there are a lot of “created” holidays, I’ve always liked knowing how this event came to be. Anne Chase Moeller, daughter of the author of the original Chase’s Calendar of Events, looked at her father’s desk and was dismayed and overwhelmed by the clutter.
To be fair, there’s no documentary evidence that Mr. Chase was bothered by the condition of his desk. In general, most people, whether dealing with their desks at the office or playing the home version, aren’t particularly concerned state of their desks — at least, until they are.
Then, when a furry domesticated creature or the sticky jam-hands of a tiny human or an unexpected gust of wind lays waste to what little hierarchy and structure the desk’s owner created, concern sets in. More often, the problem is that the essential document or sticky note or not-yet-deposited check or instructions gets lost in the sedimentary layers on what was supposed to be a workspace.
Longtime readers of Paper Doll know that I value function over form, and will always place efficiency and effectiveness ahead of aesthetics. However, the desk area is one of those places where messy aesthetics are often a sign of dysfunction.
The truth is that a disorganized desk injects chaos in a person’s life even when they can find what they need, because they almost certainly can’t find it as quickly as they’d like. Disorganization anywhere can yield challenges (to put it kindly), but because our desks represent so many essential activities — financial, legal, professional, personal information management (from planning vacations to signing permission slips) — desk clutter may be the most agitating.
Today, we’re going to look at how ignored desk clutter can have a deleterious effect on physical and mental health, productivity, privacy, and reputation. We’ll also look at the different elements that go into “cleaning off” a desk.
A CLEAN DESK IS A HEALTHY DESK
Cleaning off a desk often means clearing it of whatever doesn’t belong, but it can mean, quite literally, cleaning it.
(If you’re squeamish, you might want to jump down a few paragraphs, because the facts about the germs on your desk might make you feel a bit ill.)
University of Arizona researchers under microbiologist Dr. Charles Gerba found that the average desktop harbors upwards of ten million bacteria, 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet seat. The average (North American) desk contains yucky levels of bacteria like Staph, E Coli, and Salmonella, (eek!) fecal matter, and viruses like influenza and yes, coronaviruses.
But it’s not just the top of your desk that’s the problem; the things on your desk, particular the items you (and others) touch the most often, that are covered in microscopic grossness. The biggest culprits? Look to your:
- Phone — They host approximately 25,000 germs per square inch. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your cell phone is off the hook. The germ party disco-ing across your phone is absolute off the hook with bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other creepy stuff!
Think about how often you touch your cell phone after touching just about anything else — elevator buttons, escalator railings, the keypad at the checkout counter, the ATM, etc. (And even if you never take your phone into the bathroom — and please don’t tell me if you do — you may be touching something that was touched by someone whose rest room hygiene is, shall we say, not optimal.
Sure, we’d rather not think of it, but be honest, when was the last time you disinfected your phone?
- Keyboard — One study at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago found that two different types of drug-resistant types of bacteria — MRSA and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE) — could survive for up to 24 hours on a keyboard. That Arizona University study took samples from a cross-section of 100 American offices and found that keyboards harbored 3,295 microbes a square inch.
- Mouse — Well, you’re only touching your mouse with one hand (vs. two on the keyboard), so I guess it’s not surprising that computer mice have about half the microbes, so only about 1,676 of those bugs. Yeah, that’s still a lot. (And no, using a your laptops trackpad doesn’t get you out of the dog house (um, germ house?). Ickiness abounds.)
By the way, a computer mouse is not the only mouse that might show up in a messy desk!
Beyond whatever you do to organize your desk, be sure to make time to keep it clean:
- Take everything off of your desk and put it elsewhere, whether that’s a spare table, a rolling cart, or a clean beach towel on the floor. (Don’t put anything directly on the floor, especially in an office where people are wearing their “outside” shoes and walking around.”)
- Unplug everything. Obviously, if you’re moving a desktop, shut it down safely first.
If you’re just cleaning your mouse or keyboard (and it’s not already wireless), disconnect it from the computer. Cleaning peripherals while they’re plugged in can lead to clicking on all sorts of buttons, links, and files, creating a completely different type of desktop chaos!
- Use a can of compressed air to clean the schmutz out of crevices and tiny spaces, like between keyboard keys.
- Use disinfecting wipes or a cloth and gentle cleanser to clean everything (that doesn’t require special treatment), like your:
- desktop surface
- office telephone (see below for cleaning your cell phone)
- keyboard
- mouse
- electronic gadgets
- printer/copier keypad
- stapler
- and all of the various doodads you use at your desk. I’m not going to tell you that you have to sanitize every pen on your desk, but since the onset of COVID, I’m sure you’ve noticed that doctor’s office check-in areas have little notes delineating the “clean” pens vs. the used ones.
- Check your computer’s manual regarding preferred techniques for cleaning and de-germifying the monitor and computer, itself.
- Follow your manufacturer’s directions for de-germifying your phone. Obviously, you known not to squirt it with cleaning liquids or submerge it water, but most phone-cleaning advice includes these notes:
- Don’t use bleach products. (Duh!)
- Disconnect your phone from the charger and any accessories first.
- Remove your phone from the case and clean it separately.
- Clear dust and debris from from the phone with a swoosh of compressed air and/or a dry eyeglass cleaning cloth or similarly soft, lint-free cloth.
- Make sure your phone is completely dry for several minutes before turning it back on.
- You can also use UV phone sanitizers, which come as wands or boxes. UV light damages the nucleic acid of viruses, making them no longer infectious. The PhoneSoap 3 UV Cell Phone Sanitizer and Dual Universal Cell Phone Charger is shown below; still, I find the entire concept a little Sci-Fi-esque and still win sanitizing wipes.
- Oh, and your office coffee mug? Take it home and run it through the dishwasher. Don’t use that mangy break room sponge that’s been there since who-knows-when.
Clean your desk for Clean Off Your Desk Day, but don’t only clean these spaces once a year. To keep germs at bay, try to clean your high-touch areas on your desk weekly (and after anyone uses your computer), and schedule time on your calendar to deep clean often, especially during flu season.
Pro-tip: don’t eat at your desk. Not only does it contribute to the germs in your workspace, but as I explained in Toxic Productivity In the Workplace and What Comes Next, working through lunch and not taking a “brain break” is bad for your mental health. Speaking of mental health…
CLEANING OFF YOUR DESK CAN SAVE YOUR SANITY
Clutter in our workspaces is similar to plaque in our arteries. It slowly builds up without us realizing anything is wrong until the flow (of blood, in our arteries; of clarity of thought, at our desks) is further and further restricted.
We may not immediately perceive it, but clutter distracts us from our priorities. It’s already hard enough to pay bills, understand field trip notices, or plan business tasks without sensory clutter (noisy cubicle mates, Slack and text notifications, ringing phones, and human interruptions) obscuring our focus.
But tangible clutter on and around our desks (whether at work or at home) hides our priorities under sedimentary rock-like layers. The oldest stuff is at the bottom, the newest is at the top; but priorities, which are date-of-origin agnostic are ignored. What’s important is almost always hidden, so whatever is on top of the pile, no matter the priority, grabs our attention.
Every time you test three pens before you find one that does have ink and doesn’t leave blobs all across the page, your patience wears just a little thinner. Each time you must flip through every sticky note pasted to your monitor or floating around your desk to find a password so you can meet a deadline, your blood pressure increases incrementally. And just as with too much plaque in an artery, when there’s too much clutter obscuring your focus, there will come a point where the blockage completely halts all flow!
To overcome overwhelm, read my classic article, If You’re Drowning In Paper Build A Raft and then set phone or calendar alarms to remind you to periodically:
- File away reference information (digitally, like in Dropbox or Evernote, or tangibly, a file box or cabinet) and tuck action paper work in tickler file or in folders in a file riser.
- Clear your desk and put away projects you’ve completed
- Digitize as much of your loose paper information as possible
Of course, avoiding distractions that make you feel like you’re going to pop isn’t the only way to keep your desk time cheery.
Invest in office supplies that brighten your mood (like colorful folders or attractive computer risers) to incline you to stick with your organizing rituals. For examples, check out:
- Paper Doll Explores the Best of Desktop File Boxes
- Organize Your Desktop with Your Perfect Desk Pad
- Cool and Colorful Desktop Solutions to Organize Your Workspace
You can also add a few fun desk accessories, but again, the more you have on your desk, the easier it is for clutter to build up. My favorite desk accessory is my cell phone stand (purple, to match my iMac). It has the added bonus that when I’m using it to watch something on my phone, I’m not holding my phone in a death grip.
PICK FUNCTION OVER FORM TO KEEP YOUR DESK CLEAN AND CLEAR
When you keep your desk clear of crud, and organize what you keep on your desk, you’re more likely to be able to focus on essential tasks.
To start with the clearing aspect of cleaning off your desk, ask yourself two vital questions:
1) What do you have on your desk that you don’t need or want (and where should it go)?
Take a moment to look around your desk. (Go ahead. We’ll wait.) What’s on your desk that really doesn’t belong? What’s crowding you out of your space?
If it’s your desk at home, are there toys on your desk? Your desk is an extension of your brain. How can your brain focus on preparing for a client meaning if Mister Fluffy is sitting in the middle of your workspace?
Are there meds that you don’t want to forget to take? Be honest — are they reminding you to take them or have the bottles just become part of the atmosphere? Move them to the kitchen counter, next to the coffee maker, where you’re sure to notice them.
Are there books you intend to read but which have sat untouched for weeks? Months? If you really want to read, move your TBR (To Be Read) pile to a nearby shelf and schedule a 15-minute block every morning on your calendar. Start your day reading and you’ll make at least that much progress. Instead of hoping to find time in your schedule, make time to read (or learn a new language or write thank you notes).
Take the aspirational material off your desk but put your aspirations on your calendar.
Similarly, put stop piling your action paperwork on the desk. Put items in the right day slots in your tickler file so they’ll be ready when the assigned time arrives. For more on using a tickler file to organize your time and desk space, check out my classic ebook, Tickle Yourself Organized.
Don’t put things down; put them away! This is especially apt in the small, sometimes cramped confines of your desk. As the various posts above explain, you need to define specific homes for reference and research files in railed filing drawers/cabinets or shelved binders.
For organizing the rest of the loose papers on your desk, avail yourself of my guidance on developing a family filing system:
- Paper Doll Shares 12 Kinds of Paper To Declutter Now
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 1) — The Essentials of Paper Filing
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 2) — Financial and Legal Papers
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 3) — Medical Papers
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 4) — Household and Personal Papers
Don’t forget about the non-paper items on your desk.
How many pens and pencils do you have? Is your mug filled with pencils you never use (either because they’re stubby and dull or you’re just not a pencil pusher — I mean, user)? Are there thirty pens in various colors and thicknesses, but you only use a black Sharpie fine pen or a sparkly blue gel roller-ball?
Stop collecting crummy ballpoint pens from hotels, conference centers, and the bank. (Did you know those cheapie pens are purposely only partially filled with ink because they know people will take them and never use them?)
And even though we’re working on clearing your desk, there’s another important question to ask.
2) What might you want on your desk that you don’t actually have?
- Do you get up from your desk frequently to find information you want at your fingertips without Googling (or when your WiFi is out)? Get a bright three-ring binder and fill sheet protectors with essential info like emergency contacts or the configuration data for your wireless router. Create a printed cheat sheet for making those “funny” symbols for letters to your international clients and emoji to your friends. (Do you do international commerce? Make sure you know your $ from your €.)
- Are you constantly unplugging peripherals because you don’t have enough places to plug in your external hard drive, disk drive, or other noodle-y USB thingies? Get a charging hub to neatly corral everything.
- Store action items and office supplies based on my Rule of Proximity & Utility. In other words, the more often you use something (or should be using it), the closer it should be to you in the “prime real estate” of your desk.
But c’mon, you don’t need a dozen stacks of Post-It pads on the surface of your desk. Stage those office supplies in a distant drawer or cabinet where you can go “shopping” as needed.
DON’T BE INSECURE — CLEAN YOUR DESK TO PRESERVE PRIVACY & SECURITY
Your desk is clear of germs? Check!
You’ve created categories for your papers and found the right supplies and tools to tuck away what you don’t need on top of your desk? Yay!
Once you’ve gotten the supplies and gadgets back to your desk or tucked away and the files (more or less) sorted into their action, reference, or archived categories, really scrutinize the teeny pieces of paper that adorn your cubicle walls, filing cabinet sides, bulletin boards, and the other surfaces.
As noted, you’ll save your sanity by gathering all those loose notes and stickies and transferring that information to wherever it belongs, whether in digital or (organized) analog form.
But there’s a subset of loose pieces of paper that are particularly dangerous to your security. How long have those Post-Its bearing passwords been affixed to the monitor for all (from coworkers to cleaning staff) to see?
Who else wanders by your office? Customers, vendors, consultants? Friends and family of other employees, maintenance staff and colleagues? Gladys Kravitz?
Even in a home office, where only the UPS guy, babysitter and pizza delivery lady see your desk, it’s crucial to protect sensitive data from disclosure — whether that’s your Social Security number and bank data, clients’ proprietary information, or personnel files.
The more clutter in your desktop environment, the harder it is to know when something is missing or if prying eyes have settled on them, so it’s time to stop keeping your passwords on or around your desk. Optimally, you should pick a digital password manager, but even using a password notebook (that you keep tucked or locked away when you’re not at your desk) is better than nothing.
Get out of the habit of posting sensitive information on your bulletin board, stuck to your desktop, or on the periphery of your computer monitor! It’s tempting to scribble your new password on a sticky note and put it where you’ll see it, but it’s only convenient until the first time something goes awry.
KEEP YOUR DESK — AND YOUR REPUTATION — CLEAN
At work, do clients and colleagues sometimes seem reluctant to leave files or important documents with you?
Are family members dubious about leaving you documents to sign or checks to deposit?
The problem may be your desk.
Whether or not the impression is accurate, people commonly assume a cluttered desk represents a cluttered mind.
Yes, I know Albert Einstein said, “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
And certainly his was a great mind. But this was what Einstein’s desk at Princeton looked like on the day he died in 1955.
If you aren’t Einstein, will you be given the benefit of the doubt, particularly at work? (And let’s just imagine how much more Einstein might have accomplished if he didn’t have to waste any time digging for the reference he wanted?)
While it’s important to be physically and mentally healthy and improve functional productivity and security, preserving your reputation by keeping your desk clear of clutter and your essentials accessible will better help you achieve your goals. (I mean, assuming your goals include being promoted, being appreciated, and doing a great job.)
It’s not just cleanliness and functional tidiness that impacts the judgment of others. Too many personal items on your desk can adversely affect your professional image. If more than one in five items on your desk are personal, like photos, toys and stuffed animals, banners, or goofy mugs, those in authority (or in a position to report to authority) might doubt your commitment or work ethic. A University of Michigan study found that “An extremely messy personal space seems to lead people to believe the owner of that space is more neurotic and less agreeable.”
And let’s face it, even if your desk is in a home office and there’s no promotion beyond Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, Vice President for Financial Affairs and Co-Chair of Family Strategizing, do you need the sub-conscious distraction and lost space due to “desk trinkets” that you probably no longer use or even actually notice?
For National Clean Off Your Desk Day, give your desk a refresh. If you need some motivation, Zoom or Facetime with a friend or pair up with your work (or actual) spouse. Play some motivating music (if it won’t disturb your colleagues or housemate), set a pomodoro timer, and see how much you can accomplish before Beyoncé or Taylor finish cheering you on.
Clean the schmutz, eject what doesn’t belong (and figure out whether to toss it or file it away), and only keep things on your desk that help you be productive or make you happy to be at your desk.
And then to celebrate your achievement (and the observance of Clean Off Your Desk Day), eat somewhere other than your desk!
What one thing will you remove from your desktop today?
Paper Doll Post:
Organize Your Desktop with Your Perfect Desk Pad
WHY USE A DESK PAD?
It’s funny how small, random things resonate with people. In early September, in Paper Doll Explores New & Nifty Office and School Supplies, I included a small section on how desk pads have come back into vogue, and shared some examples of brightly colored, inexpensive options. I’ve been surprised by how many people had follow-up questions about this rarely discussed office supply.
Desk pads are similar to but not quite the same as desk blotters, even though the two are often conflated. However, as we’re not writing with quills or fountain pens anymore, nobody is really blotting anything. Still desk pads have a variety of benefits for organizing your desk physically as well as psychologically.
Desk pads have a variety of purposes. A desk pad will:
- Protect the desk from spilled beverages, sticky or crumbly foods, and scratches (either from your watch or jewelry, or from pens that dig into the desktop surface).
- Create a more comfortable workplace. This includes making the traditional writing surface smooth for when you’re actually using pen or pencil (like a caveman) or protecting your arms from the desktop’s surface. If your desk is metal or glass, the surface can be ice cold; an old wooden desk may feel scratchy or splintery. Desk pads vastly improves your comfort level because they’re generally made from softer or sleeker materials. This also provides a gentler surface to reduce friction against your wrists.
- Yield more slide-y space than a mousepad. Whether you’re using your desktop for working or gaming, a mousepad offers little space to slide your mouse around. A desk pad makes that smooth area much wider and eliminates your worry about making grander gestures.
- Reduce the sound and vibrations of a clickety mechanical keyboard.
- Designate zones for different tools. Some desk pads give you specific areas to help carve out the niche areas of purpose on your desk.
- Make a statement of style for the owner of the desk, to communicate personality with visitors and to delight you when you’re sitting at your workspace. Given that most of day’s post focuses on more mature styles of desk pads, in leather and and leather-like materials, I thought I’d share the kind of desk pad that the less grown-up version of me is often tempted to acquire. Because, as you may have wondered at some point, Surely Not Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting (from Society Six).
DESK PAD ATTRIBUTES TO CONSIDER
Most of the inquiries I received asked about what features they should consider in a desk pad. For those used to the traditional oversized calendar style of blotter, the number of modern desk pad possibilities come as a bit of an overwhelming surprise. Let’s look at several.
Size
One hesitates to say that “size matters,” but you need to consider a variety of size-related elements:
- How large is your work area? — If your desk is enormous and you’ve got an itty bitty desk pad not much bigger than a mousepad, the desk pad is going to be engulfed, both logicically and aesthetically. If it’s only the width of your keyboard, the friction of the edges against your arm may annoy you.
Conversely, if you’re working on a tiny desk, make sure your desk pad will actually fit. Read the actual measurements, but also keep your eyes out for keywords, like “extended,” that give you an idea of the size of a product. A standard goal is to pick a desk pad that covers 2/3 of the width of your desk, but your needs may vary, given other factors.
- How much of your stuff do you want on the desk pad? — Do you want the deskpad to cover just the area closest to you, or would you prefer your computer to sit atop it? If you want your desktop and keyboard located on top of your deskpad, you’ll need more space than if you just want to put it under your laptop (or just prefer it under the area where you rest your arms).
Some desk pads are designed to be large enough to have space for your phone, mouse (so a mousepad is unnecessary), office supplies, and any papers essential to your work.
- What kind of surface do you need for your work functionality? — If you’re using a mouse instead of a track pad and a desk pad in lieu of a mouse pad, the mouse needs to be able to move smoothly but not slip on too glossy a surface. The surface should also allow you an adequate, comfortable area upon which to rest your mousing wrist.
- Do you need a desk pad to accommodate a special purpose? — Gamers often use oversized (overly wide) desk pads; engineers and computer specialists may need specialized pads for work on computers or with tools.
- Do you need options? There are varieties of desk pads with different surfaces on each side (like for gaming vs. standard computing or intricate work vs. writing). If your work and play tasks vary widely, consider looking at dual-dided pads to make sure you’re comfortable. A distracted worker is an unproductive worker.
Think about width as well as depth of your desk (and desk pad) as you look at your purchase options.
Materials
The material from which your desk pad is constructed will impact how it looks, how long it will last, and how much it will cost. Common desk pad materials include:
- Leather looks sumptuous and sophisticated, is easy to keep clean, and tends to be durable over the long term. However, it is often one of the most expensive options.
Leatherology has a wide variety of classic and modern desk pad options, but they also have some spiffy extra-long desk pads and narrower “conference and laptop” pads. They’re all in gorgeous Italian leather and are (for real leather) fairly affordable, from $95 to $170. Even their colors sound luxurious, with Bordeaux (below), Oxblood, Mocha, and Dove mixing with Tan, Black, Midnight Blue.
Grovemade is a similarly delicious vendor of 3.5mm-thick premium leather desk pads with cork backing in six sizes: Small – 11” x 24.75”, Small Plus – 14″ x 31.5″, Medium – 11.5” x 38”, Medium Plus – 15.75″ x 38″, Large – 26” x 38.5”, and Extra Large – 26.5″ x 49″. Small, medium & medium plus provide room for an external keyboard and mouse, while Large is designed to work under the Grovemade Monitor Stand and Laptop Stand. Prices range from $110 to a whopping $400!
Of course, leather can get incredibly pricey. Smythson of Bond Street’s Large Desk Mat in Panama (available in Black or Sandstone) runs a hefty $1095!
- “Vegan” leather is what we used to call vinyl. It’s durable, though not so much as real leather, but it avoids the whole Bambi’s mother issue. You will sometimes see this described as “Eco” leather. If you’re not spending in the $100s, you’re almost assuredly not seeing a leather pad.
- Plastic or PVC vinyl is inexpensive, but may feel cold against your arms, can split or crack over time, and likely won’t last as long as some other varieties. That said, whether clear or opaque and colored, plastic surfaces are usually easier to clean and ideal for people who tend to stain their horizontal surfaces with coffee cup rings.
- Wool/Felt provides a cozy, hygge look, but can feel itchy or scratchy to your arms. (If you’re buying a wood desk pad as gift, make sure your recipient doesn’t have wool allergies.) Of course, a mouse will not slide on wool so you’ll still need a mouse pad, and you’re not really going to be able to handwrite on it unless you’ve got a notebook or want to fuss with cardboard backing while drafting your thank you notes.
If you’re up for spending $94 on some wool that you can’t even wear on date night, Graf Lantz has a sophisticated Mosen Large Merino Wool Felt Desk Pad measuring 31” wide x 19 ½” high in seven colors (Espresso, Mahogany, Orange, Granite, Charcoal, Marine, and Sage.
- Microfiber or Polyester — These materials tend to be relatively thin, on to top of spongy backing, making it hard to write with pencil or ball point pens, and can be hard to keep clean over the long run. These range from lower-end options to more fancy-pants versions, like the Harber London Microfibre Minimalist Deskmat, available in three sizes, from about $60-$84, from the UK.
- Cork — For example, IKEA’S minimalist Susig, measuring 17 3/4″ by 25 1/2″ is made of cork, which repels dirt and water. It’s only $8.99. Bear in mind that cork can have a strong odor, as anyone who’s ever purchased a new bulletin board will know. Buyer beware.
- Linoleum is an atypical options, but Grovemade makes them from linseed oil, natural pine rosin, wood flour, and calcium carbonate, with a cork backing, in ten different colors. They resist fingerprints and are antistatic and durable.
- Aluminum or Copper desk pads provide anti-static attributes. These metals have conductive properties, and will protect your computers and electronic equipment from static electricity. If you work around equipment that’s sensitive to static, like in a computer lab or server room, this is something to consider.
- Marble, glass, acrylic — These atypical desk pads are going to be cold, heavy, and slippery, but easy to clean.
I’d recommend against these icy materials unless you are far more into aesthetics than computing, but the Pottery Barn White Marble Desk Blotter may put you in “fancy society matron” mode. It comes in 24″ wide by 18″ high for $79 or 36″ wide by 18″ high (pictured below) for $99 and can be personalized.
As you examine your options, ask yourself, will this material deflect spills? Morning Starbucks? Afternoon Starbucks? Late night pizza grease?
Leather and vegan leather are sumptuous, but will they withstand ink stains and the pressure of a ball point pen?
Do you need gutters (indentations) for pens or cord organizers or side panels on the edges to give you a sense of boundaries (and let you tuck in note cards)?
Whatever material you choose will reflect your personal style. Select something that uplifts and inspires you (or at least doesn’t frustrate you) when you approach your desk.
That said, consider that how you organize your desk reflects on your office mates or your employers. There’s some wiggle room, but if your desk pad quote Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Eat the Rich! but you work at a high-end accounting firm, you may encounter some conflict.
Grip/Traction
A super slick desk surface such as one made of metal or glass will improve your mousing capabilities but may make it hard for you to keep things from rolling away. A good desk pad has backing that provides traction for keeping your keyboard from jiggling, your pens from rolling, and your podcast microphones from sliding away.
Think about how the backing material will affect the grippiness of the pad on the desk’s surface. Look for a desk pad with backing that’s sufficiently rubbery to keep the desk pad from sliding around, but not something so inexpensive that it will get sticky or goopy near a heater or in direct sunlight as the years go by.
You also want a smooth top surface for writing, but not so smooth that your keyboard will slide around.
Organization
Psychologically, a desk pad has a calming, centering effect, much like a tablecloth or table runner in a home, dissuading you from piling junk or excess materials in your space. A desk pad also helps you create zones, both on the pad and around the perimeter. You might find yourself keeping resources on the back third of the desk, beyond the far edge of the depth of the pad, or papers to the left of the pad and your phone and gadgets to the right.
Let your desk pad support your organizational structure, and you might find that it supports your physical as well as cognitive sense of order.
Design Aesthetic
Design also has both a functional and psychological impact.
Functionally, the design and manufacture of your desk pad can affect your comfort while you work. Those with some extra padding may be more comfortable under your arms while you’re typing. Of course, you don’t want a pad so thick that it adds bulk or adversely impacts your ergonomics. And, as mentioned, size will matter if you’re trying to create a sleek, uniform look on your desk.
Aesthetically, the combination of materials, colors, and styles determine whether your desk pad looks:
- Professional — Let’s define this to mean anything from serene to stuffy, but generally appropriate for an attorney’s office or anywhere you’re expected to dress conservatively for work.
- Sleek, modern, minimalist — If the bulk of your workspace is glass, metal, or full of spare IKEA-styled wooden furniture, you’ll want a desk pad that sets a similar tone.
- Activist-oriented — Does everything in your office convey a written message? Is your tone political (in the wider use of the term)? You may want a bold look.
- Too Cool for School — If you’re working with younger people (by which I mean adults younger than you, as parents may bristle at middle school guidance counselors decorating with edgy messages), you may want a more youthful, expressive style to maintain integrity.
- Personal — Whether you want Barbie pink or a Darth Vader Sith Lord desk pad from NovelKeys, in the end, you need to ask: does the desk pad fit your tastes? If not, you’ll never feel entirely at ease at your desk.
In the end, this is a desk pad, not a wedding dress. Pick a color, pattern, and material that reflects your style insofar as you’re allowed to express your true style at work.
And if you find the perfect desk pad but expect it will be received poorly at work, use it in your desk area at home — and start looking for a job that won’t stifle your soul.
Portability
If you set up a desk once and never remove anything, this won’t be a concern. However, if you hot-desk at your office, or if you’re a student who relocates to different work areas and likes your desk pad to come with you, portability may be an issue.
Some desk pads easily roll up like small yoga mats and you can keep them rolled with a rubber band or yoga mat band. Conversely, some fancy-pants desk pads, the kind made to emulate old-fashioned leather pads, are not only stiff and unrollable, but are often weighted heavily on the left and right edges and not ideally portable.
Special Features
A desk pad is not always just a desk pad, especially in the 21st-century. Some, like the KeySmart Charging Taskpad have charging capabilities. Measuring 35.43″ x 16.54″, in comes only in black. What it lacks in panache, in makes up for in features.
The KeySmart Charging Task Pad has built-in wireless charging capabilities. You can just set your phone, Airpods, or other doohickies on the mat and they will charge quickly, even when in their cases. It’s also water- and stain-resistant, and anti-scratch, with a no-slip-backing and PU Leather surface. There’s a “micro-textured mouse pad built in, with cushioning for wrists and forearms. It’s $120 from KeySmart and currently on sale at Amazon for $69.
Gaming keyboards like are built with colorful, lighted margins to help set the ambiance. For example, see the Razer Goliathus Chroma line, which runs $54 at Warmart and Amazon for the extended version. (You may want to turn down your volume if you’re over 30 years of age.)
Price
Do you want to make a long-term commitment to one desk pad or “date” around with different options depending on your mood of the week? The more committed, the higher a price point you can embrace. I’ve seen desk pads ranging from $10 to $200, so you should be able to augment your work space at a cost that works for you.
A FEW MORE DESK PAD EXAMPLES
Smead Desk Pads
Just as I was considering writing this blog post, I got an email from one of my favorite companies to recommend about the brand new Smead Desk Pads. The waterproof surface, described as being crafted from “premium vegan leather,” has a sturdy design to protect against keyboard scratches, water marks, and spills.
Smead notes that the faux-suede, non-slip backing will ensure stability, so it won’t wiggle while you work or write. They stated that it comes rolled for easy shipping but will lay flat without curling once it’s on your desk.
The Smead Desk Pads come in three sizes:
- Small (23.6″ x 13.7″) for $10.49
- Medium (31.5″ x 15.7″) for $12.99
- Large (36″ x 17″) for $14.99
and five colors: Blue, Dusty Rose, Saddle, Sandstone, and Charcoal.
If you’re seeking a serene, serious, vibe, like for the office of a therapist or ADHD coach, this might be ideal.
OrbitKey Desk Mat
The OrbitKey Desk Mat comes in Black or Stone, in two sizes: Medium (27.01″ wide x 14.69″ high) and Large (35.28″ wide x 16.65″ high). It’s made of premium vegan leather and 100% recycled PET felt and comes with a two-year warranty.
The OrbitKey Desk Mat has some intriguing features, including:
- a quick-access indented toolbar across the top
- a magnetic cable organizer
- a document hideaway feature, suitable for keeping your cheat sheet formulas and codes, or sensitive papers you need at your fingertips
It’s also somewhat pricey (at just under $80 for Medium or $100 for Large) from OrbitKey and Amazon.
Adir Professional Reversible Self-Healing Cutting Mat
Adir’s dual-sided green and black desk pad is made of “self-healing” vinyl and comes in four sizes: 12′ x 18″ ($15), 18″ x 24″ ($25), 18″ x36″ ($45), and 36″ x 48″ ( $76) from Amazon. If you’ve got someone on your shopping list whose desk is equal parts computer desk and work bench, this option will “self-heal” if an art or mat knife or rotary cutter slices through it, keeping the surface smooth. It’s marked with 0.5 inch, as well as measurements in centimeters and millimeters, 45- and 60-degree angle guides, and diagonal cutting lines.
Excel Tips Deskpad (and Morning Brew)
This is actually two recommendations in one. Do you subscribe to the Morning Brew newsletter? It’s a stellar daily newsletter for catching up on all the (mostly non-stressful) national, international, business, and entertainment news delivered in a delightfully Dad-joke tone to make starting your day easier.
If you spend too much time on Microsoft Excel, you might want to look at the Morning Brew Excel Tips desk pad. It measures 27.20″x11.75″ and provides more than 60 Excel functions, 100+ Excel shortcuts, and top dialog box definitions, all for $35.
Paper Doll hasn’t had the opportunity to use and rank most desk pads, so you may wish to peruse recent coverage of the best of desk pads for 2023.
9 Best Desk Mats of 2023 for a More Organized Workspace (Good Housekeeping)
The 10 Best Desk Pads to Elevate Your Workspace (The Robb Report)
The 11 Best Desk Mats of 2023 (The Spruce)
The 12 Best Desk Pads to Make You More Productive and Organized at Work (Esquire)
The 15 Best Desk Pads For Your Home Office (GearMoose)
21 Stylish Deskpads and Blotters for Writers (Accessory to Success)
The Best Desk Pads & Mats for Your Office (Werd)
Do you use a desk mat? What are the most important features for you to work comfortably?
Paper Doll Post:
Paper Doll is Clearly Organized — Translucent Tools for Getting it Together
THE LOOKS OF THINGS
Quite often, when people talk about tools for getting organized and productive, they talk about the way products look. However, if you’ve been a longtime reader of Paper Doll, you know that I’m a firm believer in focusing on function rather than aesthetics. No matter how pretty or spiffy or intriguing a product looks, if it doesn’t work well, and help you work well, then it’s a bit pointless.
That doesn’t mean I don’t recognize the psychological value of how things appear. For example, I’ve talked about how color can play a motivational role:
Cool and Colorful Desktop Solutions to Organize Your Workspace
Paper Doll Adds a Pop of Color with Bright & Sunny Office Supplies
Ask Paper Doll: Should I Organize My Space and Time with Color?
Organize Your Days With a Little Color
For me, I can’t resist things in the pink and purple range. I’ve written before about how I am a steadfast adherent to my Roaring Spring purple legal pads, and I have a purple iPhone and iMac.
Almost anything I can purchase (for the same price as the bland and boring version), I’m likely to acquire in pink or purple. As much as I try to avoid duplication, even though I have a lovely pink Swingline stapler that is perfectly serviceable,
when a generous colleague gifted me a pink Mustard-brand Bunny stapler, I couldn’t resist keeping it in my office space, too. (And yes, I do make “boing-boing-boing” sounds effects when I use the bunny stapler. Need you ask?)
In Gretchen Rubin‘s latest book, Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World, which I’m currently reading, she calls attention to all of the ways
we can enrich our lives by exploring sensory experiences. In each chapter, Rubin walks through quirky personal quests as well as scientific experiments to illustrate how making ourselves more deeply aware of each of the senses can have an impact on the richness of our lives.
I still stand by the idea that function must come first, but I grant that by enmeshing the visual aesthetic with how something functions, it can make us much more likely to not only use, but embrace, items designed to make us more productive.
Intriguingly, as I’ve been reading Rubin’s book (and particularly during the section on sight), I’ve noticed what seems like a trend (but may just be an example of the frequency illusion or the Baader-Meinhoff phenomenon): an upswing in translucent and transparent office supplies.
Admittedly, this may not be a trend or a set of coincidental examples, but a freaky confluence of all of the social media algorithms talking to one another. Perhaps TikTok recognizes I’ve repeatedly paused to look at the ad for the Temu translucent calendars and has shared that with Twitter (I refuse to call it “X”), Facebook, and those ad insertion companies during their daily coffee klatches.
Whatever the reason for the translucent and transparent items, it hasn’t been a sign of a return to stark, boring, black and white (or grey) products; rather, it feels like the deep dive into color-free supplies is creating a more dazzling aesthetic. Of course, in each case, users get to add color in their own preferred ways. Perhaps that’s the advantage of going color-free, to be able to transcend a pre-created intellectual/emotional connection and impose your own?
In any case, the following are some of the products that have been capturing my attention lately.
TRANSLUCENT CALENDARS
The product that most fits my inclination toward goal-conquering office supplies was the translucent Russell + Hazel Acrylic Clear & Gold Weekly Calendar.
The wall-mounted weekly calendar has seven columns for each day of the week (marked in thin white lines). It measures 24″ wide by 10″ high, weighs three pounds, has gold-tone accents, and is available from The Container Store for $49.99. (It’s sold out at Russell + Hazel which is just as well, as they were charging $114!)
The calendar is shown above with other translucent Russell + Hazel products, including an acrylic clear rail for $29.99, which is designed to hold associated wall organizers, including a wall mail box, pencil/pen holder and more. However, I’m more fond of the translucent office supplies that organize your thoughts and information than those that organize tangible stuff.
The Container Store Luxe Acrylic Magnetic Monthly Calendar takes the approach from weekly to monthly with a 14-inch square, clear, acrylic calendar.
Four low-profile magnets hold the calendar securely in place on any steel surface. (Remember: magnets generally don’t work on stainless steel appliances!)
There’s a narrow horizontal strip at the top — circle whatever month it currently is. Next, mark the dates in the appropriate squares of the month. Use it as a family command center, a bill-payment reminder screen, or a project calendar. The Luxe Acrylic Magnetic Monthly Calendar is equally appropriate for kitchens, offices, dorm rooms, or workshops.
It’s designed by, and sold at, The Container Store, for $19.99.
The calendar comes with a white dry marker, but you could similarly use a wet-erase marker or a colored or metallic liquid chalk marker.
These are just a few examples of the magnetic approach. I’m inclined to only purchase from companies and brands with which I’m fairly familiar, so even though I originally became aware of these products via too-tempting “TikTok Made Me Buy It” spots from online shops like Temu and “Amazon Home Finds” videos (all similar except for their “thought influencer” spokespersons), I’ve not yet made the jump.
If you’re not as persnickety as I am, Amazon has a variety of copycat brands of these types of calendars from lines like Zochovhi, 
All of these seem to be fairly similar, ranging from slightly under 16″ x 12″ to just about 17″ x 12″, and vary in price from $16 to $22. Most seem to come with anywhere from three to eight colored dry-erase markers, and some include similarly-sized clear acrylic boards (suitable for lists/notes/messages).
Perhaps you’d like a clear calendar but prefer something on a grander scale? Girl Friday has what you’re seeking.
These acrylic calendars give you the ultimate big-picture view, whether you’re scheduling your busy life, your family’s activities, or your work team’s projects. These big calendars use professionally-cut acrylic and are printed on the back of the acrylic. This means you never have to worry about the printing coming off due to excessive wear. Even better, you have a choice of black or white print, allowing for the best contrast depending on the color of your walls behind the boards.
In addition to a horizontal strip of months above the calendar block (so you can mark which month you’re in), there’s a right-side panel for tracking specific activities or important information for the current week. (If you prefer a calendar without the right-side weekly panel, the three middle sizes below can be purchased as calendar-only for the same prices, per size, listed.)
There are five different Girl Friday calendar sizes. Note that the larger landscape means a higher price than the small products previously mentioned, but the quality here is superior. Pricing is as follows:
- 18″ wide X 15″ high (The writing area for each day is 2″ X 2 1/4″.) — $95 black text/$89 white text
- 23″ wide X 18.5″ high (The writing area for each day is 2 1/2” x 2 1/2”.) — $135 black text/$125 white text
- 31″ wide X 23″ high (The writing area for each day is 3 1/8” x 3 1/2”.) — $200 black or white text
- 35″ wide X 23″ high with thicker acrylic (The writing area for each day is 3 1/2” x 3 1/2”.) — $325 black text/$295 white text
- 42″ wide X 27″ tall with thicker acrylic (The writing area for each day is 4 3/8” x 4 1/4″.) — $385 black or white text
The acrylic measures 3/16″ thick for the three smaller sizes and 3/8″ thick for the two larger sizes.
You can pick from high-quality silver, gold, or black hardware, and Girl Friday promises clear instructions on how to hang the calendars on your wall. (Note well: these are non-magnetic!)
One wet-erase marker is included. While you can use either wet- or dry-erase markers, Girl Friday recommends wet-erase to provide darker and more precise writing.
Girl Friday also has a wide variety of fridge-sized, magnetic, clear acrylic calendars, menu boards, shopping lists, and weekly note boards. They also sell standard and customizable boards for business use.
MEMO BOARDS
Just as with clear, acrylic, magnetic calendars, you can find a variety of memo boards similar in style.
The Container Store Luxe Acrylic Magnetic Memo Board feels like a real find at $9.99. It measures 6″ wide by 9″ high (though, obviously, you could flip it 90°).
While they tend to show it off on a fridge, it seems like the perfect low-price, low-key way to track reminders and notes in lieu of an old-fashioned memo board. You can imagine it stuck to the side of a file cabinet in the office or on any of the steel/metal surfaces (including doors) in a dorm. Made of durable clear acrylic, it nonetheless has a flexibility that allows it to fit on somewhat curved surfaces, like those newfangled fridges.
I’d like it for tracking daily to-dos in the office, but it’s suitable for serving as a household message center, a make-sure-you-have-it-before-you-leave checklist for kids or grownups, or a reminder space. Use the included white dry marker, a wet erase marker, or (if you like to get fancy), a liquid chalk marker. The magnetic backing will stay secure to any steel surface.
If you’d prefer a desktop-top memo board, the Russell + Hazel Acrylic Memo Tablet has a more sophisticated, classy appeal, and can be used in a greater variety of spaces and ways.
- Leave it on the kitchen counter so everyone can add items to the grocery list (as above).
- Keep it on your desk to focus on your top three tasks of the day.
- Use it in lieu of sticky notes to capture thoughts throughout your workday.
- Leave important numbers for the babysitter in big, highly visible writing.
- Place it on the front hall table with greetings and instructions for when the kids get home from school.
- Move it around the house to use in visible spots — the center of the breakfast table, the front hall table, the counter as you all head to the garage — with motivating quotes for the day.
- Place it in the center of the hors d’oeuvres at your next party, labeling dishes and drawing areas to clearly note which is which.
The acrylic memo tablet measures 12″ high by 11.5″ wide and stands at an angle in the 6″-deep acrylic base (which includes a nested area to place the white wet-erase marker that comes with it).
The Acrylic Memo Tablet is available for $40 directly from the Russell + Hazel website, Amazon, and Target, and for $38 from Barnes & Noble.
CAVEATS ABOUT CLEAR PRODUCTS USED VERTICALLY
The problem with looking at cute products online is that we don’t always think deeply about how they’ll fit into our spaces. The biggest difficulty with a translucent calendar or memo board on the wall is that anything with white writing (and most of these are formatted with white text) will be unsuitable if the background wall, cabinet, or fridge is also white. Using colored dry- or wet-erase markers or liquid chalk markers will allow the text you create to be visible, but not the pre-created text or lines.
If you’re set on these clear calendars or memo boards but have white vertical surfaces, you do have options, depending on how DIY you are. (Paper Doll is not DIY at all. As some of you have heard me say, my hands only excel at typing and applying eyeliner; otherwise, I’m hopeless.) For the magnetic versions, you can cut a piece of construction paper or solid-colored wrapping paper and affix it to the fridge, cabinet, or metal door. The magnets of the calendars/ memo boards should hold the background paper neatly in place. (I’d discourage using anything with a pattern, as it’s likely to make it harder to read whatever’s written on the acrylic board.)
For non-metal backgrounds where you’ll be affixing the item directly to the wall, like the Russell + Hazel Acrylic Clear & Gold Weekly Calendar or the Girl Friday boards, you won’t be dealing with magnets, so your most labor-intensive option will be to paint the wall behind the calendar or affix it to a colorful wooden board or similar surface. (It’s not a choice I’d make, but you do you!)
Consider these issues before making purchases.
Again, I know there are all sorts of lucite and acrylic boxes, drawers, and containers for tangible stuff, but today’s post centered on using these kinds of products to corral thoughts and information. If you’ve got other favorites in this category, please share in the comments!
If we can see our way clear to finding products that inspire us, perhaps we’ll clearly see how to accomplish our goals!
Paper Doll Post:
Paper Doll Suggests What to Watch to Get More Organized and Productive
You may have heard that for the first time in 15 years, the Writers Guild of America has gone on strike. What they’re asking for is reasonable, especially in light of all that’s changed in the television industry (including streaming services). Meanwhile, you may find yourself with a shortage of your favorite shows to watch.
You’ve got lots of options to fill your time. You could read a book (or several), in which case, you might seek guidance from 12 Ways to Organize Your Life to Read More — Part 1 (When, Where, What, With Whom) and 12 Ways to Organize Your Life to Read More — Part 2 (Reading Lists, Challenges & Ice Cream Samples) Or you could get out in the sunshine or hang out with friends.
But what can you do if you really like to sit in a comfy chair and watch things on a glossy screen? Well, if you’ve already exhausted every English-language comedy and drama on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, Disney+, and YaddaYadda+, you could try watching one of the many Korean-language dramas on Netflix. (I recommend Extraordinary Attorney Woo — it’s charming and delightful.)
Or you could try something completely different. Today’s post offers up a mix of webinars and actual TV programming designed to help you live a better, more productive, more organized life.
DAILY DOSE MINI CHALLENGES
Could you use a little support in reaching your goals? My cool friend Georgia Homsany runs Daily Dose, a wellness company celebrating its 3-year anniversary! How do you celebrate three years of supporting people’s health and wellness needs through corporate and individual endeavors? With three really cool weeks of 5-day mini-challenges! And I get to be part of one of them!
- 5-Day Positivity Challenge (May 8-12) — Learn how to conquer stress and negativity with simple reminders and healthy habits to transform your mindset. (It starts today!)
- How to Overcome Perfectionism (May 15-19) — Learn how recognize the signs of perfectionist tendencies, understand the negative effects of it, and gain skills to minimize the idea of perfection in your workplace and personal life.
- Declutter Your Space and Schedule (May 22-26) — Receive actionable advice to help you get motivated, make progress, and gain control over the life and work clutter that weighs you down. From chaotic mornings to cluttered desks and screens to procrastination and wonky schedules, I’ll be telling you how to make it all better.
Yup, that last one is my mini-challenge. And you KNOW how much I pack into whatever I deliver.
For each mini-challenge, you get:
- Video content delivered daily over the course of five days. Videos are designed to be short and to the point so you can learn and get on with your day to incorporate the advice.
- Email and/or text reminder notifications — and you get to set your reminder preference!
- An interactive platform to ask questions and chat with other participants.
Plus, there’s a BONUS: Each participant will also be entered in a raffle to win one of three wellness prizes! (One (1) winner per challenge.)
The cost is $25 per challenge, or $65 for all three! (And remember, the first challenge starts today, Monday, May 8th!) So go ahead and register before it falls to the bottom of your to-do list!
Declutter Your Space and Schedule
If you have questions or want to sign register for all three, email Daily Dose with “5 Day Mini Courses” in the subject line. And say hi from me!
HOW TO FIX MEETINGS
Graham Allcott of Think Productive is the author of How to be a Productivity Ninja: Worry Less, Achieve More and Love What You Do, which has a prominent place on my bookshelf.
He’s also written How to be a Study Ninja: Study Smarter. Focus Better. Achieve More (for students), Work Fuel: The Productivity Ninja Guide to Nutrition, and more.
Graham and Hayley Watts, his writing partner on their book, How to Fix Meetings: Meet Less, Focus on Outcomes and Get Stuff Done, are offering a free Zoom-based webinar this week, on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. (Note that Graham and Hayley are in the UK, and the start time listed is 2 p.m. GMT, which is 9 a.m. Eastern Time, so please synchronize your watches accordingly.)
If you struggle with attending (or scheduling) meetings that should have been emails, if you have no planned itinerary for meetings, if your meetings tend to go on forever, and especially if your meetings don’t seem to ever achieve anything, this should be a good webinar to help you find your way forward. In Graham’s own words,
“Our approach to meetings in the book is much like Think Productive’s entire approach to productivity: it’s all about making space for what matters. That means eliminating so many of the unnecessary and unproductive meetings we have, but then in that space that we’ve created, we are able to focus in on the meetings that make a difference. The ones where collaboration and consensus generate the magic and momentum.”
They practice what they preach, so the webinar is only 45 minutes…and unlike broadcast TV, there are no commercials!
If you like what you see, you might want to sign up for their other upcoming free webinars (Human, Not Superhero on May 17, 2023, and Getting Comfortable with Mistakes and Imperfection on June 7, 2023), as well as their YouTube channel and paid public workshops.
Not only is the material great for building productivity, but everything is delivered in posh UK accents!
THE GENTLE ART OF SWEDISH DEATH CLEANING
Over the years, I’ve read a lot of books about organizing and decluttering, and am often conflicted. If you read my post, The Truth About Celebrity Organizers, Magic Wands, and the Reality of Professional Organizing, you know how I feel about celebrity organizers (and non-professionals) offering up advice that’s one-size-fits-all and doesn’t take into account individual’s personal situations, mental health, family and work obligations, home sizes, and comfort levels. In short, such an approach does not please me!
But that doesn’t mean I eschew all books on the topic, either by celebrities or non-professionals. Five years ago, I read The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning: How to Free Yourself and Your Family from a Lifetime of Clutter with curiosity but few expectations.
The author, Margareta Magnusson, wasn’t a professional organizer; she hadn’t even been previously published. Was this going to be another “hygge” kind of movement where everyone and his brother would take a cultural phenomenon and profit off of it? Was “death cleaning” even actually a thing in Sweden? And would the advice be any good?
First, I got a little taste of Magnusson’s style by watching this interview clip.
Eventually, I sprinted through the book. Here’s an excerpt from the Goodreads review I wrote at the time:
“Gentle” in this book’s title is the key to guiding your expectations. If you’re looking for a detailed how-to book on decluttering, this is not your resource. It’s something else, and as a professional organizer, I’m inclined to say it’s something better. Swedish artist Margareta Magnusson, self-reportedly somewhere between eighty and one hundred years old, is experienced at döstädning, translated as “death cleaning,” but meaning the essential downsizing one should do in one’s 60s, 70s, and beyond so that one’s children and friends are not left with the sad labor of separating the wheat from the chaff and risking missing gems among the clutter.
Magnusson is like a worldly but sweet elderly aunt, writing lightly amusing, firm-but-gentle, philosophical guidance for her friends and age cohorts. If you’re in your 40s or younger, you may roll your eyes at this book, thinking, “Oh, I know that!” but as a professional, I can tell you that the difference between knowing you should dramatically reduce your clutter (or not acquire it in the first place) and doing it represent a chasm as vast as the ocean that separates us from Sweden. […]
Some of Magnusson’s tips are about dealing with what you keep, rather than about letting go of items. My favorite, and one that I think we all need to hear every so often, came after her story of boating with friends and the constant loss of the boat keys, and how a small hook for the key inside the cabin door might have improved upon the crankiness of the participants. She said, simply, “Sometimes, the smallest changes can have amazing effects. If you find yourself repeatedly having the same problem, fix it! Obvious.” Perhaps, but do you always follow that obvious advice?
Magnusson seems uncertain about my own profession, noting that she thinks it’s important, when death cleaning, to seek out advice on things like the best charities to which to donate certain items, how to deal with beautiful items with no monetary value, and the wisdom/safety of gifting or donating potentially dangerous items. Elsewhere, she expresses the notion that she sees the value in professional organizers but worries about the cost (of many hours of help) if one is reluctant to actually let go of things. I can’t disagree with her. This is why she slyly uses her book to (again) gently encourage people to work toward understanding the wisdom of really looking at their possessions and considering what they really need and want as they age.
Again, her philosophy rather than her step-by-step advice is the value of the book. In one section, Magnusson offers some conversation starters for younger adults to help their elderly parents and grandparents (or those approaching their dotage) consider the very issues that she raises in the book. In another, she lays out how possessions can yield strong memories, but that one shouldn’t be sad if one’s children don’t want/need the unusable possessions just to remain attached to the memories.
At no time is Magnusson harsh; she’s wistful.[…] She says, “You can always hope and wait for someone to want something in your home, but you cannot wait forever, and sometimes you must just give cherished things away with the wish that they end up with someone who will create new memories of their own.” Lovely, and true, and yet so hard for so many people to accept.
There were two small areas of the book I particularly liked. First, Magnusson very briefly speaks of how death cleaning has traditionally been a woman’s job — women have historically been the caregivers, they live longer, they want to avoid causing trouble for the kids, etc. But although she is a woman of advanced years, she doesn’t give in. She notes that women of her generation were brought up not to be in the way, and to fear being a nuisance, and then notes, “Men don’t think like I do, but they should. They, too, can be in the way.” Death cleaning must be an equal-opportunity endeavor.
The other parts of the book I especially liked involved her focus on “private” and “personal” things. I won’t spoil the paragraph on “private” things except to say that what caused a few reviewers to call Magnusson “dirty” for one small paragraph in an entire book causes me to declare her refreshing. (I laughed out loud, joyfully.) This is not a prim old biddy, but a woman who has lived, and who understands that leaving behind one’s truly “private” items is not quite fair to those you predecease. The “personal” section that I enjoyed was the notion, towards the end of one’s time on the planet, of having a small box, about the size of a shoebox, for things that are yours alone. Think: love letters or a small whatnot that gives you pleasure but that will mean nothing to anyone after you’re gone, and which you can easily advise others to toss if you so choose.
As no translator is listed, I believe that Magnusson, herself, wrote the English version of this book. (Perhaps it was written for an English-speaking audience and Swedes have no need for what may seem like common sense to them?) This gave the text a warm, quaint feeling, as Magnusson’s English is excellent, but perhaps a tad formal. Yet she is not old-fashioned, nor are her ideas, and her recognition of the importance of technology will set at ease the minds of potential readers who might feel this book is too behind the times for them.
[…]If you are overwhelmed by clutter, certainly you can read this book, but don’t expect a primer on decluttering and creating new systems. (Better yet, call a professional organizer!) But do read this book to immerse yourself in the mindset that Magnusson puts forth, and you will likely find yourself more at ease with the notion of letting go of excess as you go through life.
I even liked the book enough to read her follow-up, mostly a memoir of her fascinating life, The Swedish Art of Aging Exuberantly: Life Wisdom from Someone Who Will (Probably) Die Before You.
So, I was surprised and delighted when my colleague Hazel Thornton told me that there was going to be a TV show based on the book, and then let me know it was launching before I’d even seen the trailer (below).
I’m generally dubious about reality shows, especially organizing-related reality shows. They can be exploitive or silly, reductionist or melodramatic. I haven’t made my way through all of the episodes yet, but many of my colleagues have praised the sense of hope the show puts forth, both for the individuals portrayed on the show and for the useful new lives of the possessions that have been “death cleaned” out of their homes.
A note about the tone of the show. While Magnusson’s writing is, indeed, gentle, the show is produced and narrated by comedic actress Amy Poehler, who has been known to be on the sarcastic side, and the show has some instances of adult language (including the words George Carlin once noted could not be said on television), so if you are sensitive or uncomfortable with such, or tend to watch programming around impressionable children or adults who are uncomfortable with such language, please proceed cautiously.
The team is made up of Ella, a professional organizer, Kat, a psychologist, and Johan, a designer, and the show is thematically similar to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, produced by the same company. Some of my colleagues have called attention to the fact that the team’s practitioners are Swedish, so some sensibilities are quite different from our attitudes and practices in North America.
As I haven’t had the opportunity to finish the entire series, I’m still formulating my thoughts, but I think only good things can come of looking at our time left and making the best use of it by not letting possessions weigh us (and those who live on after us) down.
The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning is streaming on Peacock; there are eight episodes in the first season, each ranging from 46 to 56 minutes in length. If you have cable, you can likely watch it for free (with commercials); if you do not have cable, you can subscribe to the Premium version for $4.99/month or Premium Plus for $9.99/month, and access it directly on a variety of devices and through services you already have.
HOW TO GET RICH
Of my many complaints over the years about how organizing and productivity concerns are portrayed on television, the one that bothers me most has less to do with attitudes, performances, and advice, and more to do with what gets completely ignored.
Almost every organizing show I’ve ever seen has focused on decluttering residential spaces!
It’s not that this isn’t important; it’s just that it’s not the only important thing. I’ve yet to see a television program designed for mass viewership that covers procrastination, productivity, organizing one’s tasks and time, or anything that goes into organizing non-residential, non-storage space. Even office organizing gets ignored. (One minor except: Tabatha’s Salon Makeover included small segments of workspace organizing in a hair salons.)
I’ve also noticed that there have been very few shows for a mainstream audience on organizing personal finances, an important sub-speciality for NAPO financial organizers and daily money managers in the American Association of Daily Money Managers. Financial organizing — everything from budgeting to investment planning to decluttering bad financial habits — is definitely important for leading a healthy, productive life.
And yet, how many reality or educational shows have you seen about personal finance? Suze Orman used to have a weekly call-in advice show on CNBC, the reruns of which you can see on Amazon Prime using Freevee, but that was more like watching a radio show and you only got narrow slices of people’s lives.
I preferred Til Debt Do Us Part, a Canadian show with Gail Vaz-Oxlade, where she visited the homes of a few different individuals and families each episode and doled out applicable financial advice.
How to Get Rich, led by Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, reminds me of a louder, glitzier version of Vaz-Oxlade’s show.
Over the course of eight episodes in this first season, Sethi meets with couples and individuals and offers financial (and seemingly life-coaching) advice to help them reach their goals. Sethi has degrees from Stanford University: a BA in Information & Society (in Science, Technology & Society) with a minor in Psychology and an MA in sociology (Social Psychology and Interpersonal Processes, and he’s a writer and entrepreneur. As far as I can tell, though, he’s not an accountant or Certified Financial Planner; he’s a self-labeled financial expert, so before you implement his financial advice, speak to a licensed expert in your state or jurisdiction.
That said, the advice he provides to the guests on the show are generally common-sense on researchable topics. He comes out in favor of renting rather than buying when the cost of buying is excessive, and against multi-level marketing (MLM) in such a way that really makes clear how, mathematically, expectations of success are similar to middle school athletes expecting to be NBA All-Stars.
Like the majority of organizing shows, there’s not a lot of opportunity to provide in-depth financial organizing solutions or guidance. It’s TV, and TV is designed to entertain first and foremost, to keep hitting the dopamine centers in the brain in order to encourage viewers to keep watching.
That said, shows like How To Get Rich (and The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, all those other organizing shows) do one great thing. They call attention to the fact that pain points can be soothed, that bad habits can be reversed, and that there is hope if you are willing to seek guidance and make behavioral changes.
The first season of How to Get Rich is on Netflix.
I’m not just a fan of good narrative television; my first career was as a television program director and I served on my network’s Program Advisory Council, giving network executives feedback on programming and scheduling. You can take the girl out of TV, but you can’t take TV out of the girl. As such, I hope the deep-pocket corporations come to the negotiating table with the WGA and work out a deal that is fair to the hardworking professional writers who create the comedies and dramas, the TV shows and movies, that entertain and enliven us.
Until then, whether it’s an educational webinar or a edutainment reality show, I encourage you to mix some organizing and productivity into your viewing habits. And please feel free to share in the comments any recent shows, webinars, or other programming that slakes your thirst for guidance toward living your best possible life.
Paper Doll Post:
Privacy in Your Home Office: From Reality to Fantasy
When Virginia Woolf wrote about having A Room of One’s Own almost a century ago, she wasn’t being entirely literal. She was talking about the lack of opportunities for expression that women in her day had. “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction,” Woolf wrote.
Of course, this was mainly a metaphor for all of the lack of access women of her era (and most eras) experienced: lack of money to access education, lack of career choices, lack of ability to guide one’s own future. “A room of one’s own” in terms of the metaphor is complex, but the concept has stood out in popular understanding both in the figurative sense as well as the literal one since the 1920s, when Woolf published the essays based on her lectures.
What does this have to do with organizing and productivity?
GIMME SOME SPACE (FOR MY STUFF)
We all — unrelated to gender or age or any of a variety of factors — need our own space to think, to create, to work, to strive toward greatness, and even to be our best selves. Nobody can be “on” 24/7/365. Having no private space amid the chaos, whether that’s in a home or office, eventually prevents us from achieving or even aspiring to achievements.
At the start of the pandemic, there was an enormous push to understand the needs of remote workers. Setting your laptop up at the kitchen table just wasn’t going to cut it. Everyone began to look at ideas for creating remote work spaces that were efficient, effective, productivity-supporting, comfortable, and private.
For an intensive primer on how to create a home office with storage that supports all of your needs, I encourage you to visit the guest post I wrote in 2021 for the excellent storage supply company, meori.
From Dad’s Study to the Modern Home Office covered everything you might want to know about home office design and storage. The post looked at why home office storage usually fails, the questions you should ask yourself to design better home office storage, and key strategies for creating your ideal work and storage space.
Of course, to create a room (or space) of one’s own, you have to look beyond the tangible. For example, for a deep dive into the emotional aspects of working remotely in the ongoing COVID era, you might want to visit my post The Perfect Unfolding As We Work From Home.
From a more interactive behavioral perspective, the classic Paper Doll post R-E-S-P-E-C-T: The Organizing Secret for Working At Home looked at how to create a work environment that ensures that others give us respect, and that we respect ourselves and our own time, energy, and attention.
PRIVACY, PLEASE
Privacy is essential. While we tend to think of privacy in an office setting as the ability to conduct our work without others overhearing our conversations, it’s important to also consider how much we needed to be protected from overstimulation caused by other people’s conversations (or pen-tapping, gum-chewing, or video game playing). We looked at this to some extent in Divide and Conquer: Improve Productivity With Privacy Screens.
Whether we are neurotypical or neurdivergent, we all need to find our own rhythms, and that can involve protecting ourselves from the visual and auditory stimulation that comes from being out in the world. Decades of work environments have taught me how I work best.
When I first worked in television, I had a small, windowless office with old-fashioned, oversized furniture. I had no visual disturbances, but even with the door closed, I could hear the hubbub of a “bullpen” situation right outside my door.
At my next TV station, my office was slightly larger, but near the back of the building, away from noise, and my one window looked out onto an A/C unit and the outer wall of a warehouse. Although I’m an extrovert, when I work I want as little outside stimuli as possible, and this was perfect; with my door closed, I could concentrate and focus entirely on my own thoughts.
My last TV station was in a converted auto sales showroom. The entire front wall of my ridiculously enormous office was made up of floor-to-(high)-ceiling windows looking out onto a parking lot and a busy highway. Others may have envied the space, but I had to keep the vertical blinds closed 90% of the time (both to keep out the blinding sunlight and the visual stimuli).
In my own home-based set-up for more than two decades, my desk faces a blank wall so that nothing beyond my computer screens can distract me. This might be hell for others, but it’s ideal for ensuring my focus.
Your mileage may vary.
FINDING YOUR IDEAL SPACE — REALITY AND FANTASY
You’ll find a lot of advice online for creating your own home office space with minimal effort. For example, you could:
- Remove the accordion doors from a bedroom closet and add a wide but shallow table as a desk.
- Add lighting fixtures and a desk in an alcove under the stairs to create a private Harry Potter-inspired workspace.
- Add a curving curtain rail on the ceiling (like the kind that creates privacy in hospital emergency rooms) to designate a corner of a bedroom or other area of the house as an office and separate the workspace from the rest of the area with a curtain.
- Use IKEA Kallax bookshelves (filled with books) to create a room divider to give a sense of privacy. (Feel free to watch the video with the sound off; the AI robotic voice insists on spelling Kallax out each time. The future is weird.)
But again, the internet abounds with such options. I thought it might be fun to look at a variety of standalone office ideas that range from the inexpensive and realistic to the when-you-get-that-huge-advance-on-your-great-American-novel option.
Sanwa Home Privacy Tent
Do you remember Party of Five? The mid-1990s Fox Broadcasting show about five young siblings trying to survive after a family tragedy launched the careers of Neve Campbell, Matthew Fox, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Lacey Chabert, among others.
When I saw this first product, I was immediately reminded of how, in the earliest seasons, Chabert’s character Claudia created her own bedroom by putting up a tent in the middle of the living room. The Sanwa Home Privacy Tent (AKA the 200 Tent001) is designed for a similar purpose, carving out private space in the middle of pre-existing space.
It’s a basic nylon tent, not very large, but adequate for one person, a small desk for a laptop, and a lamp or other lighting source — to create a distraction-free workspace. Designed for indoor use, it’s suitable for studying or working. The super-portable tent weighs only 6 pounds, including the case, and measure 35″ x 43″ by 59″.
There’s a skylight/rooftop opening if you’d like more natural light, a side window, and a zippered entrance so you can be available for office hours (or for visits from your pets.) Admittedly, it’s not very pretty, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed by all of the sensory inputs in your home, apartment, or dorm, setting this up for some private workspace could be just the ticket for eliminating your stress.
The instructions apparently only come in Japanese, but as the video shows, assembly looks very intuitive — it pops open like a mesh laundry basket!
Sold for about $125 at various stores online, it’s currently sold out at the Japan Trend Shop where I first found it. (It is in stock if you want to purchase it directly from Sanwa in Japan for 7980 yen, or a bit over $61.)
Alternatively, if you search Amazon for “indoor tents,” you’ll mostly find children’s tents and playhouses for under $60, but I have to admit that I envy something breezy like this indoor playhouse. (It’s regularly about $110, but at multiple times over the last few weeks, I’ve seen it on sale for under $65.)
Steelcase’s Office Pod Tent
Looking for something a little less cramped, more designer-friendly, and envisioned for grownups? Steelcase, known for office and classroom furniture as well as filing cabinets, has a whole line of nifty solutions.
The Office Pod Tent is a freestanding pod made with a flexible aluminum frame. The top is open to provide air flow and to let in natural light. It’s also open on one side, so it won’t induce claustrophobia (but also won’t be as private as if you could close a door). Still, it limits distractions and provides a space that’s a little snazzier than what you’d get in an office, cubicle, or your dining room.
Basically, you’re going to feel like you’re on an upscale, modern camping trip. The Office Pod Tent is 92″ high. The base has a 76″ diameter, and because the frame creates bowing at the sides, it’s 88″ at its widest point. You’re definitely going to have more space than with the Sanwa tent! The aluminum frames and poles are standard silver with platinum-colored plastic connectors to secure the fabric to the frame, keeping the shape intact.
The spec sheet notes that the Office Pod Tent can be fully assembled in under one hour with two people. (I’m going to ignore how much that sounds like the beginning of a word problem in fifth grade math class.)
The Office Pod tent is available in three color “families: Sheer (white), Ascent (green), and Era (orange-ish) and can be can be specified in one solid color or in two color family combinations:
- Sheer
- Ascent/Era
- Sheer/Era
- Ascent/Ascent
- Sheer/Ascent
Steelcase actually designed the Office Pod Tent to be used in traditional office situations, either for creating alternatives to cubicles or introducing cozy, private lounge settings in the office. But you can definitely see how you could use this in a space in your home, or to create space for onboarding new employees in a small starter office.
Steelcase Work Tents is a collection of privacy solutions – inspired by tents, but designed for the workplace.
The Office Pod tent must be purchased from an authorized Steelcase dealer. While I was unable to locate a price for the Office Pod Tent, I did find reference to a price point of $570 for Steelcase’s Boundary Tent (which is actually a room divider and not a tent). The line also includes Steelcase’s Table Tent (which is less of a tent and more of a table divider or privacy shield).
Alternative Temporary Office Pods
While researching this topic, I found quite a few alternative alternatives. For example, there’s a UK option for rent or purchase of inflatable office pods of varying sizes reflecting trippy colors. While it’s not really a fit for your random home office, something like this would be very cool if you were trying to set up a private meeting space at a conference or if you were having an event at your small office location.
UK-based Optix Inflatable Structures’ carries Pop-Up Office Pods in 3′ x 3′, 3′ x 4′, 4′ x 5′, and 5′ x 6′ options, and they have a variety of sizes for temporary meeting rooms.
Phone Booth Options
Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be many mid-range options in the home/office pod category, so you’re either looking at tents or full-on structures. At the high-priced, “dream” end of things, most options are tiny “phone booth”-style rooms that are not for the claustrophobic or the faint-of-pocketbook.
The various PoppinPod options from Poppin starts pricey and goes off into the stratosphere. There’s the Poppin Om Sit and Poppin Om Stand (below), both available in black or white, starting at $7,999.
It comes with a built-in work surface and is ideal for when need to take confidential phone or Zoom calls. The rest of the line continues with the Kolo Collection (Kolo 1, Kolo 1+, Kolo 2, Kolo 4, and Kolo 6), all with sliding doors and providing work or conference space.
Prices range from $10,999 to $47,999, so you’re not going to put one of these in your living room unless you’ve had a lifelong dream of pretending you’re Max and Agent 99 in the Get Smart cone of silence.
Talk Box Booth has four models, with the FOLD version the most resembling the old-fashioned Superman-changing-into-his-cape-and-tights version. For $5,775 without assembly costs (or for an additional $550 for expert assembly), Talk Box Booth’s FOLD starts at 39.4” wide x 35.4” deep x 90.2” high for the basic model. It has a bi-fold door, steel construction with a white powder-coat finish, and an adjustable height desk, so you can choose to sit or stand.
There’s an automatic fan that turns on as soon as you enter the FOLD, and the air circulates every few minutes to maintain comfort. Two electrical outlets and two USB ports allow you to keep all of your devices charged as long as the FOLD is plugged into a standard 120V outlet.
(Other Talkbox Booth lines include SLIDE, a sliding-door one-person booth, as well as the DOUBLE (which can accommodate two people) and a STUDIO (which can hold one to four people).
Loop Phone Booths are a similar line, but definitely offer the snazziest solutions for soundproof teeny office space.
Loop Solo is colorful and charming, and while small and squished, somehow feels both retro and modern. Seating one person, the 550-pound Canadian-made pod is 80.5″ high x 47.5″ wide by 29.5″ long.
The exterior is hardwood, while the interior is made of durable laminate and the 10mm thick tempered glass comes with a frosted option. The back panel can be cork, felt, or glass. If you choose glass, you’re going to be trading off having a feeling of more space for accepting more visual sensory inputs, so you’d need to know which would bother you more.
The cozy upholstered seat has an ergonomic backrest, and there’s a concealed magnetic door closure to make sure your Zooms are secure. A work desk is included and you can get an optional tempered glass whiteboard for taking notes and crafting ideas.
The Loop Solo uses a standard power outlet (with optional network and USB ports), has LED lighting, a positive pressure two-fan ventilation system, and an occupancy sensor.
No assembly is required and the Loop Solo is shipped in one piece, designed to fit through tight doorways or narrow halls, and claims to be the only plug-and-play pod of its kind on the market.
Unfortunately, you have to call to request a price quote, but there appear to be a variety of options in terms of types of wood and interior colors, so if this is more than a dream, you could contact Loop for a serious inquiry. (Be sure to come back to the comments section and share pricing with us!)
(Other Loop options include a soft-sided Loop Flex, a four-person Cube, which resembles a cozy diner booth with double-glass doors, and pre-fab Access conference rooms.)
If this still isn’t enough to satisfy your tight-squeeze office dreams, be sure to check out Cheapism’s Over-the-Top Home Office Pods for Working From Home and Urban Office‘s lines of office pods and dens & huddles. My favorite is the Jenson Hut Office Den, which feels simultaneously Space Age and like a Mad Men-style throwback.
Fantasy or reality, however we create our workspaces, we must give ourselves an environment that grants us space for our work items and privacy for our thoughts and communication.
Somewhere between a repurposed kid’s desk and the dining table, between a pillow fort and a pricey office set-up, there’s a work space that’s right for you. The key is knowing what elements are essential for your satisfaction and what experimental aspects you can accept or reject.
What’s non-negotiable in your own work space? Please share in the comments!
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