How to Organize Your Desk

An organized desk is the key to success. When you are doing your work  there should be a clear space with easy access to your tools. I'm going to show you how I organize my work space and how it helps me stay focused.

Let's start with the drawers. My desk came with three drawers, which worked out perfect for me.  In my first drawer I keep things that I use most often; index cards- because it's a never ending process, hole puncher- as soon as I get back from classes I'll unload my backpack and hole bunch anything that goes in my binder, stapler- this one doesn't really need explaining, calculator- I keep my main calculator in my backpack so I like to have a simple small one in reach incase I need it for some quick math, my stress guy- I keep him near by for squeezing when my work stresses me out too much, headphones- I have a roommate so I keep headphones in my drawer for when I need to watch videos, clips- I use them to clip small stacks of note cards together or several pieces of paper i don't want to staple.

In my second drawer I keep all my extra supplies. Most of the time, if you're like me, you run out of supplies quickly. To prevent this tragedy I get extras and keep them in this drawer for close reach.

Lastly I have my third drawer which is significantly wider and deeper than the rest of my drawers. This is where I keep all my textbooks, lab manuals, and notebooks. I also have an organizer where I keep copies of essays, graded papers, returned papers, study guides and my receipts.














Next is the heart of the desk. Where you actually work. As you can see in the first picture on the left I keep the hours of my important places; Starbucks, the gym, and the library. When I'm trying to plan out my day I don't want to be looking around searching for times in my planners or looking things up online. This can be very distracting and quickly throw you off task. If you keep your times in plain view all you will have to do is glance up.
      In the photo on the top right you can see that I have papers with highlighter marked on them. What I have done here is combined the dates on all of my syllabi and made a spread sheet. (click here to find out how)
  I keep it tacked to my desk and highlight the dates as they pass. This process insures that I never miss a due date or have anything sneak up on me. The other papers on here are the open lab schedule, extra credit list, and my grades. It's important to keep up with your grades in collage because some teachers don't post them until progress report/ report card time.
    The photo on the bottom left is my caddy where I keep the important stuff; pens, pencils, highlighters, tape, glue, whiteout, rubber bands, tacks, a and paperclips.
  The bottom right are fancy paperclips that I found at Walmart. They aren't a necessity, however, they are very cute compared to regular paperclips. You can also put them in your books and lab manuals to mark pages because they stick out like tabs. You can even write on them!!











On the shelf of my desk I keep my vitamins, prescriptions, and Dottera Oils. I keep them on my desk because this is a spot I am literally at everyday and I keep them in plain view that way I can see them and remember to take them. I usually have an alarm that reminds me to take them in the morning when I wake up but sometimes I still forget.











  On the other half of the shelf I keep my binders and the notebooks I take to class. This helps me make sure I see them when I'm packing my bag so I can remember to take them with me.

Lastly is the top of my desk. In this picture I have my clipboard, blog midori, and my flash card box.

 I also have a paper organizer where I file papers to deal with later on, extra lined paper, and blank, white paper.