Clear Your Desk

Course Overview:           

International Clear Your Desk! Day was launched in 1990 as a day when office workers around the world would stop work to clear the clutter from their desks. The day is coordinated by The Clear Your Desk! Organization and falls on the last Friday of April every year. The enthusiastic participation in this event has prompted the conduct of this course. The struggle against unnecessary paperwork is universal and whether or not you work from a cluttered desk you will recognize many of the problems which we will discuss.

The course is dedicated to all those who have cluttered desk and feel the need to clear it.

 I am grateful to Declan Treacy the author of the “Clear your desk!” book, first published in 1991 by Business Books Limited.

Course Main Topics:

1. The Paper Work Jungle
   1. a.      The paperless office
   2. b.      Paperwork costs
   3. c.      To clear or not to clear?
   4. d.      The myths surrounding the cluttered desk
   5. e.      Identify your paper workload
   6. f.       What is your current backlog of paperwork?
2. Paper Work Problems
   1. a.      How cluttered is your desk?
   2. b.      Executives who work at cluttered desks work longer hours
   3. c.      A cluttered desk means you will get less done
   4. d.      A cluttered desk is a breeding ground for crises
   5. e.      Distractions, distractions, distractions
   6. f.       Losing things
   7. g.      Ending up doing the work of others Procrastination leads to clutter leads to procrastination
   8. h.     Stress and the cluttered desk
3. 3.      Eliminating Unnecessary Paper Work
   1. a.      Reducing unnecessary reports
   2. b.      Stamping out standard forms
   3. c.      Eliminating unnecessary memos
   4. d.      Eliminating unnecessary procedures
   5. e.      How to reduce the time you spend on other people’s paperwork
   6. f.       Coping with a paperholic boss
   7. g.      Reducing the inflow of paperwork from outside the organization
   8. h.     Eliminating self-generated chaos
4. Paper Work: The Four Choices:
   1. a.      Deal with each piece of paper as soon as it lands on the desk!
   2. b.      Make one of four choices about each piece of paper
   3. c.      Paperwork diary: the Act on, Pass on, File, Bin process in action
5. Priority Paper Work
   1. a.      How effectively do you handle your priority paperwork?
   2. b.      $25,000 advice
   3. c.      Defining your priorities
6. Clear Your Filling System!
   1. a.      How effective is your filing?
   2. b.      The hoarding habit
   3. c.      Filing disorder
   4. d.      The two approaches to filing
   5. e.      Clear your filing cabinet action plan
7. 7.      Clear your desk – Action Plan
   1. a.      Organizing an in- department a “Clear Your Desk! Day”

 Course Duration:    One Day