We often aspire to be more productive. We may have long lists of things we would love to achieve. Imagine planning the day, getting up early, and motivating yourself despite whatever personal challenges you may be facing. Upon getting to the workplace, you see it looking like a dumpster! Instant demotivation.
Whether we would like to admit it or not, a clean workspace often helps us to be more productive. Why is this the case though? Let's take a look.
According to a report by the Harvard Business Review, the physical environment of the workplace has a significant impact on productivity. The report expands on the fact that clutter increases stress and anxiety.
Working in a messy or crowded workspace can make us feel overwhelmed, or add to any overwhelming feelings we may already have. As you can already guess, it will be more difficult to work in such a condition.
Now, there are some people who might prefer to have a messy environment. It might help them in their creative process. It may also be a source of information for them. But for the majority of people, working in a clean and organized environment helps boost productivity.
Mess and clutter breed bacteria and other harmful microorganisms. This is a known fact. Since work often involves us moving from one place to another, or touching different things, we would be more likely to catch diseases in a messy environment than we would in a cleaner, more organized environment. Now we wouldn't be very productive if we fell ill all the time, would we?
Naturally, the better the environment you're in, the better your mood would be. It's simple psychology really.
Think of it, when you walk into an expensive building, say a five-star hotel, your mood naturally improves, even if it's just a little bit. If you then go into a crowded, garbage-filled environment, you'll notice a slight shift in your mood. It's natural. Now consider these two environments, which would you rather work in? I guess the answer is obvious.
A neat and organized work environment naturally makes you feel better. Our brain relies heavily on our sense organs. After all, that's where it gets external stimuli from. You do not expect the brain to remain
If your workspace is more organized, everything would be exactly where they need to be. This means when you are looking for something you need for work, say a tool or appliance, you would know exactly where it is. This drastically saves time, compared to when you work in a disorganized environment.
That also explains why we organize all the files in the office. Imagine you're a manager, and you come into your office every day and see a large bunch of papers scattered all over the ground. Where do you even start? Half of the day might be spent on organizing the files. That's precious time wasted. At that rate, you would not be able to get anything done. An organized workspace helps prevent this and leads to better efficiency.
Even though we may sometimes get inspiration from more messy environments, we tend to work better in more organized environments. We also tend to feel better in such an environment. It is one way of improving productivity while working.
With that being said, let's try to keep our workspaces more organized.