Desk Stress

A Test for the Desk-Stressed by Christy Warner

Whatever happened to that project file? Lost your stapler or scissors? Where's that memo?

If these questions sound familiar, pay attention: Messy desks can cause stress and lower productivity. That's the message Priority Management, a Bellevue, Wash.-based consulting firm, is sending with its "desk stress" test. Though some argue that an empty desk reflects an empty mind, Tee Houston-Aldridge, the firm's VP of marketing, says taking desktop control is paramount to productivity and affects how co-workers view your performance.

To take the test, give yourself one point for a "yes" and zero for a "no."

1. Are there more than 10 items (Rolodex, stapler, etc.) on your desk right now?
2. Are there more than three file projects on your desk?
3. Is your in-basket on your desk instead of out of sight?
4. Do you leave for the evening with paper piles on your desk? (it still counts if you sweep this pile into a drawer so you can lock it up-nch)
5. Have you been unable to find something on your desk in the past week?
   (I think here you should say ON-OR-IN your desk-nch)
6. Do co-workers hesitate to put important documents on your desk, fearing you'll lose them?
7. Do you have a pile of unfinished reading within eyesight?
8. Are you KNOWN for having a messy desk?
9. Is it difficult for people to find things on your desk if you aren't there?
10. Have you ever missed an appointment or event due to a buried message slip?

Scoring:

• 7 to 10 points: Your desk is hampering your productivity and could affect how you are regarded by others in your workplace. Change your habits before you get left behind.
• 4 to 6 points: You're not the messiest, but you're a desk stress candidate. Keep your desk clear of unfinished work.
• 0 to 3 points: You have conquered desk stress. Treat yourself to flowers - you have plenty of room next to your phone.

Houston-Aidridge suggests sticking with the four D's: Do it, Date it, Delegate it, Discard it. Store pens, staplers and tape in a drawer; use To Do lists; and work on one project at a time.

We can extend this test to computers too: Do you have more than 10 messages in your email? Do you have computer files that you haven't looked at in over a year? Do you have accounts (and files) on computers that you haven't signed up on in over a year? It's time to clean up! (But do your desk first.)

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