Just ‘Peg It’

In a recent post about cocoon bags and organizers, we talked about a more minimalist approach to storing and organizing things in our bag. We talked about replacing the wad of stuff at the bottom of our bag with an organized panel of critical items.

As we have redesigned our workspace in our office we have been applying similar ideas. We have been trying to eliminate the areas in our workspace that tend to collect stuff and create distractions. That has resulted in an elimination of drawers, those collections of items for later or things that we need to save. It has also resulted in the elimination of desktop clutter. What do you normally find in your desktop clutter is a set of things that include essential items that you use all the time, things that you have deferred until later, and things that are on their way to your trash can. That clutter works against you both in terms of trying to find the essential things that you need on a regular basis and creating distractions that take time and energy away from the task at hand. I have been trying to discipline myself in my new workspace to eliminate all that clutter.

One of the things that have really helped in this process is some pegboards and matching accessories that I found in IKEA. These are in concept like the old pegboards that you would find in a workshop. The accessories that fit them, however, are great for storing the essential items that normally sit on your desktop and become part of that clutter. There are containers for things like markers and pens and scissors that normally inhabit space on the desktop or in your top drawer. One of my favorite accessories is the bungee cords that can be used by themselves or in tandem to hold things to the pegboard. I use these for things like one of my small notebooks that are always within reach when I get an idea that needs to be parked for later attention.

.  The other nice thing about these is that they are very affordable I use two 22 by 22 inch pegboards for my essential stuff. Likewise, the accessories are very reasonably priced.

So far my workspace experience is going fairly well. I have been pretty disciplined about keeping the clutter off of my desk. I've also noticed that with my essential items on the wall next to my desk they are not a distraction but are always there and easy to grab without a search when I need them. Try it and see how it works for your workspace.