You arrive at your workplace, ready to face another set of accomplishments and challenges. Your optimism is high until you see your workstation – it’s a mess. And then just like that, you’re in a bit of a sour mood.

A cluttered work desk can be a source of unnecessary frustration and stress. Likewise, it also hinders your productivity. A messy work space affects your mood – it distracts you, bogs you down, and is just a sore to look at. As a call center supervisor, it’s something you don’t want to deal with every day. You have to get rid of anything that gets in the way of productivity and a positive work environment in the workplace. It’s actually not that difficult to deal with a messy desk, you just have to think of the peace of mind and organization that will result from your clean-up efforts.

Archive old emails – A supervisor gets loads of emails in a day and getting that “mailbox full” error message is one you thing don’t like seeing. Email archiving is the best solution to this. There are emails that are disposable, but there are also some that you just have to keep for future reference. Archive and organize them in a hard drive folder with neatly-named subfolders to keep everything identifiable and easy to retrieve.

Use spill-proof containers – Spilled drinks are one frustrating, unnecessary mess. They create unsightly stains on your desk, carpet and even your clothes. To avoid these accidents, use spill-proof bottles and mugs for your water, coffee, soda or tea.

Go paperless – Avoid printing unnecessary documents as much as possible. Aside from being environment-friendly, you can also help avoid starting a mountain of discarded paper on your desk. There’s also the risk of papers being misplaced, smudged, or spilled on so make sure to keep them at a minimum.

Organizers and waste baskets are your friends – Store your work materials and some knick-knacks in drawers and organizers. If they’re something that doesn’t need to be seen, keep them away. Neatly organize files and documents – be it alphabetical, per department, in order of importance, etc – so they’re easy to retrieve. And if something goes in, another must also be thrown out. Anything that’s no longer needed must be discarded immediately.

Tangled… not – Headphones, speakers and other electronic devices with cords and wires must be properly stored to avoid untoward accidents. They tend to tangle into knots so make sure they’re properly tucked away and hidden from plain sight.

De-cluttering isn’t a hard task. When done regularly and consistently, a clean and clear work desk increases efficiency and productivity of work.