The Efficient Cubicle

Many of us work well in comfortable disarray, but given the martinets some of us work for, the "mare's nest" look might not be the best way to go. In the interest of maintaining your promotion prospects, you should consider making yours into an efficient cubicle: a place for everything, everything in its place. Being neat doesn't mean you have to lose your individuality, though it does mean you might have to tone it down a bit; you might want to lose the Iron Maiden poster, for example, and replace it with a couple of nice collage picture frames filled with pictures of family. (If you're careful, no one will notice if you sneak in a picture of Eddie).

Neatness on order

What does it mean to be efficient? A good 90% of efficiency is saving time. If you can find the exact file you need in five minutes, or knock out a quote in fifteen, or calculate the cheapest route from Albuquerque to Hawaii with a few keystrokes, that's efficient. Generally, in order to be this efficient, you must be organized first; and to get organized, you need to start from the beginning. Set aside a block of time so you can clean your office, sort your files, create an intuitive filing system, and in general reduce the clutter. Reorganize and restock your supplies so you can get what you need in the wink of an eye.

Next, clear away some of your distractions. There's no need to strip your cubicle down to its bare walls, but do you really need to display 30 different photos of your Alaska vacation? Download them all into a digital picture frame and there they are -- all cycling one after another, in a handy frame you can put anywhere, leaving your walls for more important stuff: phone lists, project schedules, memos from the boss, and Dilbert cartoons. If your cubicle happens to have metal panels or metal walls, you can make great use of magnetic picture frames and refrigerator magnets to hang these items on the wall. But whatever you do, don't use magnets to hang stuff on your computer, unless you really need a new one. Since electronic data is nothing but magnetically-oriented electrical impulses, a nice refrigerator magnetic collection on your PC is a great way to turn it into a date-free doorstop.

Electronic Efficiency

Speaking of computers, your cubicle's efficiency should extend to its electronic devices. Take an hour to defragment your computer's hard drive, clear the cache, and do the other things necessary to speed it up, then take a little more time to reorganize your computer file directory. Nothing says efficient like printing a document out on your boss's printer five minutes after she asks for it. In addition, be sure to use any organizer software you have on your system; many email programs include both organizer and scheduling functions that can help you keep your life in order. Alternately, consider purchasing an electronic or paper-based organizer of your own, one that helps you organize your week in a flash. Few things are as effective as a good organizer for straightening out a tangled schedule.

Published with permission (FCDMInc)