In preparing for a workshop I was doing recently entitled “Input, Throughput, Output,” where I used the metaphor of a conveyor belt, I found the greatest clipart!  It showed a guy sitting at his desk and the desk was a conveyor belt.  I want you to get that picture in your mind…and then ask yourself whether your desk is a conveyor belt or, uh, maybe something else. 

• Is your desk maybe a toxic dump?
• Is your desk possibly a clogged up drain?
• Is your desk a place for incoming, but not much outgoing?  Sort of an inbound terminal?

So let’s go back to the idea of ‘desk as conveyor belt.’  You have to deliberately design your desk to function smoothly or it certainly won’t happen.  I know that from experience!  If we use the word PREPARE as our acronym, here are some tips to get you going:

P – Partition your desk/workspace into its various functions.  Think about the top of your desk as VERY pricey land (real estate).  Do you have it apportioned appropriately? 

R – Reduce the options of where incoming work (mail, folders, forms, etc.) can go.  If your desk and office are not functioning like a smooth-running conveyor belt, part of the problem may be that you (and others) put things all over the place.  This gives you the sense that you have incoming EVERYWHERE.  And for many, that’s true.  It’s an overwhelming feeling and leads to frustration rather than productivity.  Figure out a place where all of your ‘incoming’ will go (Hello?!  How about an inbox?)

E – Eliminate as many knick-knacks, pictures, plants, and other paraphernalia from your desk as possible.  Your desk is a place where you work.  Put the photo-gallery/memory-lane display somewhere else. 

P – Place what you is functional FOR YOU in easy-to-reach locations on your desk.  You want what you use often to be within easy reach and the items you don’t need as often further away. 

A – Allocate the appropriate amount of space for the kind of work you do – at any particular time. There is not a specified amount of space that is ‘right’ for every faculty member.  If it’s finals week and you are in the midst of grading projects, papers, and exams, then allocate your working space for that task.  At other times, if you are in the midst of writing a grant, then allocate (and re-allocate) your space so that it’s serving you for the current work you’re doing.  Visualize your work space as fluid. 

R – Route work back OUT of your office.  A conveyor belt keeps moving.  Sometimes, faculty members have offices where a great deal comes in but very little goes back out.  Set up systems that route out-going…OUT.  When mail is ready to be mailed, have a place for that.  If you have work that needs to go home with you, have a place for that.  If you have materials that need to go with you to class, have a place for that. 

E – Educate others about your new system.  If you have been a professor for any length of time, you – and those around you – have gotten used to the way that you do things.  As you begin to set up your desk (and office) as a conveyor belt, you’ll need to educate others about how your system works.  And they may need reminding. 

Keep the visual image of a desk as a conveyor belt.  Imagine paperwork, projects, requests, and so forth that come into your work space, are then dealt with, and then go right back out….everything is smoothly running because you have systems for “input,” systems for “throughput”, and then systems for “output.”