How to Practice Minimalism at Work
Because of our job as traveling physical therapists, we move around every three to six months. With all the constant moving we try to maintain minimalism at work by being clean, tidy, and efficient.
It would be a pain to have to clean out a cluttered and full desk several times a year. Plus this just fits into our minimalist mindset and lifestyle.
Simplifying any aspect of your life can greatly improve your overall well being so why leave out work? Work is a major part of our life since most of us spend 40 hours a week there.
For those of you who don’t have jobs that force you to be minimalist, limiting yourself can be difficult. There are easy ways to practice minimalism at work and simplify your life.
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Contents
Pretend Your Job Is Temporary
What would you have at work if you had to move every three months? This is a big thing for us as we do move every three months.
Put yourself in our shoes and imagine you have to move everything in and out of your office four times a year, what would you take with you?
An easy way to be minimalist in the workplace is to think about your job as a temporary thing. This way clutter doesn't slowly build up over the years.
Only Have What You NEED
Ask yourself do I need this or just want it. There is a difference between needing something and wanting something.
This seems obvious but if you ask yourself the question, you might find you answer that question more for “want it” than you thought. If an item is simply something you want and not something you need, consider either giving it away or simply throwing it away.
Go Digital
Since we move so often, it can be hard to take a lot of physical documents and books with us everywhere. It's much easier to have everything saved in the cloud so we can access it anywhere.
There are also a lot of apps that you can use. They help you organize your work life by getting rid of clutter and organizing things better.
Our favorite apps are
Use The Computer To Your Advantage
Going digital can also help you find things quicker and with better results. This way you don't have to spend time searching for documents and instead of letting the computer do the work for you.
Use technology to your advantage by using search boxes. This kind of thing can save you valuable time that can be used in other ways. No more rooting around for information that's difficult to find.
Clean Out Virtual Messes
Many people just think of clutter as the objects around your desk but forget it also includes everything inside your computer as well.
The vast space of the internet seems unlimited but the build-up can cause more stress than you might think.
Emails
Don't neglect your email or your digital workspace! If you have thousands of unread or spam emails, spend some time cleaning out your inbox.
We have heard of a program called unroll.me but there are tons of options on how to manage your email better. Make folders and deal with emails when they come in rather than putting them off for later in the day or another day altogether.
Desktop
The first step is to get rid of anything and everything you don't need. The second step is to organize everything. We have folders for all of our major work and home tasks and try to keep them up to date.
We don’t let too many things pile up in our download folder or inbox. When something comes into our dropbox or google drive folders, we make sure we move it to the appropriate folder as quickly as we can. That way things don’t pile up over time and become a digital wasteland of data.
The other benefit of digital workspaces is that they allow you to see when you last used files. If you haven’t used or accessed a file in six months, consider whether you need that file.
Even though the digital workspace doesn’t take up any of your physical space, the same rules apply. If you simply want something but you don’t need it, you are probably better off getting rid of it.
Organize Your Space
Make sure your personal space looks nice and tidy. It's one thing to have a cute picture up but a messy collage looks cluttered. You want a minimalist work desk for a minimalist workspace.
Go through all of your old papers and keep everything put away in an organized space. There are so many cute and easy storage items to help with easy organization. Anything that doesn't fit in your storage plan needs to go.
Help Others
Try to make sure everything is organized not only for your area but also for other communal areas. It shouldn’t be up to you to clean up after everyone else but sometimes that's what needs to be done.
We have gone places and just started cleaning up not only our desk but other places as well. You would be surprised by how this can liberate people and allow them to feel more comfortable cleaning up as well.
Everywhere we go, people join in on our cleaning very quickly. They will often say things like “We have been meaning to do this for a long time” or “this has been a long time coming”. A little bit of your hard work can go a long way for everyone.
Incorporating a minimalist lifestyle into your work life could be the exact change up you need. The newly found organization can save you time and the lack of clutter can decrease stress.
