Learning how to organize an L-shaped desk or a corner shaped desk can be the difference between being productive and calm or fumbling through a cluttered chaos. Take control of your desk with these 9 quick and easy to implement steps.
Here are 9 proven tips to organize an L-shaped desk.
1. Locate L-shaped desk based on room layout
2. Consider the size of the room
3. Identify your workflow direction
4. Consider your reach zone
5. Locate equipment based on workflow and plug sources
6. Declutter and digitize
7. Identify storage requirements
8. Provide storage location for paperwork
9. Organize your cables
Did you know? When organizing items on your desk, equipment should be stored based on the neutral, maximum and outer reach zones.
Locate L-shaped desk based on room layout
Where should L-shaped desks be place? Well, the room layout will dictate a vast number of factors when choosing where to position your corner desk.
Room layout: Identify if there are objects in the room, such as low hanging shelves, doors, windows, cabinets or radiators, which could impede on you as you work.
Door and window: Also bear in mind the location of the door and window. Some people, such as myself, prefer to be facing the door so that they can see who is coming towards them and also to hide their screens from people walking past. The widow and door location can affect you as you work too due to incoming sunlight causing glare. Let’s not forget those of you who are easily distracted or the daydreamers who like to stare out the window.
Socket locations: Many rooms and offices have 1-2 socket locations, if this is the case, you’ll want to consider locating as close to them as possible. This will help minimize the number of trailing cables and will also eliminate or at least minimize the number of extension leads and the need to purchase longer length cables. This can be a greater issue on L-shaped desks compared to straight desks, since the desk length is larger.
Tip: If you can use your telephone on loudspeaker, this minimizes the requirement to position it on the side nearest to the hand you dominantly use to hold the telephone.
Consider the size of the room
If space is limited and you have a small office space, you’ll want to optimize the available space. This could include positioning the desk neatly against the wall as opposed to placing it in the center of the room. This will reduce the amount of footprint consumed and free up more floor space.
Alternatively, if you have ample space available, it could be positioned in a more central location.
Identify your workflow direction
Your workflow direction relates to how you process work through your desk. Many individuals tend to operate on a left to right approach. This means that incoming work, such as post or documents to be reviewed are positioned on your left. This work is processed in the center of the desk and then stored to the right of the desk once it is completed.
Your workflow direction might even be determined based on whether you are left-hand or right-hand dominant.
Tip: Identify your workflow direction by analyzing how you manage incoming and outgoing paperwork throughout the next few days.
Consider your reach zone
Frequently used objects should be stored within each reach, also known as the neutral reach zone. This minimizes the amount of effort required with retrieving these objects, which is an ergonomic benefit. Plus, it’s also more efficient.
Objects that should be stored in the optimal reach zone include your keyboard, mouse, phone, documents and desk lamps.
With L-shaped desks, there is more surface area with outer reach zones, and this creates the opportunity to store items in an area which requires reaching and leaning.
Items that should be stored in the outer reach zones include objects that are rarely interacted with, for instance, monitors, hard drives, CPUs or decorations.
Tip: Printers or equipment that is large could be position on the most redundant side of the L-shaped desk that you don’t interact with.
Locate equipment based on workflow and plug sources
With an L-shaped desk, there are more options to play around with when it comes to where you can locate your computer, monitors, keyboard and mouse.
The neatest option is to locate computer equipment on the side of the desk closest to the sockets; however, this may not be the most preferable option, particularly if it goes against your workflow direction.
Laptops that are used purely as a docking station generally don’t need to be center stage on a desk. With an L-shaped desk, the laptop can be positioned to the side, provided the cabling and setup facilitates this.
This then saves prime real estate at your focal work area and allows extra space for keyboards, documents or other technology. It also offers extra space for your wrist to rest on the table.
Tip: Some corner desks have a curved cut out whereas other L-shaped desks have a square edge. This could impact on you as you type and perform documents, particularly if you are someone who tends to sit up close to your desk.
Declutter and digitize
Before investing in storage solutions, complete a review of your storage requirements, dispose or remove any unnecessary materials. Also, identify if any materials can be scanned and disposed of or archived. Furthermore, consider if soft copies can be used to minimize future incoming paperwork clogging up your desk and drawers.
Tip: Using soft copies of files is more environmentally friendly and it is also more cost-efficient.
Identify storage requirements
If you have a role which requires working with a sizable amount of equipment, stationery, physical documents, logbooks or folders, (or if you’re simply just a hoarder) then storage will likely be a priority for you.
Many L-shaped desks come equipped with a built-in drawer located on the side which is invaluable for storing such materials in small quantities. If your corner desk doesn’t include one, you can always invest in drawers or cabinets to store materials. Some corner desks even come fitted with a cabinet or bookshelf for an integrated storage and seating unit.
Tip: Investing in a set of office drawers that are flush with the height of the L-shaped desk is a nifty way of adding even more storage. If you position it against the edge of the desk, items can be stored on the top of the drawer unit.
Provide storage location for materials
Shadow boards are particularly valuable if space is at a premium; they can be hung on a wall instead of consuming valuable desk or drawer space. Shadow boards work best with small pieces of equipment, e.g., stationery, tools, wires. They can even be incorporated into part of a white board for planning your work schedule or posting important or frequently used documents.
Compartment organizers such as the one below, are an excellent unit which facilitate easy storage and access to various files, accessories and books.
Tip: Don’t neglect to organize your desk drawers too. This could include having one drawer dedicated to stationery and another drawer dedicated to paperwork.
Organize your cables
There’s nothing more cumbersome and untidier than cables wreaking havoc in your area and around your office.
The most effective method of minimizing cable clutter is to eliminate cables altogether. Fortunately, we’re living in an era where patience for tolerating wires is wearing thin. Many people now own a wireless keyboard and mouse. Not only does it look tidier, but it also offers more freedom and space in your L-shaped desk to move around!
The next step is to minimize the amount of cables length by routing them to the closest socket possible. This feeds back into the first step of organizing your office location based on the room layout.
When both of those avenues have been investigated, the next stage is to organize the existing necessary cables. Many people invest in cable tidy sleeves and these certainly improve the situation both visually and from a safety perspective.
The icing on the cake is routing cables in a neat manner. This can include using trunking to run cables along the wall. Cable management trays or cable clips can also secure the wires underneath the desk to prevent them from dangling.
Cable holders also offer a neat method of holding cables in place; these can be especially valuable for multiple charging cables that need to be used on a regular basis. Below is a photo of how the cables are routed neatly under my desk, simply with some cable ties.
Tip: Check if there are redundant cables or chargers that you use infrequently, remove them or store them in a separate location.
Conclusion
If you already own or are considering investing in an L-shaped desk, then perhaps you’re also looking to make the leap to a sit-stand workstation. Unfortunately, L-shaped standing desks options are limited and can be costly too. A simple and cost-effective alternative is a sit-stand desk converter. There are even products dedicated to optimizing the additional redundant space of corner desks! You can read about my favourite one here: Ergotron Workfit corner standing desk converter
My target with this page is to help you on all matters related your home office and your work area. With that in mind, if you have any queries or comments on the above, please drop them in the box below. I’d love to hear them.
Sources
https://lifehacker.com/the-best-way-to-set-up-and-organize-your-desk-5945259