How to Set Up Your Desk
A Guide to Fixing a (Surprisingly) Overlooked Productivity Problem
Matt Perman
2014 Matt Perman
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by Matt Perman Company.
Cover design by Mere Agency.
Endorsements
Matt Perman has served me so well in applying a Steve Jobs-like approach to my workflow: simple, intuitive, elegant, and efficient. I've followed most of his advice about setting up my desk (as well as processing my email), and it works beautifully.
Andy Naselli , Assistant Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis; Research Manager for D. A. Carson; Administrator of the theological journal Themelios
Your desk is probably standing in the way of your effectiveness at work. So are your email, office supplies, and task management systems (or lack thereof). Matt Perman is the master of all of these areas. His well-researched and documented methodologies have revolutionized the effectiveness with which I live out my callings in life.
Matt Heerema , Pastor of Stonebrook Community Church; Director of Mere Design Agency; Husband, and Father of 3.
Sitting here in my office, I am able to look around at a well-ordered and organized system thanks to Matt Perman. This book drastically helped me with my physical workspace, and the results have been tremendous. I will now use this book for all new staff in our department.
Chris Misiano , Senior Director of Campus Recreation, Liberty University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapter 1 : Basic Principles
(Excurses: Against Desk Hotels)
Chapter 2 : The Four Ways to Configure a Desk
Chapter 3 : Where to Put Your Desk
Chapter 4 : What to Put on Your Desktop and How to Use It
Chapter 5 : What to Put in Your Desk Drawers and How to Use Them
Chapter 6 : The Rest of the Room: How to Set Up Your Office
Conclusion
Appendix : Turn Your Entire Wall into a White Board
Further Resources
About the Author
Contact
INTRODUCTION
All of us have to deal with how to set up our desks well, and yet there is almost nothing out there on how to do it . There is some good advice here and there, but it is typically scattered. There is no single go-to book that brings together into one spot the best principles and practices for getting a clear view of how to make your desk work for you as effectively as possible.
So thats what this book aims to do.
The Origins of this Book
I originally wrote this book as a series of blog posts in the fall of 2009. It quickly became one of my most popular series. Then, when Lifehacker linked to it, it became one of the biggest sources of traffic to my site (www.whatsbestnext.com).
After being encouraged by several people to do so, Ive finally pulled these posts together into an ebook so that they are easily available to people in a convenient format and in one spot. Ive also updated them slightly, expanded the introduction, added a list of further resources, and added an appendix on the cool new existence of white board paint for turning any wall into a white board.
One update I didnt make, though, is that originally when I wrote these chapters, I worked for a non-profitand so wrote from perspective of having two offices. Although now I am a consultant and only have a home office, I decided to keep the two-office perspective in the chapters because thats how most people operate. Hence, youll learn in this book not only how to set up your desk well, but also how to integrate both home and work systems.
Why Desk Setup Matters
It makes sense to think through your workspace setup for several reasons.
First, when you have your desk set up well, you minimize resistance to carrying out your work and thus can get more work done. Thats the key principle here: Set your desk up well in order to minimize resistance so that you can give your focus and energy to actually doing your work.
Second, you will simply work better if you have your desk set up well and know how to use it . Which is another one of my aims here: A desk is a workflow system . Therefore we ought to approach it with intentionality and purpose. We can be more effective when we know how to use our desks and are intentional, rather than ad hoc , because we deal with them every day and have to use them to get all sorts of important things done. The principle here is: Understand your tools and know how to make the most of them.
Third, when your desk is not set up well it creates drag and thus drains time, energy, and focus. I like how they put this in Organizing for Dummies :
You dont need to be an efficiency expert, interior designer, or feng shui master specializing in the Chinese art of placement to know that the right work space can set you up for success, while a whatever approach to your workplace layout can sap your time, energy, concentration, and creativity. (p. 183)
Or, to put it another way: Clutter sucks creativity and energy from your brain ( To Do, Doing, Done, p. 92).
Fourth, you use your desk about every day, and knowing how to use it is not hard to figure out. So the benefits you get from this are large, but the cost involved is small.
Fifth, it makes work more fun when you know how to use your desk. A well-run desk is a work of art!
Who Needs to Do This?
Not just people that work in an office. I like how David Allen puts it:
A functional work space is critical. If you dont already have a dedicated work space and in-basket, get them now. That goes for students, homemakers, and retirees, too. Everyone must have a physical locus of control from which to deal with everything else. ( Getting Things Done , p. 89)
I got interested in this subject years ago largely as an outgrowth of implementing GTD. After putting the task management systems in place, it made sense to make the other aspects of my work as smooth and efficient as possible as well.
So I did some reading on desk setup, engaged in some trial and error, and developed some basic principles. (And then kept going with this trajectory in regard to every other room in my house so that I could minimize drag wherever I could; yes, a bit strange, I know!)
The Relationship Between a Good Desk Setup and Changing the World
My first main book, Whats Best Next: How the Gospel Transforms the Way You Get Things Done, is releasing about the same time as this ebook.
The aim of Whats Best Next is to give us a gospel-centered vision for our work, productivity, and everyday lives, and then give a practical approach to being more effective in all areas of life. Its like David Allens Getting Things Done or Stephen Coveys First Things First, but from a God-centered, gospel-oriented perspective.
This book is supplemental to that in some respects, fleshing out one of the key supporting systems to any productivity approachnamely, how to set up your desk.
So in a very real sense, this book is not intended to stand on its own. Its part of a much bigger vision of life.
