How to Spark Joy in Your Office Using the KonMari Method

Have you watched Tidying UP on Netflix? It’s a new series based off of professional organizer Marie Kondo’s very specific method of cleaning up your home, also known as the KonMari Method. But what about your office? Here are a few ways you can spark joy in your office, no matter where you work.

Go Through & Eliminate Papers

If your desk is completely covered in papers, there is a good chance that you are unintentionally causing yourself a great deal of stress. For organizing papers, Marie Kondo suggests doing the following:

• Make a “Pending” box that you can set papers in temporarily but will go through daily/weekly
• Consider recycling any course materials that you are holding onto but realistically won’t go through. Organize/file away anything you must keep.
• Shred and/or scan all of your financial documents
• Consider throwing away manuals and warranties. Again, scan them if you feel you must keep them.
• Sentimental items: keep only those that truly spark joy.
• Flyers, booklets, clippings, etc.: recycle unless you truly need them
• Certificates: Find a way to organize and/or feature necessary certificates such as diplomas or legal licenses

Feature Only Items that Spark Joy

Your desk should not be cluttered with papers and objects, but instead feature a few items that are either highly functional and/or spark joy in you. A great example of an item that would do both is a business card holder that somehow showcases your personality. Perhaps you can have one picture or a small momento that was given to you by a loved one near your monitor.

Create Opportunities to Create Movement

Sitting in one place and in one position can often cause a feelings of strain in your work day. Consider investing (or having your office invest) in a standing desk or a standing desk converter. Allowing yourself to move throughout the day will allow you to reintroduce movement and spark joy by freeing up your body to move into positions that feel good.

Consider a Getting a Plant

Plants are a very simple way to bring life into your office work space. There are many reports that suggest that having a plant in your immediate work space can improve your mood as well as your health. Don’t have a green thumb? No problem. There are several types of plants that are extremely low maintenance and can do well in a office setting including:

• Peace lily
• Devil’s ivy
• Snake plant
• African violets
• English ivy

Organize Your Computer Files

Last but not least, if you’re someone who has to search through hundreds of tiny icons on your desktop to search for a specific file, it’s time to organize the files on your computer.

Depending on the type of work you do, consider creating large categories such as the year, client name, project type, etc. You may even want to have some larger categories like professional development, random ideas, things to remember, and more.

Think about what would work best and then create “parent” file folders. There should be a small(er) number of these types of file folders as all of your smaller files (or folders) can be sorted and organized into them so that they’re easier to find. A great example of an organized system might look like this, with each descending line that opens into a new file or file folder:

File folder name: 2019 →  Many file folders that are titled as client names (ex: Rodgers & Rodgers) → File folder names like: Contracts, Projects, Invoices, etc. → Within each of these file folders will be the individual, specified file names.

The process may be daunting, but taking an hour or two each week to organize your out-of-control computer files will make business flow much easier once you’re done.

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