How to organise your workspace, de-junk and de-clutter

In some professions, having papers all over your desk and stuck to your walls is all part and parcel of the job, but in most cases it just cramps your style. 

Whether you're in MI6 or car insurance, clutter is a waste of time and needs to be got rid of pronto. 

Free your workspace and free your mind! Clear your desk once a week. 

"Always throw out anything that 'might come in handy one day.' Only keep what you're going to use," says our expert. 

To stop yourself disappearing under reams of paper, set yourself a deadline to read any professional magazines you get (2 weeks, for example) and be ruthless about throwing away old mags, journals and newsletters. As soon as a new one arrives, bin the old one.

Errors to avoid:

- Turning into an archivist (unless you happen to be one). You're paid to do your job, not put the company archives in order. 

- Manic tidying: it's not the end of the world if you've a few bits trailing on your desk. "You just need to make sure you don't mix stuff that needs filing away with reference materials and papers you need easy access to, or you'll end up spending half your life looking for them," says our expert.  

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