Did you know that nearly 30 percent of workers feel disorganized in the workplace?
Over 90 percent of those people believe they would be more efficient if they were better organized.
Most dentists will experience being busy all the time. There’s always a patient to see, paperwork to be handled and a phone call to be answered.
However, do you ever ask yourself whether your clutter and mess is making you less effective as a dentist? What about if your patients feel uncomfortable in your messy office?
Are you wondering about ways of getting rid of clutter in your dental surgery or office? Let’s go!
1. Start at the Beginning
The best place to start is at the beginning. You have probably attempted to get rid of your clutter previously. It just never lasts!
You may have tried to reduce your paperwork. Perhaps you moved some of your things from your office to a closet?
It doesn’t work if you attempt to declutter step-by-step. You need to overhaul your office space to really get the heart of why your space is so cluttered.
Remove everything from your dental surgery and place it all in a tidy box. Whenever you require an item, you can collect it from the box.
This way you discover the items you actually need and what you haven’t used in years. You can eventually throw the rest away.
2. Do You Need Everything
You may not want to throw out everything you haven’t used within the last few months. You need to think critically about whether you actually need everything in your office space.
Maybe some things you can do without in your dental surgery. Some things may belong in a cupboard down the hall.
Could some of your belongings go in a self-storage space? Read more about renting a storage space here.
3. Prioritize Your Storage Space
Now you have decided what to keep and what to throw away, it’s time to determine where you’re going to keep your remaining belongings.
Some items you require regular and quick access. For example, your dental instruments may need to be only an arm’s length away.
There may things you want to keep on your desk at all times, whereas other items can go out-of-sight in your office drawers.
4. Untangle Cables
A sign of an organized dental office is untangled cables. You need to untangle and arrange the cables around your desk or office.
Although the tasks of maintaining organized cables may seem an eternal struggle, there’s always some handy tips for keeping everything in order.
You can purchase cable management tools and tie the cables behind your desk.
5. Take a Different Perspective
You may glance at your dental office and struggle to identify the problems. You could ask a colleague to point out any potential clutter for you. Alternatively, you can always take some photos of the office space.
You’ll probably find the clutter hot spots stand out much clearer when you’re staring at a photo. This is one of the many reasons why we take photographs.
6. Make Your Dental Office Larger
Do you simply have too much stuff for such a small workspace?
You need to make your dental office larger by effectively using the space you already have, or moving to an alternative office space.
Do you need to purchase more storage space? What about buying a new desk to save space? What about a dental chair which can be stored away?
You need to get creative with how you use the space you have got.
7. A Place for Everything
You need to make sure there’s a ‘home’ for every item in your dental office. If you don’t have a specific place where every item belongs, you’ll find that you quickly accumulate clutter around your workspace.
Check out the breadbox test to discover whether an item should be out on your desk or away in your drawers.
8. Start Again Every Morning
One of the problems with cluttering your space is that it doesn’t matter how well your clean and organize everything. If you don’t have a system which allows you to maintain your organized workplace, it’ll soon descend into a mess again.
That’s why it’s so important to make sure you spend up to 10 minutes at the end of each day tidying and re-arranging your office for the next day at work.
According to Psychology Today, research has already supported the well-known wisdom, “tidy room, tidy mind”. Returning to the dental office the next day when it’s already tidy and ready is great psychologically for your brain.
9. Limit Yourself
Even though you can save up to 40 percent of your cleaning and organizing time by avoiding cluttering your workspace, this can go over the top.
Over 20 percent of us are “chronic procrastinators“. We waste our time organizing and cleaning when you should really be doing something else more pressing.
You need to make sure you don’t go over the top. You need to limit yourself to staying decluttered and organized without going into a frenzy over the arrangements in your office space.
There’s a sweet spot you need to find.
Getting Rid of Clutter
It’s common for dentists to find their productivity reduced by the development of clutter and mess around the dental office.
You can save a lot of time and effort by getting rid of clutter by following our tips.
If you want to read more blogs like this one, check out our blog on cool office accessories to make your dental office appear more professional.