By Amber Alarid, JVA Consulting

Have you ever noticed that as your workload for the day builds, so do the piles on your desk? If you have ever felt overwhelmed by clutter, this week’s Ask Amber has tips for you to create a Zen workspace that alleviates stress and increases productivity. Try some of these tips today and share how they help you by leaving a comment in the comments section below.

Eliminate distractions

Are there personal items or past project materials that frequently catch your eye, pulling your attention away from the task at hand? The first step you should take is to eliminate these distractions. Find a shelf or set of drawers if possible and file away any items that are work-related but not essential to the current project you are working on. If there are personal items that cause distractions, you should consider keeping these on a shelf away from your desk, or removing them from your office entirely. Zenhabits.net encourages professionals to make their desk space their own, but to cut back on stress and distraction by cutting back on superfluous items.

Move/replace furniture

Make the office design work for you, paying careful attention to what arrangements increase or decrease productivity. If facing a window or a coworker directly decreases productivity due to distraction, move your desk to face another direction (with consent from a supervisor and/or officemate, of course). For those who get restless, fatigued, or even sore from sitting a certain way for long periods of time, consider raising/lowering your desk to allow yourself to stand or to sit in a different position or try out a different type of “chair,” for example, a yoga ball. Just remember that the objective of office Zen is to increase productivity for everyone—if moving your furniture or bringing in new furniture becomes a distraction to someone else, you should consider creative compromises that work for your officemates as well.

What steps have you taken to make a clutter free and energizing space in your office? Share your thoughts below.