How to organise your desk space

Hi everyone, it’s Robyn from EasyA here. As I’ve been going through my postgraduate degree this past year, I have found that certain things have definitely helped me feel more motivated when studying. You can check out our blog post on motivation and procrastination on our website for more details. For this post, I want to share with you some ways you can make sure your study area or desk space keeps you motivated to study and helps the time you spend there feel less negative and daunting.

DO: If you can, have your desk facing a window

This first tip is actually a very simple one, but of course, only do it if you have the space and means for it. I used to have my desk facing a wall at the opposite side of my room, and though this enabled me to create revision posters to stick to the wall in front of my desk, it started to feel a bit like a prison cell. Now, I’ve moved my desk to overlook my window so the (rare) sunshine can flow in and brighten up my study time! (Literally!)

DON’T: Flood your study space with too much information

Now, I know this tip will not be for everyone, especially if you revise better with posters and resources all around you. Since moving my desk over to my window, I don’t have the space to stick posters up and I think this has worked better for me. With a huge amount of information, it can bring the feeling of being overwhelmed and therefore students will dread entering their study area. If you are someone who needs resources like posters, keep the amount you create limited and also keep them in areas where you know you will constantly be looking or passing by and will be more likely to see.

DO: Keep something unrelated to education in your study space

This is something I have always made sure to do. If you have an item that is completely unrelated to education and studying, you gain space away from reminders of exams and coursework, to breathe and smile. This item could be a photo of your family or you with a close friend. It could even be a model of a fictional character you love or just something that represents a memory you hold dear that you can’t help smiling at. If you keep something like this on your desk, it can make the whole experience of studying much more positive. Personally, I would alsos limit these items to just one or two on your desk/study space as too many could end up distracting you from the real purpose of why they are there: to make you snile and give an extra push of motivation.

DON’T: clutter your desk with too many things

There is a reason you have this study space - to study. You need the room to actually go about doing this and not over-clutter your desk with notebooks and stationary. Try to keep everything organised in containers so you know where everything is and don’t get panicked when you can’t find a particular book for an exam you have next week for example. Have one container for your stationary (i.e. rulers, flashcards, post-its, staplers, highlighters, etc), another for pens and pencils, and another area to keep subject books and files

DO: keep a to do list in sight

Something I have found incredibly useful as a student - as well as for work - is to create daily or weekly to do lists and keep them at my desk in plain sight - somewhere I am likely to look many times and remind myself of the things I have to do. This is such a good habit to get into if you want to improve your productivity and time management, and if you keep it in your study area/desk space where all of your important work and education resources are, you will more likely be able to remember your tasks and get everything done.

I hope these tips have been helpful, whether you already have your study space but need advice on how to keep it organised or you’re starting your GCSEs and don’t know how to create an area that actually motivates you and makes studying at least a little bit less stressful.

Please don’t forget to download the EasyA app if you need one-to-one support with maths-related questions (more subjects coming soon!) and share your own advice on study spaces with your fellow students!

Good luck!