edits inc feature in asiaone

2/27/2014 My workspace makeover http://news.asiaone.com/print/news/diva/my-workspace-makeover 1/2 My workspace makeover Thursday, February 27, 2014 - 06:35 Jennifer Dhanaraj The New Paper For almost one and a half years, my desk has resembled a war zone. Colleagues who sometimes gathered around my desk would even offer to clean it up. They did - but two days later - it would be back to being messy. Of course, I tried tidying it myself, but I usually lost those "I bet it'll be messy again" wagers with my co-workers. So, when my colleague Benita asked me if she could get a professional organiser to tidy up my desk for a report she was doing, I jumped at the chance. Little did I know that it involved a lot of planning. Usually, Edits Inc's Miss Au-Yong Haw-San, who prefers to be called San, would assess the situation a day before by personally taking measurements of the workspace which she would be working on. But I had to do this myself to expedite things for the article. I also had to take photos of my workspace, including the drawers, and send them to San. QUESTIONNAIRE Interestingly, I also had to fill up a questionnaire which included my likes and dislikes and what I do at work. The next day, San came to my office armed with containers and book ends. She also presented a draft plan based on the questionnaire, telling me how she wanted to include an "inspiration corner" where I could generate ideas. My excitement level rose, only to dip when I heard about the "purge stage", where I had to discard things I deemed unnecessary. The hoarder in me was petrified. I was especially reluctant to throw magazines and newspapers away. But once I did, I could see a difference. Anyone can do this and there is no need for a professional organiser, I thought. But I soon found out this was just the beginning. San asked me to leave after that first stage. But I was extremely apprehensive as I'm not a fan of other people tidying up after me. Thankfully, this was not a problem. When I saw my desk again after San had worked on it, I was surprised because I had not seen this much desk space since my first day on the job.

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Our feature article in The New Paper was picked up for the third day running, by a third news platform. The story of getting organized, in this ever busy world, never gets old. While the article uses the word "tidy up", what we do is more than helping people to become tidy. It is about giving them a system, a way of understand where everything should go in the space, and how they should work within the space. And the end goal? So that keeping the space organized becomes so easy, so quick, so well-integrated with the system and the workflow that it totally becomes invisible. That just by WORKING in the space, it would naturally lend itself to being organized. Sounds like magic? Well, close... Sounds like common sense? Not quite. It is about coming up with the right structure and systems, tailored for the work that is being done. It's like coming up with a fabulous and fun way to memorize the names of all the Presidents and Vice Presidents of America - well, just on a larger and more complex level. Hope the article gives an insight to what we do and how we do it, and most importantly, why your mom can't do it for you! No disrespect intended.

TRANSCRIPT

2/27/2014 My workspace makeover

http://news.asiaone.com/print/news/diva/my-workspace-makeover 1/2

My workspace makeover

Thursday, February 27, 2014 - 06:35

Jennifer DhanarajThe New Paper

For almost one and a half years, my desk has resembled a war zone.

Colleagues who sometimes gathered around my desk would even offer to clean it up.

They did - but two days later - it would be back to being messy.

Of course, I tried tidying it myself, but I usually lost those "I bet it'll be messy again" wagers with my co-workers.

So, when my colleague Benita asked me if she could get a professional organiser to tidy up my desk for a report she was doing, I jumped at the chance.

Little did I know that it involved a lot of planning.

Usually, Edits Inc's Miss Au-Yong Haw-San, who prefers to be called San, would assess the situation a day before by personally taking measurements of the workspace which she wouldbe working on.

But I had to do this myself to expedite things for the article. I also had to take photos of my workspace, including the drawers, and send them to San.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Interestingly, I also had to fill up a questionnaire which included my likes and dislikes and what I do at work.

The next day, San came to my office armed with containers and book ends.

She also presented a draft plan based on the questionnaire, telling me how she wanted to include an "inspiration corner" where I could generate ideas.

My excitement level rose, only to dip when I heard about the "purge stage", where I had to discard things I deemed unnecessary. The hoarder in me was petrified. I was especially reluctantto throw magazines and newspapers away. But once I did, I could see a difference.

Anyone can do this and there is no need for a professional organiser, I thought. But I soon found out this was just the beginning. San asked me to leave after that first stage. But I wasextremely apprehensive as I'm not a fan of other people tidying up after me. Thankfully, this was not a problem.

When I saw my desk again after San had worked on it, I was surprised because I had not seen this much desk space since my first day on the job.