As a college student, work is done in a variety of locations. With classes in as many as four different buildings, a dorm room or apartment, and trips to the library to study, there is no single location where all work is performed. As a result, it can be difficult to get your surroundings organized. In the working world, however, a vast majority of time is spent in one location -- your desk or at a desk in a client's facility.

Private companies realized the importance of organization as many spend thousands of dollars on seminars led by "professional organizers" to help employees get organized, knowing that increased productivity will be the result. The first day of work should include organizing files, computer, phone, and whatever else comprises the workplace, in a way that is comfortable. For instance, a left-handed person might want his/her pens on the left side of the desk. Obviously, it is important that the phone is within easy reach. These kinds of details may seem minor, but will make a difference in the long run.

Putting all notes, memos, documents, etc. into well-labeled files is a great time saver. Having all of this information easily accessible is very helpful, and the time saved not searching for documents in giant piles of paper adds up to days over the course of a year.

Get a separate notepad for each project/client to keep pertinent information on, as well as notes from meetings and phone calls. With all of the information for a project in the same place, it is possible to appear "on top of things" by quickly and accurately answering questions from less-organized superiors and co-workers.

At times lots of mail or other material might hit your desk. Sort through it quickly so you know all that is there and can attack it in order of importance. If you start working on the item at the top of the pile and can't get through the whole stack quickly you might find the most critical item was at the bottom and you didn't get to it. This is referred to as an "in-basket" exercise.

Most people say that the state of a person's desk reflects their state of mind-those with cluttered desks are seen as scatterbrains. It is important to leave behind everyday a desk that is neat and orderly. Prepare a list of the tasks you will attack the first thing the next morning. It's certain to make the morning and the day more productive.

Those just starting their careers are often given a heavy workload. Without being organized, this load can become overwhelming, or keep a person at the office until the wee hours. Sitting at an organized desk during your workday can keep you from sleeping at an unorganized one after hours.