Composing Desk Purchasing Guide

Now that your desk is organized for success, you can add a few decorative pieces for inspiration. At my desk, I have my cherished CD case (as music aids me in my writing), a picture of my adorable nephews, and a peppermint candle to promote creativity.



When my oldest daughter was in the second grade, she had an assignment from school to write about one parent. She choose me to write about - what she said was that I was 'all about school' - I was either teaching or taking classes. What she wanted for her room was a desk where she could pretend to be at work; what she ended up doing with the desk was to turn it into an art desk.

A teenager might want to include a pull out tray for a keyboard and a desk area large enough to accommodate a computer or laptop. Storage compartments for books are an added bonus to keep the work area from becoming cluttered.

I looked for a treadmill with arm rests parallel to the floor, to offer supports for my "desk". The desk is really just a board that sits on top of the treadmill arms. I attached two platforms to the main board to create elevated shelves for my laptop computer and my large, extra monitor. The grapes home (www.fungifun.org) board serves as a shelf for the separate keyboard and mouse pad I use. Unsure how secure the desk board would be, I initially used large clamps to hold the board in place, but I've stopped using those - they just don't seem necessary. The whole set-up probably cost me $20 and a couple of days of measuring, banging boards together and a small amount of cursing. I ended up with something that has now served me really well for socialmediainuk.com over a year. I love it.

Make a list of the major activities you do at your desk, and list the supplies that you need. Make sure that you have all of those supplies within your prime real estate. Keep your desktop free of anything that doesn't need to be there. Photographs should be put on shelves or a credenza, not on the desk itself. Ditto with whimsical items, knick knacks, or souvenirs.

Since excellent customer service is a critical key, where does the help desk professional get the necessary training so provide such a service? Besides the organizations that you can enroll in, there is the world of hard knocks. Imagine working for different department stores where their goal is customer service. Their training is next to nothing, so you have to learn by yourself. It all boils down to common sense. You learn about what you are selling to the point where you can explain to the customer how it works without looking at the box and always be nice to the customer even though they may not respect your position as the salesperson.

Lastly, clean your desktop! No, not your desk (although, you should perhaps dust it). I am talking about your computer! Delete those files that have been taking up space on your computer for years that you've probably forgotten were there. If you are afraid you may need it in the future, print it out and put it in a folder for safekeeping. Use programs like Disk Clean Up and Disk Defragment to clear up any system clutter that may be slowing down your computer.