Over time, your desk can become cluttered with cords, especially if you have a desktop computer. All those cables including keyboard, mouse, monitor, charger and power ones, can make your desk too busy and significantly affect your workflow. Not to mention the frustrating part of moving things around with all those cords entangled in one another.
If you have tried everything you got and it’s still not working, don’t despair. There are several tricks to help you overcome the most persistent technology annoyance of them all, ranging from using zip ties to installing a table power outlet. Here is what you can do.
Use Zip Ties to Tie Cables Together.
All those cables hanging around make your work environment look really messy, especially if you use a standing desk. More importantly, it may affect your productivity. So, how do you fix this? First, you have to assess the priorities.
Find the cables that you are going to use every day. You can bring these together keep them that way with a simple solution such as zip ties. Zip ties are a very cheap yet practical solution that you can use all around your house. To keep the bundle neat, make sure to put several zip ties all the way from the power strip up to your desk.
If there is a lot of action happening on your desk and you have to switch cables from time to time, consider using reusable zip ties to save yourself some extra work. If you are looking for a more aesthetic solution, cable sleeves will offer it to you. They will hold all of your cables together and allow you to remove and add new cables whenever you need to in under a minute.
Bring Connectivity to Your Desk With a Table Power Outlet.
A table power outlet is one of the smartest solutions on the market. It is designed to provide you with convenient and above all, safe access to several types of connections, including AC Power, USB, and Ethernet.
It all depends on the type of table power outlet. All these cables usually turn into a mess behind your desk. And on the floor, they are just a hazard waiting to happen. Someone can trip and hurt themselves or damage one of your components.
A table power outlet brings all the connectivity you will need directly to your desk. It’s easy to install as it doesn’t require you to carve any holes in your desk. There are several types of table power outlets as we have mentioned.
There are ones that rest on your desk or under it, those that feature clams so that you can mount them on one of your desk’s edges, and the ones that have to be screwed into your desk.
Shorten Cable Length with A Cable Bone.
Some cables will require you to leave them more space for movement than others. These are your keyboard, mouse, headphones, and camera cables. Since by default these are very long, they can create clutter too. Using zip ties on these are overkill.
Fortunately, there is an easy fix for this – a cable bone. Cable bones are ingenious inventions. You can get them in various colors and sizes, as they are really cheap, or make them yourself from a rubber mat. Coil your cords and shorten them to your own liking. It’s that simple.
Cable bones are very practical when you are going on a trip and you have to carry all your gadgets with you. They make cable management convenient on the go and help you pack in a more organized manner. In any case, with these babies around, uncluttering your desk will be a walk in the park.
Make Clever Use of Binder and Cable Clips.
It is only convenient to charge your phone, your laptop, or your other batteries on your desk. But what can you do once the charging is complete and all those cables that are not currently in use are still there?
Cable clips or simple binder clips were invented for cables that you need on and off. With this solution, you will be able to choose the best side of your desk and use it to arrange and store these unused cables when they are in idle mode.
Binder clips are a DIY solution which you can get at a local store. They are practical for decluttering, but they are not as good for efficient cable management. If you have more than a few idle cables, cable clips will allow you to organize them better. Cable clips can be put on top or on the side of your desk.
Know What is What
Finally, we come to the efficiency aspect of all your uncluttering efforts. Since you are going to change your components from time to time, and clean your desk, you will have to disconnect a few if not all the cables.
If you don’t want to do all your uncluttering from scratch, you will have to bring your cable management to an entirely new level. You have to know which cable does what. You will be impressed by the simplicity of workarounds – bread clips and duct tape.
Bread clips are particularly useful as they already come with a hole that allows them to easily attach to your cables. Make sure to write what the cable is for on the bread clip before you put it on. For thicker cables, you might want to look for a solution in duck tape. It comes in various colors, which makes cable management even more fun and intuitive.
All these tips can help you turn cord management into a fun and engaging activity. Uncluttering your desk will make your workspace appear tidier and allow you to stay as productive as possible. Whether you decide to install a table power outlet, use zip ties or cable clips, we are sure that you are going to make your desk look like one of those tidy desks found in the server rooms of real professionals.