In Joy at Work, Marie Kondo brings her popular KonMari Method to the workplace. She, along with Scott Sonenshein offer the best way to tidy your workplace, stay organized at work, and the best way to not feel overwhelmed. Having read one of Kondo's previous books, I found this book equally helpfully and enlightening. There were a lot of techniques and tips that were useful and really help to create a better working mindset. This book is easy to understand and implement. Just like her books, Kondo brings insight that is easy to follow that can people to "tidy up" their lives even more.

Okay this is an extremely early review, but I just needed to get my thoughts down ASAP. I have gone through a lot of changes are work recently and am in a new role. I had been preparing for this role by reading books on leadership and coaching, but hadn't found anything about organizing my work. This came at the perfect time for me. I need to make sure I am organized as I am learning quite a lot of new processes at work and need to make sure I am maximizing my time every day. I want to ensure I create a routine, an organized space and ensure that I am happy at work every day and not stressed out. This book goes over a lot of topics that are more than just tidying up clutter. It speaks about organization of clutter (both physical and virtual), using time wisely, decision-making, networking and how to spark joy in your career. I fee like it can help someone with some work/life balance as well.


So first thing I realized is that Marie is right about sorting items by categories which included things that spark joy, things that are functional and things that lead to future joy. It's honestly so simple when you think of it this way. And I am using these criteria when setting up my new workspace, getting myself into a new routine and organizing my digital data on my work computer.


One of the most exciting things I read about was making your job more joyful, allowing yourself to say no, and adding a daily joy to yourself outside of work! I realize that blogging is a thing that I truly enjoy and have been making the effort to find time a few times a week to indulge in it. It makes me happy to put content together and I've added in being more present on Instagram as a new thing that brings me joy.


I could go on and on about this book, but honestly, if you are looking for a little help in your work life. If you need to get organized or figure out balance at work then this book might just have what you need to focus on what needs to be done.


I read this via a NetGalley eARC, but plan to buy myself a copy so that I can annotate it and have it handy as I navigate my way through my new managerial role at work. Perhaps once my order comes in, I will post an Instagram photo of it with my annotations!

Marie Kondo released the follow-up to her original book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up," but this time she focuses on the office. This book couldn't have been released at a better time for me, as my desk is in dire need of both magic and tidying up, and there is no joy to be found!

As a supporter of the Konmari method, I was anxious to start tidying my office at work. I was delighted to find, however, that Marie's book was about more than the physical act of tidying (although there were plenty of amazing tips there!), but also about tidying the other areas of work -- prioritizing, tidying meetings, digital clean-up and networking. I found myself pulling out my notes to list the insights from the book, and using her advice to apply towards decision-making to spark joy and discarding tasks that do not support the core, projects or are developmental in nature. In short, Marie forced me to evaluate each task and decide if it's truly important to allow me to excel at my job. She also included advice for being "present" at meetings (a lesson we all probably know, but quickly disregard as we get overwhelmed with too many meetings), and the importance of a good meeting recap.

Readers would find lots of excellent take-aways and possibly create a more joyful workplace! I found her book to be a good resource to streamline clutter and organize my way to a more joyful office and I can find my desk again--which brings me joy! I recommend this book for anyone in an office environment ready to bring joy to their surroundings.

Having read Kondo's previous works, I wasn't expecting to find anything groundbreaking in this book. However, I feel like this book has a broader appeal and is less "out there" for western audiences. Sonenshein's business expertise adds value to this book. Excellent book for office workers, but didn't offer much for anyone with non-traditional jobs.

I suspect that Joy at Work is less likely to achieve the near-viral popularity of Kondo's The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up due primarily to either Kondo or her publisher's misunderstanding of who Kondo's core audience really is. It is not, in my opinion, the section of the populace that actually NEED Kondo's advice. Rather, it is the people who are already quite tidy and are seeking A) confirmation that their approach is "good" and B) tips and tricks to further enhance their own tidiness practices. Joy at Work, however, assumes a slovenly reader with no control over paperwork and who believes the status of inbox zero is a myth (it's not, many of us achieve it daily and assume people with 1K+ of unread emails are the myth). So Joy at Work provides little or no value to her core readership, instead marginalizing this book to the realms of unwanted-gifts-given-to-untindy-people-who-presumably-like-or-do-not-mind-being-tidy-otherwise-they-would-tidy-up. A strange, and I think poor, choice.

I didn’t find a lot new in this book. It seems like it’s more of a rehashing and repacking of the same things.

I love Marie Kondo and her love of mess. However, this felt like her original book but geared toward work space organization. It was informative but not my favorite.

We’ve all Kondo’d our homes, but more time is spent at work! It’s past time to Kondo our workplaces and this book lays out the process!

Decluttering queen Marie Kondo is back, helping you spark joy in your job. With organizational psychologist Scott Sonenshein, she tackles the decluttering process as it pertains to the workplace. Helping inspire you to tidy up your office, Kondo uses her KonMari method to show you that minimalism is just important at work as at home. Combined with organizing advice from Sonenshein to help you get to get your inbox in order and rework your schedule, Joy at Work is a winning collaboration between these two authors. While nothing in the book is shockingly new, reading it will inspire you to streamline your work life.

I loved Marie Kondo's first book and was excited to read the follow up, focusing efforts on the office. I found her approach to tidying up at work simple but effective. I liked how things were broken down into physical tidiness, such as papers, but also covered less concrete aspects, like your email inbox. It was a good read for me to start off the new year and I've incorporated some suggestions already.

If you enjoyed Marie Kondo's previous book, you'll like this work-focused approach to tidying up. Her philosophy is the same: create a clutter-free, joy filled work environment and you will be happier. We all know that clutter and a messy desk can easily create a feeling of overwhelm and Marie breaks down how to apply her strategies to your office in order to create a more pleasant and peaceful working experience. Quick read with actionable steps!

Let me begin by saying that I am a proponent of the KonMari Method and I own Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy. Her method has worked incredibly well for me, tying nicely into my desire to life a simpler and more sustainable lifestyle. I was excited to hear about this new publication not only because I was interested on how I could apply her method to work, but also I’ve also always been interested in productivity and the field of organizational psychology (super nerd alert, I know.)

Joy at Work is a collaboration between Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein, an organizational psychologist. The authors take the idea of “clutter” at work beyond the mess at your desk. They discuss clutter on your computer, in your schedule, in meetings, and more, and in turn how to tidy all of these up. They alternate as narrators, which was confusing at times to me as a reader (this may have been in part because I was reading an ARC, hopefully the final publication will distinguish the voices better). The book proposes concrete solutions for all your tidying needs, and shows you (as was done in Kondo’s first book) how clearing all but what you need and brings you joy can offer you greater perspective on your job and life. The book weaves its way to this final message – on how sometimes focusing on what brings you joy might prompt even greater self-reflection, which may lead you to another job or path.

This book is easy to read and is filled with case studies that keep the reader engaged and support the ideas presented by the authors. I enjoyed it, though I found that some of the sections less applicable to me as a professional working in a school and not a private business. As with Kondo’s previous books, this one will not be for everyone. However, the collaboration with Sonenshein opens the potential audience to people interested in evidence-based discussions on productivity and efficiency at work. I walked away with lots of ideas and inspired to reread it again soon, to see what I can apply to my own life. I would recommend it to people who already have interest in this topic and who are looking for clear solutions on how to tidy up the various facets of their work.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book!

My predecessor before me was fired, so they did not have a chance to "Clean up" anything before they left. I inherited a mess of an office. Being new to this career I wasn't sure what keep/throw or even just to scan to save to new files. Many things were not organized to how I would like them and this book really helped me determine that organization that I needed an a huge dumping of stuff never needed/won't use.

I work from home and was interested in the original concept of Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up that Maire Kondo translates now to the workplace. Clean it up, use only what is necessary/brings joy and bask in the productivity that cleaning clutter brings to your work life. My desk is in the center of our home, so an aesthetically pleasing area is essential for me. The first half of the book focuses on the physical organization of the “things”. The second half of the book jumps into decluttering and organizing your emails, your tools, and your systems. This is easier said than done as it is often “hidden” from view. I took the challenge and started organizing my computer desktop, unsubscribing from emails (wow…there were a ton) and organizing my photos on the computer. I feel better already. This was a pretty basic book and I didn’t “need” to read it but found it a quick read and gleaned a few helpful reminders that I was able to implement right away. Thanks to #netgalley #joyatwork

Following up with a best seller that promises to change your life can be tough, none the less Marie Kondo is back at it. The book has a lot of effort gone in of course, but I just it was a TED talk.

Marie Kondo does it again! I requested the book mainly because of her other books/ interviews she’s done during 2019. I didn’t know how much I actually needed this book.

Another fantastic work from Marie Kondo. I admit that I wasn’t sure how much of this one would be applicable to me personally because I’m someone who considers my work life to be fairly “tidy” already but I was blown away. I feel like I really changed a lot of my attitudes around work and habits in a positive way that I’m sure will have ripple-out effects in many other areas. Anyone with a job of any kind will benefit greatly from this book.

Like most books on work and improving your work life, it assumes you are the sole manager of your time and activities in the work place. Not only is that exclusively salaried white collar workers, it excuses whole industries such as healthcare and other clinical careers, as well as jobs with customer facing hours, not just independent office time. That's not so much a criticism of this book, as it is most books in this genre. Still, I will rate highly for those for whom it can apply.

I've turned to THE MAGIC ART OF TIDYING UP year after year to help get my home and personal spaces organized, and I'm grateful for this new book that will serve as a guide to not only tidy my personal workspace, but also my computer, digital files, and calendar - cancel those meetings! JOY AT WORK happened to be published just when our bookstore was undergoing office renovations, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect!

Marie Kondo's enthusiasm for sparking joy is contagious. Her latest efforts focuses on joy in the workplace and her advice is easily transferable to other work spaces around one's home. Her method and theory remains the same: it's easier to feel joy when you find the sweet spot of tidiness that works for you and we all benefit from our efforts to surround ourselves with the things we love.

There's a lot of practical tidying advice as well, which I found helpful. I found the sections on tidying digital clutter to especially helpful. I'd definitely recommend this to a friend looking for new ways to tackle clutter and feel rejuvenated in their life.