Follow one complete piece of work
Start with a real task you are expected to perform at the new desk. Where is the information, which equipment is used and where should the result go? Walk through that sequence once. Missing access or unclear destinations become visible before you spend time on extensive personal reorganisation.
Distinguish personal adjustments from shared structures. Moving your mouse is usually a different kind of decision from changing a folder used by the team. Ask what existing labels mean. An apparently unused area may support a handover that is not obvious during your first day.
Identify what has been handed over
Make a short record of the equipment and accessories assigned to you. Distinguish items that stay at the desk, items issued personally and items that are only borrowed. This need not replace the organisation's inventory. Its purpose is to avoid a charger or key losing its association with a workstation during a later move.
Ask the responsible person how to handle unfamiliar papers left by a previous user. Do not absorb them into your own files or discard them merely because their labels are unclear. A temporary separate location with a named question is more accountable than a quick decision made without knowing who owns the material.
Change settings in response to use
Adjust the chair, screen and input devices so you can perform the intended tasks. Then make changes whose purpose you can describe. If documents repeatedly move between two surfaces, that process needs a better location. An additional organising system without a specific purpose may introduce more transitions than it removes.
During the first few days, keep open points together: required permissions, missing accessories and questions about collaboration. Group related questions instead of starting a different conversation for every small obstacle. Urgent technical or safety-related problems should, of course, go directly to the responsible person.
After an initial working week, review the notes for recurring obstacles. Something that needed explaining once does not necessarily need a new permanent rule. Something that causes effort every day merits a specific change. This builds the arrangement around actual use while keeping shared processes understandable to others.
