Bold statement? Well – decisions relating to their paperwork, anyway. (And the same statement applies to our homes and garages!)
By now you might want to slap me down, but keep reading. Maybe I can convince you!
Susan was one of my clients. Files and paper layered her desk like wallpaper. Even she didn’t remember the color of her desktop—it hadn’t been seen in years. People shuddered as they walked past, and everyone was scared to leave anything there for fear it would never see the light of day again.
With very few exceptions, desk owners like Susan feel as though they’ve got just too much work to do, not enough space and not enough time. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they’ve got a small desk in an open-plan environment or a large self-contained office. Even when they make bold statements to others such as “I know where everything is,” there’s a little corner of their mind going “I’ve got TOO MUCH TO DO.”
Stress and a deep anxiety about overload are the regular outcomes.
The great news is that clearing clutter is the fastest stress-releaser in town.
Almost everyone with a messy environment has two things in common:
- They don’t make decisions when something first arrives—whether physical or electronic. Their typical thought process is: “I’ll think about (or look at) that later.”
- Something needs doing soon. They put it beside their current work, close at hand so they “won’t forget it” until they “get round to it.” Then, when the next thing arrives, it goes on top of the ugly pile already breeding, or a new pile starts.
Before too long, the whole desk is littered. Soon every available space is brought into service—floor, tables, shelves, the top of nearby furniture or equipment. If it’s an open-plan environment, the flood-tide of non-decisions and waiting items becomes a tsunami, affecting all those around.
To overcome this challenge, three areas need attention:
- layout and equipment
- cleaning out the clutter and setting up good systems
- good habits - how to maintain the improved systems
Here are just a few tips from Getting A Grip on the Paper & Email War (2nd ed) to get you started:
- Layout and equipment
- Place things upright, not flat. Then you can retrieve and return them quickly. I recommend storing your paperwork upright rather than flat.
- The space closest to you is your most precious. Only have things within reach that you use constantly.
- If your desk is facing others, you’ll regularly be distracted. Many people find up to an extra hour a day by simply shifting their desk, chair, or computer position.
- Clean up the clutter and set up good systems
Almost everyone allows insidious junk to sneak into little corners, no matter how organised. You’re bound to have some “stuff” that can be thrown out, repositioned, put into archives, or taken home.
Maybe you'd get value from an annual “Clean up the office day”, involving the whole team. This is a great way to get a fast reset. It’s also more enjoyable when everyone's focused on the same task. (If you’d like more help with this topic, check out Getting a Grip on the Paper and Email War, (rev. 2nd edition).
What about that backlog of old files (not urgent, but waiting for attention)? Ever heard someone justify their fat piles with “I’ll get to them soon - not worth putting them away right now.” What subliminal message do we get when work sits in front of us all the time? All day, we have invisible hands waving at us, saying “Pick me, pick me.” Pressure, pressure!
One solution is to make a daily appointment with ourselves to work for an hour a day on the backlog. Select a time of day when you’ll be ready for a break from more demanding work. It’s amazing how quickly we reduce the pile when we’re focused. (The most critical part of this advice is to put a reminder in the diary. The doing is easy once we're focused and committed to a good outcome.)
- Maintain the systems
One option is to place your current projects in separate folders in an upright storage holder (ideally tiered, if you can find one) on the corner of your desk. Use named folders for each category, and you’ve got everything you need within fingertip reach but neatly out of the way. They’re better than in-trays, which often become rats’ nests of forgotten documentation. The top of the desk is clear for whatever you’re currently working on, but future tasks are easily found. (As long as you’ve named each file.)
Another option is a desk suspension file drawer. Many folk don’t like putting important work there for fear they’ll forget it—the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome, but it’s worth persevering until you get into the habit of using your file drawer for documents, not junk!
When work comes in, the two first decisions are: “Can I do it in two to three minutes, or should I schedule time later?” If it’s quick, do it now. If it needs a concentrated block of time, block a time-slot in your calendar and file it in a relevant named location—out of eye range. Because you’ve made a diary note, and put it in a named folder, you won’t forget it.
BTW, the same principles apply to electronic information.
If you remember just one thing from this article, let it be this: every piece of paper or information lying around is a symptom of a decision not made, or an action not completed.
Be a quick decision-maker and you’ll reduce your stress.
© Robyn Pearce 2024. https://robynpearce.com/