I was reading an article, “10 Simple Steps to Conquering Your Messy Desk,” and there are some good tips in it. Things like, “Use your walls” (cork board or white board), “Lose the paper trail” (scan paper documents and trash the original), and “Schedule daily maintenance” (10 minutes at the end of the day to tidy up).
My favorite is,”Files are your friend: If it’s a completed or upcoming project, file it away. . .If it’s ancient or obsolete, trash it. If it’s something you’re actively working on that day, it can stay in a file folder on top of your desk.”
It occurred to me that our desks get messy the same way our minds get messy–we’re trying to keep track of too many things.
I’ve written before about why people have messy desks:
Un-piling your desk isn’t difficult. I think the hard part for some people is the notion that if they file something away, they won’t remember a task they need to do or they won’t remember where they filed something they need. Ironically, that’s exactly what their mess of a desk does.
The solution is to have a system that (a) allows you to remember what you need to do, and (b) lets you quickly find what you have filed when you need it.”
The path to a clean desk (or digital desktop) and a “mind like water” is to put everything away, out of sight and out of mind, and trust your system. Focus on the one thing you have decided to do next, and nothing else:
- Take out the one thing you have decided to work on, and nothing else.
- Work on this task until it is done, if possible, or as far as you can go if it is not.
- If the task is done, cross it off your list. If a project is complete, file it away in an archive.
- If the task or project is not done, put the documents away and make a note regarding the next step. Put a reminder on your calendar or in your tickler system or keep it on your list and review that list during your weekly review or daily planning session.
- Take out the next thing you’re going to work on.
- And so on.
Do you have some tips for conquering a messy desk or messy mind? Please post them in the comments.
