Face it, we live junk filled lives.If you look at your desk, I wager you could find at least 3 things you haven’t used in the last month. Some things, such as your work from home key-fob, or your winter sweater are there for a season and a reason, but for most of the other things, they are simply clutter. I was a huge offender, my desk filled with papers, electronics, and anything else you may find on a desk. For me, it felt comfortable to just keep my stuff there, but after reading “Everything That Remains” ( A strong candidate on the reread list) and subscribing to Zen Habits, I recognized how much brain space “junk” can take. That is why I recently started adding a monthly deep cleanse where I do my work. The freedom of space will give you more room to work and forcing yourself to make decisions will improve your “stuff” awareness, training yourself to not waste time picking things you wont use again.
People who support messy desks often lament about a desk clearing. One of the main concerns comes from the way they organize thoughts. “If I have everything I need on the desk, then I can grab it at any time.” If you were to talk to me 18 months ago, I was that same person. Every time I would clean my desk, it would get cluttered again. I would have access to everything “I needed”. Although I had this theory, in practice, it never worked. I would be late for assignments, when someone asked me for something it would take time, and it wasn’t visually appealing. When I made this a point to do monthly cleanses, to understand my surroundings, things changed. Socially, people happened to talk to me more and personally, the organization improved my efficiency.
Being aware of junk is the other half of the battle. I never gave it any thought. A new trinket would sit on my desk for a few days, and then just gather dust. When I started to clean my desk every month, I started to take inventory of I had on the desk. It became very clear, very quickly, that most of the things I had didn’t help me do my job, and it didn’t help me learn. In fact, by not being aware, I would lose anything that wasn’t in front of me very quickly. I lacked a system and had too much faith in my mental tracking faculties. Just by being aware, and keeping track, I improved my work and my energy by learning the priority and the use of things. It became a simple check – “Will this make my life better, and for how long?” If it didn’t answer that question, I started to give things away. Instantly, keeping the clutter out of my life became easier.
It is tough to throw things out, but by using monthly cleanses we keep our place clean and do so regularly. Making and keeping your desk clean simply gives you more room to think. “Stuff” awareness allows you to really consider what you need. In my experience, keeping my desk clean was one of the key factors in clearing my mind to take on bigger and better projects.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 