On July 15, 1993 Walter S. Mossberg, the author and creator of
the weekly "Personal Technology" column in The Wall Street
Journal, was quoted as saying: “The promise of the ‘paperless
office,’ [and home] where documents are entirely created,
distributed, read and stored on computers, has been about as
reliable as the promise of a check in the mail.”
Now, almost a decade later, that statement is as true as it was
then and possibly even worse! Many still have the mind set that
everything that is on their computer must also be printed out,
never of course to be seen again! You WILL have paperwork, in
some form or another, until you die. It’s a fact, a part of life
that will not go away. The truth is you will continue to have
piles and junk cluttering your desk unless you take control of
the situation and learn how to handle everything that lands on
your desk.
Take a second and look at your desk, your countertop, dining
room table, or what ever you call your desk or workspace. How
much of your desktop can you actually see and use? Do you even
know what’s in those piles? Does it look like something might be
starting to “grow” from all the yesteryears of lunches, snacks,
and dinners you’ve had there? Do you have so many gadgets and
doodads, personal items and pictures scattered about on your
desk? When was the last time you saw the whole top of your desk
and it saw a can of polish?
Here are just three interesting statistics from two polls from
Coopers & Lybrand and USA Weekend:
>>The average desk worker has 36 hours worth of work on their
desk and wastes up to 3 hours a week just “looking” for STUFF!
>>7.5% of all documents get lost and 3% get misfiled.
>>Professionals spend 5 to 15% of their time reading
information, but up to 50% looking for it!
Think about your desk for a minute and how your days play out:
>>Estimate how many hours of work you have piled on your desk?
>>Estimate how much time you waste each week looking for stuff
on your desk?
>>How many documents did you lose or misfile last year?
>>Are you scheduling regular time to read?
>>What do you do with the article, magazine, or memo you have
read?
>>After reading, if you keep, can you find it if needed?
Ten Tips to Clean Off Your Desk
1. SCHEDULE a date and time with yourself. Write it on your
calendar and keep this appointment, just as you would an
important meeting with a client or a doctor. 2. TOOLS: >>Set a
timer for the length of time you have decided to work on this
project. >>Make signs or mark boxes with the following: Current
Paperwork, Reference Paperwork, Historical Paperwork, Refer to
someone else or take home, Supplies, Reading, and Data Entry
(those business cards or scraps of paper that you need to put
into your database, address book, or calendar). >>Box of garbage
bags. >> Pad of Paper and Pen (to write down anything you think
of doing or to make a to-do list for later. 3. CLEAR and EMPTY:
Take everything off your desk and out of your desk drawers. 4.
SORT everything into new piles that you made signs for or the
boxes you marked from number 2 above. 5. File or Toss: Click up
a FREE copy of our "5 W's of File or Toss" at
mailto:fileortoss@sendfree.com 6. Read or Toss: Click up a FREE
copy of our "5 W's of Read or Toss" at
mailto:readortoss@sendfree.com 7. Polish your desk and get the
dirt and grim out of your desk drawers. 8. After sorting ONLY
put back on your desk what you use Daily, such as: Pen, Pencil,
Phone, Phone Pad, Desk Workbook, Tickler File, Computer,
Calendar, and Lamp. 9. Do NOT put back on your desk items that
are seldom used and NOT used daily, such as: Gadgets/Toys, Glue,
Scissors, Hole Puncher, Pencil Sharpener, Ruler, and In/Out Box
(your Tickler File will replace this). 10. Drawers: Before you
start putting things back into your desk drawers, think of how
you would like to utilize them, and consider which hand is habit
for you to open a drawer. The hand that is “habit” should be the
same side of your desk drawers that you store frequently used
items, such as: Supplies, Stationary, and Current Files.
Ten Tips for Maintaining a Clean Desk
1. When you stop working on a project put it away. 2. Put date
or calendar related papers/files into your tickler file as soon
as they land on your desk. 3. Sort through mail and toss out all
junk mail as soon as it arrives. 4. Schedule regular reading
time and put “to read” material in a reading folder. 5. Do NOT
use scraps of paper or sticky pads. Use your Desk Workbook to
record all your notes, ideas, phone numbers, web site and email
addresses, errands, and to- do’s. 6. Schedule regular desk
maintenance. 7. Schedule filing time and store your to-file in
the corresponding date of your tickler file. 8. Make a
frequently called numbers sheet and store under your mouse pad
or inside a drawer. 9. Create a Pending Folder to store papers
or files in that you are “waiting” for more information, someone
else to get back to you on, or something you have ordered. 10.
Dust, polish, and wipe down your desk weekly.
About the author:
The Organizing Wizard, Janet L. Hall, is a Professional
Organizer, Speaker, and Author. She is the owner of OverHall
Consulting and Organizing By Phone. Subscribe to her FREE
organizing newsletter at http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm
or visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com
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