HIGH TECHNOLOGY CAREERS MAGAZINE

September 1999

by Sally Richards

KEEPING CLUTTER OFF YOUR DESK

Your desk is where you live, literally.  You spend eight hours a day there, probably more if you've got stock options and your company is pushing for an IPO this millennium.  You've got meetings to hold, people to meet, calls to make – who has time to organize their desk in times like these?

So why should you, who are so busy closing out one project and being briefed on the next while figuring out your budget for next quarter, be bothered with the task – the oh-so-heinous task – of shuffling through the stacks on your desk, making sense of them, and organizing everything?  Why, indeed.  The major reason is that time is money, and, more important, time cannot be replaced.  Your searches for lost paperwork cause bottlenecks in your productivity, and panics over paperwork cost you time.  Your messy desk is sucking time, money and resources out of your workday.

First of all, realize that there's an 80/20 rule that may easily apply to your five-foot by three-foot work world, also known as your desk.  It's believed that you wear 20 percent of your clothing 80 percent of the time, that 20 percent of the people in a work group provide 80 percent of the good ideas, and so on.  Extending this theory to your desk, you may need only 20 percent of what's buried under your clutter to complete 80 percent of your tasks.  And that 20 percent is probably buried under an 80 percent that's pure garbage, stuff you need to learn to let go of.

So how do you learn new habits to keep the paper from stacking up on your soon-to-be pristine desk?

DEVELOP A FILE SYSTEM

"Things are easier if you can start with a desk that has a built in file cabinet," said San Jose time management and organization consultant Tirena Say, who believes anyone can get into the habit of using a file cabinet.  "People need to keep paper going – if something came to you and it needs to go to someone else, get it off of your desk and to that person, or file it as soon as you get it.  Even if you just take 10 minutes at the end of the day to go through the paper on your desk to toss it, file it or get it out the door, it will make a big difference."

Meg Connell, a Bay Area organization consultant (meg@theorganizedone.com), has a plan for all of those people who want to go the extra step beyond a clean desk to an organized work space.  She suggests a file system that helps you keep your day as well as your desk organized.

"Designate four files on your desk as to do (current projects and tasks), to read (this pile can stack up in a hurry if you don't keep it under control), to file (at the end of the day), and pending (things waiting for a response from others)."  Connell also pointed out, "Your desk is a not an archive, and your file cabinet is not a place for holding things.  People are afraid once they file it away, they'll never find it again.  Don't freak out about filing; this is where that alphabet you learned in school will come in handy."

The trick is to remember how you filed it alphabetically.  Whether you file by last name, first name, project name, or date, you need to stick to your system.

DECIDE WHAT YOU CAN THROW AWAY

"People have to get out of the habit of saving everything," said Connell.  "There are some basic questions you need to ask yourself about every piece of paper on your desk: Do I need it?  Is it useful?  Is it outdated?  Do I need to keep this for tax, financial, or legal reasons?  And what is the worst thing that will happen if I throw this away?"

According to Connell, much of your desk clutter is junk mail – even at work.  One way to keep the junk mail off your desk is to the write to the Mail Preference Service of the Direct Marketing Association at P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, New York 11735-9008.  Request that your name be removed from the association's master mailing list.  This may, said Connell, reduce your junk mail by 40 percent for up to five years, and the service is free.

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