Today, we’re continuing our “Clear the Clutter” series. If you’ve been following this series, you have cleaned the dirt and dust from your area and also gotten rid of random junk and knick-knacks you don’t need.
Now, let’s turn our attention to the main space where you do writing: your desk.
The financial guru Dave Ramsey says that you must make your money behave. Why? Because our human nature is to let money get out of control.
The same is true for your desk. If you’re not careful, your desk can easily get out of control. Before you know it, your desk becomes a catch-all for mail, to-do lists, trinkets, pens, notebooks, your computer, and books to read.
I have a general rule that everything on my desk has to justify its existence. In other words, nothing goes on my desk unless it has a very good reason to be there. Every item on your desk is literally asking for your attention by virtue of its being there. So, if you want to clear your mind and free up mental space for writing, clean off your desk and put stuff away.
Some writers believe that a messy desk is a sign of brilliance or creative genius. It doesn’t mean any of those things. A messy desk just means that you’re disorganized.
When I taught college, one of my fellow professors had the messiest office I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of messy offices!). He had books piled all over the floor, and his desk looked like someone had literally taken a box of papers and dumped them all over the place.
I felt incredibly stressed just being in that environment. I had no idea how he concentrated or got any work done… much less found the papers he needed to grade!
When you’re cleaning your desk, don’t forget about the drawers. These can become black holes for all kinds of office supplies and junk. When cleaning out drawers, there are two important rules to follow:
- The 6-month rule: If I haven’t used it in the last six months, and I probably won’t use it in the next 6 months, it needs to go.
- The rule of two: You don’t need any more than two of an item. You don’t need 4 cheap plastic letter openers with insurance agents’ logos, you don’t need 85 dry-erase markers, and you don’t need those 4-gigabyte thumb drives from 2007… none of which probably work anyway.
Why do we keep stuff like this we don’t need? Because of fear. We’re afraid we will suddenly need 170 colored paper clips and they won’t be there. This comes from a scarcity mindset. Learn to let go of this clutter and junk that populates our desks and their drawers. It will free up a lot of mental space.
Your desk is a sacred space. If you’re a writer, your desk is your sanctuary. If you’re a person of faith, you wouldn’t walk into church and dump all the junk in your desk drawer onto the floor.
So, if you’re fulfilling your sacred calling as a writer, why would you treat your desk any differently? Come to your sanctuary each day with proper reverence and respect. Treat it like the holy place it is.
Today’s Challenge: Take ten minutes and clean off your desk. Organize your desk drawers and get rid of the junk. Use those extra letter openers to open all the checks that will be coming your way from your increased productivity and more mental space due to a clean desk!