I’m one of those people who tends to
function perfectly well with a desk that looks like the aftermath of some kind
of paperwork Vesuvius. In the past, I have astounded some of my more
tidy-natured colleagues with my ability to successfully direct someone to where an item is amongst the debacles that is my desk; to lay my hands directly on a requested piece of paperwork from weeks
ago; or by the fact that I can “ever get anything done in that mess”.
Of course, functional chaos is functional
only up to a point where it becomes, quite simply, chaos. The tipping point for
my desk occurred towards the end of last year but despite being aware that “we
have a problem”, I put it off until the Xmas/New Year period. I took stock over
New Years (isn’t that what it’s for?) and I embarked on a desk-cleaning
rampage.
The exercise (and I mean that in the sense
of ‘military exercise’) lasted for a number of days and both sides sustained
substantial losses. The process required purchases of shelves, folders, bulldog
clips, and other items of stationery not directly related to the task but
surely a tidy desk requires new pens, pencils, notebooks… (But my stationery
obsession is another post entirely!)
Despite my best efforts, there remains a
small (but growing) pile of notepads, print outs, envelopes and folders that
have resisted my tidying-attack. These are the rebel fighters of my desk who
will undermine any real and lasting change in levels of organisation. And like
any good dictator, I will ignore them until their rowdy little riots push their
stronghold into the workable space of my desk and I have to lead a charge to
crush them once again.
This truly seems to be the story of my
desk’s life.
Is there any way out? Any tips for getting
organised and making it stick would be very much appreciated.
