Zen and the Art of Spring Cleaning
This is a reprint of a column I wrote and published online in May 2008. And the above photo is so totally not my office! 🙂
Much as I would like to reside in a place that’s warm all the time (think San Diego), there is one benefit to living in an area with seasons: experiencing the onset of spring. Many flowering trees in the mid-Atlantic (my current home) are in glorious pink and purple bloom at this time of year. When I look out my window as I write this in mid-April, I see the remnants of white blossoms scattered among the light green leaves on the pear tree in our yard. Even the tender shoots on our stubborn maple (always last to bloom in spring, last to drop its leaves in fall) are starting to emerge.
Many people make New Year’s resolutions, but for me spring is the time when I tend to think about change and renewal. Setting new goals, evaluating strategies, cleaning and organizing. Opening the windows and letting the (relatively) fresh air sweep the winter’s staleness from the house.
One unfortunate side effect of opening windows is that said air tends to blow loose papers everywhere. And I have the unfortunate tendency to collect loose papers. Not to mention stacks of files and piles of books.
Now my approach to organizing has generally been to let things gather until I can’t stand the mess anymore, then (after giving myself a mental boot in the rear) spend a day cleaning it up. With an approach like that, it doesn’t take long for stuff to gather again. So, 90 percent of the time I’ve been working amid clutter. It’s sad when the note you left to remind yourself of something on your desk or computer stand gets so buried under other junk, the whole point of putting the note there gets lost (along the reminder).
Then I stumbled across this wonderful post on a blog called Zen Habits [Still a live blog!], titled “18 Five-Minute Decluttering Tips to Start Conquering Your Mess”. Its first edict was to “start with just five minutes.” Every day, take five minutes to organize a tiny bit of your clutter. Eventually, you will see results.
I started doing this and, in just over a week, I managed to clear off a large area on my desk and my computer stand was completely paper-free. (It works! It really works!)
This got me thinking about the other ways in which I try to keep organized. Some of them are among the 18 tips, but I really didn’t steal them (honest!). Apparently, great minds really do think alike. 🙂
Make filing a regular habit. I picked up the filing habit while working as an attorney. When I left my job with the general counsel’s office at EPA, I was able to give other attorneys files that (in one co-worker’s words) were “so organized it was scary.” (I’d like to think it was a compliment.) I still tend to create filing systems for my paperwork, but by slipping out of the habit of filing things promptly, I created a clutter problem.
My philosophy now is the sooner you can get a piece of paper filed, the better. If you don’t have a place to file something, create a folder for it — right away, if possible. If for some reason you can’t file a piece of paper at that moment, then move on to the next suggestion.
Put all your unfiled papers in one spot. I’ve had an inbox for some time and even used it, but somehow I still ended up with papers all over my desk. This simple suggestion (also from Zen Habits) of putting all undesignated filings in one spot has taken a load off my desk — and my mind. At least I’ve reduced the number of places I have to look for a lost piece of paper to one. And it leads me to the next suggestion.
Devote a little time on a Saturday or Sunday to organizing. My big cleaning days tend to fall on weekends, when I’m not consumed with work. Take an hour or two on a Saturday or Sunday — once a month or so, depending on your tolerance for leaving things undone — and go through your inbox. Quickly decide on whether to keep or not keep. If you keep it, find or create the appropriate file for it. If you’re really struggling to decide whether it’s a keeper, move on to the next suggestion.
Set up a “maybe” box. When I first saw this on Zen Habits, I thought, “That’s brilliant! How come I never thought of this?” Then, I realized I’d been using the bottom tray on my double-decker inbox to hold stuff I wasn’t sure about keeping. Doh! I’d had a “maybe” box all along. What I hadn’t done was follow up later to see if I really needed anything in it, per Zen Habits’ advice.
When you’re struggling over the issue of “to keep or not to keep,” put that item in the “maybe” the box. Mark your calendar to check it later. (Zen Habits recommends six months.) If you’re keeping it because it has sentimental value (e.g., a program from a Broadway play you can’t bear to part with, the program from the first conference you ever spoke at, etc.), put it away with your keepsakes. If you haven’t missed it in six months and you can’t think of a reason to keep it then, toss it or recycle it — you probably won’t miss it later. That got me thinking about my next suggestion.
Reevaluate your filing system periodically and weed out/reorganize, as needed. I don’t think Zen Habits beat me to the punch on this one — unless it was implied somewhere between the lines. I tend to be a pack rat. My file cabinets tend to get dangerously full. At the end of the year, I transfer inactive work files to storage boxes in my basement. I go through the storage boxes and shred or recycle anything more than three years old. This keeps my work files in check — but I have a lot of other files for administrative records, financial records, marketing plans and a wide variety of resources useful to writers and researchers. The question is, how much of it do I really need?
That’s why I think it’s a good idea to go through your files periodically (maybe every six months, when you go through your “maybe” box) and think about what you’re keeping that’s just taking up space. Just spend some extra time on one of those weekend “organizing” days reviewing part of your filing system. You don’t have to revamp the whole thing in one day. Just take it one bit at a time, one folder at a time. In the long run, it will make a difference. And finally . . .
Think before you buy stuff or keep trade show collateral. The more stuff you have, the more clutter you have to deal with. This gets especially troublesome the more trade shows you attend. Do you really need another pen? Even if it does have a cool built-in flashing light, is it really worth the space it’s taking up in your drawer? Do you really need another calendar, another notepad, another key chain? And, if you’re already picking up more bric-a-brac than you can handle for free, why spend money on even more stuff you don’t need? Think before you purchase a new electronic toy that you need to make space for. Even storage boxes for CDs, DVDs and discs have to go somewhere. Can you weed out what’s in your existing storage bins and consolidate what remains?
This may sound like a lot of work. Just remember — you can accomplish a lot when you start with just five minutes at a time.
UPDATE: Three Tips for Organizing Your Workspace.
PS: Now I just need to follow my own advice. Again! 🙂
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