"Cluttered"

While I always intend to, I’ve never been one to successfully keep a clean desk — not at home, not at school, and not even at the office. The neat-freaks out there (e.g. my parents) would argue this is a sign of laziness. The mess leads to disorganization and chaos which prevents me from being productive — or so they say.

In my defense:

1. Author of Freakonomics and all-around brilliant guy Steve Levitt’s office is in horrific shape, something I’m sure leads him to being brilliant (although I suppose one could argue that his messiness may be holding him back from attaining his true level of brilliance…).
2. Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman, in their book, A Perfect Mess: the Hidden Benefits of Disorder, argue that “neatness is overrated, costs money, wastes time and quashes creativity.” (source, hat tip: S. Wang)

I think Abrahamson and Freedman have a very valid point that there is a huge difference between “clutter” and “disorganization”. The former is harmless; the latter is what should worry people. As long as the clutter doesn’t lead to disorganization (e.g. not being able to find something critical), there’s no reason that a messy desk should be a problem.

Of course, the world doesn’t see things that way. Plus, it’s possible that your desk is at the point where its more than just cluttered, its actually disorganized. So, how to best get re-organized:

1. Always put wallet, keys, blackberry, and miscellaneous “pocket stuff” in the same place. This has done wonders in making sure I never misplace or worry about losing the things I keep in my pockets. Because one of my key items is my Blackberry (which I usually charge via USB), my designated space is slightly to the left of where I usually put my work laptop, which is great if I need to quickly check something on the device.
2. Put away extra pens and pencils. I can’t tell you how many random pens and pencils I just somehow accumulate. Storing those away has gone a great distance towards making my desk look neater and feel neater — as instead of reaching for 12 random spots on my desk looking for writing implements, I now look in one central jar for a few specific writing tools.
3. Use two scratch notepads. I make and receive a large number of emails and phone calls on a daily basis. Keeping them all straight with my todo list and with the notes I take at meetings had been a nightmare, especially as I had 5 notepads — which didn’t have any clearly separated roles. I have now switched to a system of primarily using 2 notepads. One is taken with me wherever I go: it’s where I take substantive notes on meetings and phone calls. The other stays at my desk and is used to handle my todo list and to write down numbers and email addresses and URLs. The former is used on an as-needed basis (e.g. whenever there’s a meeting). The latter is updated whenever I return to my desk. This means I have one master notepad controlling what I have to do on a given day and allowing me to quickly track down phone numbers and emails, and a separate pad which lets me track down substantive material. All the other notepads? Scratch paper.
4. Digitize everything and use a desktop search engine like Google Desktop. Paper is clutter. Paper is difficult to search. Paper is so 1990s. The more that can be digitized; the more than can be put on your computer, the (a) less paper you need to deal with/organize, (b) the more portable your information is, and (c) the easier it is to quickly search what you have.
5. Use your walls. Do you have something you look at pretty often? Put it on your wall. It’s the fastest and easiest way to get something off your desk but still in quick sight and readily accessible. I have our office monthly calendar, a quick how-to guide for our phone system’s more advanced features, the professional development roadmap, and a company-distributed PowerPoint frequently used features/tips list on my cubicle wall. It keeps my working area on my desk clean (hence helping my organization) but still keeps things readily accessible.

I’ve always been doing #4 and 5, but only recently started #1-3. The result? A better sense of my priorities, a desk that looks neater, and never misplacing my keys or wallet or Blackberry. Success!