![]() The authors claim that your work day starts with a short ‘problem solving window’ (or ‘the hour of power’). I think the most useful idea in the book was how to use productivity cycles. It’s more like an inventory of what I have going on in work and in life. It’s not a to-do list – that would be too confronting. I spent an hour putting what was in my head into a big list, which acted like the desk clean up. ![]() The details tend to get lost in the fog, where they lurk leading to feelings of – you guessed it – Guilt. When details are in my head they have to compete for attention with what I will eat for lunch, what I think of Bruno Latour, my sprained little toe and so on. It’s taken me a long time to realise that most research work is just bits of this kind of detail, in endless motion. I always have a few pots on the boil and many of these projects involve small details – ring someone back, supply someone with something, think about an idea – you know the sort of thing. By the end of 10 days I will know what should have a permanent spot and what should be thrown out or put elsewhere. Ok, so most of the stuff ended up in a box on the floor, but the book told me to leave it there for 10 days and only take out the stuff I need to use. Already I feel like a more organised and purposeful person. It’s not impersonal, just efficient (I kept the photos of my son tucked under the monitor) and it took less than 4 and a half minutes to achieve. All I have is functional biros and markers, my notes, a book and my phone/gadget cords. I know that somewhere in there work is lurking, unfinished… You know what? Let’s get rid of everything I don’t need today:Īh – much better. You know what I feel when I look at the pile – that’s right. There’s a parking permit form (I don’t have a car!), a list of instructions for the skin cream for my son’s eczema (note empty box), an old bank statement, a couple of tax receipts and the ‘melbourne magazine’. There’s a bunch of DVDs, a child’s folding toy, a cap, a box of old business cards with the wrong phone number of them (why?)… But the biggest problem on my desk is that pile of paper on the left. That box of paperclips? I don’t print stuff out so I never use them – likewise the stapler (which I don’t think works anyway). How many biros do you have on your desk? Looking at the photo above I have 7 – why? I type most of the time. So if your desk is driving you crazy and you feel submerged in a sea of work, here are 5 strategies:ġ) Most of the stuff on you desk shouldn’t be there Since it is part of our mission at the Whisperer to do this sort of reading for you, I sifted through it for nuggets of goodness to share. It’s actually more about productivity and is one of the better ones I have read, but half of it was dedicated to asserting the validity of the ideas – which was too much for me (I was sold at the title!). ![]() ![]() The book is a fun read, but not one I would urge you to run out and buy if you don’t have the time or inclination. This is my at home desk – not my at work desk (which is in such embarrassing condition I am not going to show it to you ). Have a look at this picture and you’ll see why: Recently I grabbed a book from the RMIT library called “Detox your desk: declutter your life and mind” by Theo Theobald and Cary Cooper. ![]()
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