It’s not nice to be envious but sometimes I just can’t help myself.

Some people are ‘naturals’ at keeping their work space in order with a place for everything and everything in its place. Their filing systems, real and electronic, are impeccable. Seldom will you find a piece of paper out of place on their desks.

I am NOT that person.

Fortunately, however, neither am I a total slob whose work area looks as though a tornado has just visited. I don’t save things just for the sake of saving then and need not be totally embarrassed if an unexpected visitor drops in.

Not being married to either end of the spectrum, I have learned to appreciate the intangibles of enjoying my work area without being obsessive about its appearance. Perhaps that is because I’ve never forgotten a comment I read years ago, “Nothing gives your home a lived-in look like Sunday.”

What a terrific word picture. The Sunday paper scattered around and a jacket thrown over the back of a chair? A few dishes on various tables from munchies enjoyed while watching a game on the tube. A little messy without being dirty. It’s your castle. Enjoy it. The place could be picked up and looking presentable in a couple of minutes if need be.

There is a definite correlation to the business world and I even occasionally practice what I am about to preach:

1. Schedule yourself for occasional fifteen-minute cleaning sessions. Be merciless with yourself during that time period. If something is an eyesore, get rid of it. (I got this idea from my personal coach who once encouraged me to think about it as ‘one pile at a time for fifteen minutes at a time’).

2. Be honest about that stack of papers you really haven’t looked at for three weeks (or months) and have been ‘meaning to get to.’ Give yourself only three options: Read,  File; or Pitch. One way or another–get the stack off your desk.

3. Look at your work area as you are either a guest or a supervisor. Do you find it acceptable? If not, make some changes NOW!

4. Examine the books and binders on your shelf and make a decision. Are they are useful reference materials or dust collectors? Are there some that are good but no longer relevant to you? Give them away!

5. Utilize the delete key on your computer. What has been saved for three years and is of no value in your current role?

6. Get rid of two things when one new thing comes into your work world.

7. Steal good ideas from your neat-freak neighbor. How does she make it look so easy? What secrets would he share with you to make your work world more environmentally friendly? Ask for help. It just might make Neat Freak’s day to be noticed and appreciated.

8. And my personal favorite: TOSS TEN! I am not normally a betting man–but would be willing in this case to wager that I could go into the office of 95% of the people reading this and remove a minimum of ten items that you would never notice missing.

End of sermon other than to encourage you to give several of the above ideas a shot. You have nothing to lose.

Oh, wait a minute, if you do it right–you have a lot to lose: junk from your computer and a cluttered work space.

 Happy tossing!  

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