clean my messy office

Okay, a lot of neglect. I’ve been working two jobs for a month, but it wasn’t in tip-top shape before that because I was doing a lot of online selling. And there’s still a lot of that to be done. Also it is time to put 2008 to bed and set up a system for 2009.

Unfortunately, this can’t be a top priority for me right now, but I can snatch some spare moments to get started on it.

Periodically I have to do this. But I’ve decided that the spirit of this goal is now expressed better by a new one, “Cultivate healthy and productive work habits.”

Over time, as these goals evolve, I’m learning a lot about how the way I think about what I want to achieve affects my actual progress.

At the moment, my office does not need cleaning, especially not more than other maintenance chores. So it’s time to close this and move on.

It helps me feel focused when my office maintenance is up to date. I try to do a monthly purge of clutter, but things have fallen behind since my accident recovery and job hunting have had to take a forward seat. Now I need to focus on my portfolio, for the most part, but will seize the odd moment to attack one corner or another.

I don’t think I’ll be able to get fully back in the groove until at least Thursday, since I got knocked off my pins today when Edison pulled the plug on my entire neighborhood. Tomorrow I have one final appointment related to the recovery. If I can also clear one key “to-do” pile it will boost my morale. I’m ready to start my new regime.

I’ve managed to hold the line on back-sliding and continue to inch forward.

Friday as I settled in to work, instead of doing my usual mindless procrastination activities, I chose two small areas to update my clutter management process.

That lessened my habitual anxiety and allowed me to work productively.

I am going to try and repeat this success, until it becomes a habit.

I finally have done this, and more.

The “more” is 3 boxes of old financial records that I sorted, shredded anything with personal info, and tossed the rest.

I am still sorting through some of the stuff from this corner, but today’s progress was signficant. I’ve reached the point of no return. I am building momentum on my clutter clearing tasks and will be moving this item up on my priority list.

But it feels GREAT to get this little corner done.

My “office mate” clearly approves of the new spaciousness.

Got sidetracked by a couple of things. Most major: broke my arm. Also travel. And tax preparation actually made the problem worse for awhile.

Now taxes are ready to go. I have to work this weekend, but I’m hoping to avoid it on most weekends. So we’ll see; maybe I’ll find time for this. I need to strategize.

I made some progress on this but not as much as I’d hoped. This is a tough corner. It looks easy, but it’s full of stuff I need to GO THROUGH and that is the hardest part.

But I had to spend a lot of time doing “for-pay” work, so I didn’t get to spend much time on this project.

I hope to do more this weekend and am still planning on posting an “after” pic.

but now I’m procrastinating finishing. I may be able to finish this later tonight, but for now I’m feeling beat. Sore throat. Hungry, cold; I need to quit, turn on the heat, get some dinner started and then relax.

Next week I have holidays. It’s Discardia time again starting today, winter Solstice 2006. I am going to go relax at a spa for the weekend, and when I come back I’ll be working in my home office. I am going to schedule a Discardia event for myself to do during that week.

I have one modest clutter project, the long-delayed “projects corner” objective, targeting this messy corner. As usual,I will also clear the inbox, down to the sueded interior lining.

I also aim to get my financial papers sorted. I try to do it before the new year starts, to clear the decks for the rest of my year-end financial tasks. I need to get my tax papers filed early this year so I can have time to pay the taxes.