How To Beat The Physical Graffiti -Clean Up As You Go!
posted on August 24th, 2009 by Robyn Pearce
Do you remember your mother saying, ‘Pick up your clothes (or books, or toys)?’
A modified version of the same philosophy – ‘Put it away as you go’ – applies at the highest level of business. Perhaps it’s because our mothers told us to do it that so many seemingly well-organised, highly paid and otherwise neatly turned-out adults ignore this sage piece of advice!
How many desks do you see covered with dead trees and miscellaneous equipment? How many drawers and cupboards hide a fascinating selection of junk? How many factories and workshops have areas with an embarrassing mess of lurking clutter? What’s the archival storage room like? (And how about your home garage?) Piles of ‘stuff’ are physical graffiti, a visible sign of deferred decisions.
The trick is – don’t let yourself leave your workstation without the latest ‘put-away’ material. Whilst the action is fresh in your mind, you’ll only take seconds to put things away. Someone’s waiting? Even the most important person will wait 30 seconds; you’ll feel efficient; and it feels great when you walk back into your tidy office.
Have fun, cleaning up as you go!
