A Better Way

 by JenniferWhite, President, The JWC Group

Broadcast of 4/16/99

Subject: Give Up The Clean Desk Fantasy

A BETTER WAY
A nationally syndicated column
by Jennifer White
jencoach@successu.com

TODAY'S TOPIC: GIVE UP YOUR CLEAN DESK FANTASYI have many clients who have a fantasy. In fact, it's the reason work has become the priority in their lives. It's why they wake up in the middle of the night thinking about work. It's why they feel anxiety every time they walk into their offices.

Their fantasy: To have a clean desk that stays clean.

When I ask folks why they find themselves working so hard during the day, they tell me it's because they're committed to completing all the work that falls on their desk.

They tell me stories about how exhilarating it would feel if they actually completed everything on their to-do list. And they spend their lives trying to make this fantasy come true.

The reason I call it a fantasy is it will never be true. You will never have a clean desk that stays clean.

At least that's true for my clients, and I bet this is true for you. Just when you got through everything in your in box, it gets filled up again. More memos, more projects to be completed, more meetings to attend. But rather than revel in the value you're bringing to your company, you instead feel anxiety. "Here it goes again," you say to yourself.

You go home that evening feeling guilty because of how much you still have left to do. And many of you burn the midnight oil trying to get more done. Yet your to-do list keeps growing and growing. The truth is no matter how much work you accomplish, there will always be more.

If there wasn't more work, you'd no longer have a job. Or a company. Or a career. Having work to do is a fact of life. Yes, even if you decide to retire one day at age 50, you will still have work to do.

Your fantasy of wanting a clean desk that stays clean prevents you from enjoying your work. It prevents you from having more joy and fulfillment in your life. And it's the reason you feel as if you can't get off the treadmill. You keep going around and around dreaming about the one day you'll have nothing left to do.

When that day comes, you'll be dead.

Here are some suggestions on how to break your obsession with a clean desk.

1. Give up your fantasy.
Yes, that means you need to give up your goal of completing all your work every day.

Please don't misunderstand. I'm not advocating that you continue to be disorganized or have an office full of clutter. We all need clean, airy spaces to do our work. But what I am suggesting is you give up your obsession of getting all your work done. It's not possible. It's much better to accept that you're always going to have stuff to do rather than go for an impossible goal.

2. Focus on the process, not the result.
This may be the real reason you've created this fantasy anyway. When you're extremely focused on the result, all you can see is how much work you still have left to do. Getting stuff done is the only thing you focus on. You don't pay attention to the relationships at work, how much you're accomplished or whether you're enjoying the process or not. You're focused on getting it done. And you rip the joy right out of your life.

Life is not a series of results. It's a natural process. You can't plant a seed today and get upset that the flower doesn't bloom tomorrow. That's not how it works. Accept that fact that on some days, you complete a lot of tasks. Other days you don't. That's just how it goes.

3. Learn to bring some more joy in your life.
Isn't that why you want a clean desk? To feel as if you're accomplished something so you can finally be happy? That's what I thought.

The wonderful thing about life is you don't have to wait until you've crossed everything off your to-do list to feel joy and satisfaction You don't have to wait until your desk is clean to feel happy. You can do it right now. At this very moment. You don't have to wait.

Yes, it's as easy as deciding you no longer want to live in a fantasy world. Copyright 1999, Jennifer White. All rights reserved. Please do not duplicate this information without written permission.

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