My co-workers never quite believe me when i describe the state of disorganization in my home office in the same way that I don’t think any of my friends comprehend what a micro-managing clean-freak i am at work.
A typical day of work starts with my desk completely bare except for my water bottle and two pens (one blue, one red). The only disorder in sight is a few scant papers in my inbox; each of my projects lives in neatly color-coded folder organized by priority.
I start and end each day by writing down the next steps on each of my projects in my notebook. The sorting of my email is completely automated; my inbox has less than four messages in it at all times. I log every phone conversation into a tiny steno book so I can remember what I promised to people, and what messages I need to respond to.
A typical night in my home office starts with my searching for something through three layers of desk (and sometimes floor) detritus: a top layer of recently discarded guitar paraphernalia, a middle layer of mail that i have yet to sort or read, and a bottom layer of things that are on my desk because they have nowhere else to go. There are approximately five square inches of visible desktop, and typically no less than a dozen guitar picks, two ties, and three glasses of water.
I start each night futilely trying to clear a workspace and end it when I can’t think of another website to visit. My inbox is currently hovering near 700 messages, post-spam. I am famous for my call-screening and reluctance to return messages.
At work I hardly ever leave with a task left undone, and at home I barely complete one to-do a day.
Why the contrast? Is it the difference is the organizational tools provided for me at work, or the structure of arriving at a specific time and adhering to a certain dress code, or the hustle of other people working around me?
Today I spent a few hours working from home, and it was a strange dichotomy – my messy desktop combined with my well-pruned work email, my guitar within arm’s reach compared to my rapid response to voice mail. Even with my familiar distractions abounding I switched into corporate-mode without a blink.
When my work-time ended I promptly sat on the floor and fell asleep, face pressed against the crack beneath my door to catch a cool draft from the hallway.
Maybe the difference isn’t anything about the environment, but about how much easier it is to sustain effort without dozing off.
Maybe we should start a club? The “A Personality Type” Work Club, and the “Look! Something shinny! Personality Type” Home Club? Because you’ve just pegged my home desk and dinning room table. *sigh*
I’m the opposite, but not so extreme. At the office I tend to have big stacks of stuff on the desk and floor that I “organize” by moving around or shufflling into new stacks. Anything without a deadline takes forever. At home I like everything put away. Books, papers, mail. Even kitchen and laundry.
Are you secretly working in my home office? -looks around suspiciously-
I have file folders for my clients and my pending projects. I have print out of to-do items (my outlook inbox is organized by sender or client). I have 3 or 4 pens and 2 or 3 pencils… I usually end up with 2 or 3 in my hair, which I forget about and then dig around for the ones I’ve “lost” and then my day ends with not piles… but one large pile from in front of my printer to under my lamp… and it drives me insane until I clean it all up again… but every day it’s the same.