Conquer Desktop Clutter

It's always a good time to work smarter. Resolve to reclaim your desk. To help you clear away the clutter and get a fresh start, we offer some painless advice:

Start with an inventory. What's on your desk that shouldn't be? Paper clutter is the biggest offender. Papers end up in piles because we're not sure what to do with them: We're not sure if we want to go to that event or order that marketing book or respond to that letter. Then we add to the mess with sticky notes and magazines and more.

The first step to dealing with papers is to file, not pile. Don't fear that if it's out of sight, it's out of mind and won't be dealt with. Use a task list in Outlook, in your DayTimer, on your PDA or on a piece of paper—one piece of paper—to remind yourself that something needs attention.

Be ruthless when deciding if you really need to keep something. Consider, for example, how long that magazine has been sitting there. Will you really read it before the next issue comes out? Your recycling bin is hungry. Feed it.

Then develop a filing system. It doesn't have to be perfect and it can evolve as you continue to be disciplined about dealing with papers throughout the year. Just make sure your files are easy to get to and the tabs are easy to read.

Now for the other stuff that can't be filed or recycled: Non-paper clutter is the creeping crud that shows up as doodads, knickknacks, photos and kitsch. Yes, the bright pink plastic model of the Eiffel Tower is a fun reminder of your French escapade, but it does take up space.

Try this: Decide how much real estate you can give over to fun, choose a few doodads to display, and tuck the rest away in a desk drawer. Once a month choose a new display. It's like kids with toys: They'll ignore them after a while, but put a toy away for six months and it will be like a long-lost treasure when you do pull it out.

Make some fun—and some space—for you and your work this year by starting clean.