Clean Off Your Desk

No More Fires

I know it can be scary lifting up those pages and discovering the things you haven’t completed… the things that are overdue… the stuff you hoped had magically resolved themselves.

Honestly, it almost feels easier just to wait until the fire comes and deal with it then.

But what if I told you this:

You no longer have to have fires.

That’s what slowing your pace is all about.

Slowing your pace requires that you clean off your desk daily—but more importantly, that you clean it off on Friday. There are two major benefits to doing this:

1. You become organized (remember how good that used to feel?)
2. You can put out fires before they ever start

Your desk has been talking to you all week. Friday is the day you finally talk back.

Process Your Stacks 

Getting organized starts with processing the stacks—the very things sitting right in front of you.

Are you starting to hate the word “process,” or are you learning to love it?

It’s one of my favorite words, because it always leads to results.

Cleaning off your desk means doing something with those piles of paper. And I know for some of you, the word “piles” is an understatement—you have mounds.

Let me encourage you:

1. Most of the items in your stacks don’t require action anymore.
2. Many have already been handled, expired, or simply no longer matter.

But some pages are fires waiting to happen. You know the ones… the things you haven’t done but should have.

Don’t let that stack sit there any longer.

Do something with the paper.

Process your stacks the same way you do your home mail:

1. Sort and file what needs to be kept
2. Dispose of the junk
3. Separate the items that require action

These simple actions make you unlike the rest—uncommon, exceptional in the way you work.

Put Out the Fire Before It’s a Blaze

Under that stack—and probably mixed throughout—are fires just waiting to happen. There will always be fire-starters buried in paper. Normal people have good intentions about getting to them, but then reality shows up:

They get busy.

They get distracted.

And before they know it, here comes another piece of paper added to the pile.

Once another sheet is added, the previous one becomes:

out of sight, out of mind, no matter how important or critical it is. Your stack isn’t going anywhere on its own. And it only grows further out of control the less time you spend getting it under control.

The Goal Is to No Longer Have Stacks

My goal is simple: no stacks on my desk.

I make it a priority to process my stacks because in my role, I refuse to become a bottleneck for the work my team depends on. I use a simple rule—one that has saved me countless hours and countless fires:

The One-Touch Rule.

Handle each piece of paper (or request, task, or email) one time. Decide what to do with it when you touch it, and don’t set it down without taking an action.

That’s a lesson for another day—but just remember:

Cleaning off your desk is one of the easiest ways to remove the stress of fires that would otherwise be guaranteed to come your way.

Your Turn

Here’s your opportunity today:

1. Clean your desk.
2. Process the stacks.
3. Put out fires before they ever start.

Slow your pace.

End your week right.

And step into next week with peace, clarity, and control.

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