A systematic approach to cleaning up

To be productive in my workspace, I know I need:

Clarity
Motivation
Reinforcement
Regular Completion
Accountability Management

Processing my in-boxes (voice mail, e-mail, paper, and files in stacks) clears the deck of my life and work. Writing down the tasks I "know I still need to do," allows me to focus mentally on fewer things at once.

The work I do (personally and professionally) requires I clear the clutter. One of the questions that originally sent me on the internal and external quest to increase my productivity was:

Can I create the space I need to create?

There are a few things I do, consistently, to get "back" to squeaky clean. One is my Weekly Overview.

Every 5-10 days, I take about an hour and a half to:

- take everything out of my briefcase and put it on my desk,

- go through my travel bags (suitcase and toiletries bag) and replace/restock anything that's low,

- put any as-yet-unprocessed notes into the in-basket,

- review all the papers in my "Action support" file to make sure they are current,

- Check my calendar - 2 weeks back and 4 weeks ahead - to pull any reminders into my current todo list,

- Take an overview of my Projects List (my inventory of incomplete goals or deliverables) to reassess my commitment and decide an action (or several) to add to the todo list,

- Review my todo lists to check anything off that I did or add anything that has not been captured,

- open up and review the current "project folders" that I'm using (on average, anywhere from 4-8 folders),

- purge/restock an area or two on my desk (fill printer with paper, stapler with staples, water a plant, check the electric plugs by the floor to make sure they are in contact, etc).

This Weekly Overview makes it possible for me to easily spend the rest of the week processing, traveling, working, playing, sleeping, exercising...whatever-ing. I can eat lunch on Tuesday knowing that I thought about the whole work-life game recently, and I will think about it all again. During the week, I'm working off of the "work inventory" that is on-going and current.

Doing this "knowledge work" on a semi-regular basis allows me to get what I need:

Clarity: I Clear my desk, clear my briefcase, clear my head for greater productivity in the days to come.
Motivation: I enjoy the inspiration that shows up when I see what I've done, and review what I have said I'd do.
Reinforcement: It works...when I clean up, I clear up. When I'm clear...I'm relaxed and focused.
Regular Completion: Every 5-10 days, I know I'm going to close a bunch of open-loops and acknowledge all I've done.
Accountability Management: I'm ultimately responsible for anything I said I'd do. This is one of the things that helps me manage it all.