Can You Work Amid Clutter?

posted by Momo Fali on November 10, 2014

I woke early this morning; nearly two hours before any other human in the house. I have a very busy day today and needed to get a jump start, but before I could settle in and start to work, I had to declutter my surroundings.

Laundry was thrown into the washer, random papers were removed from the kitchen counter, toys were stored in their rightful place instead of strewn across the coffee table, coats were hung, and headphones were stored. Next, I cut some coupons, filed my son’s progress reports and watered the plants.

If I could run the sweeper without waking anyone, I’d do that too.

It’s not because I work from home, because I felt the same way when I had an office. And, even when I was an Operations Manager for a company that was bursting at the seams with business and whose staff had grown so quickly we didn’t have anywhere to put them; I had to make a desk out of a fax station that gave me just enough room to open a file folder. It looked like chaos, well…it was chaos, but I made it work because there was order.

Working from home makes it more difficult, because I have desk space and family space, but it’s nothing that can’t be solved with a little early rising. Now, and only now, can I start my work.

Right after I empty the bathroom trash cans.

    Comments

  • AlisonH


    Chuckling. I just cleared away the Sunday paper and a bunch of stuff so I could sit and knit a little bit later–I don’t mind clutter. To a point. And then it’s totally distracting.

  • Melisa


    At least you jump into action. My M.O. is usually just to sit here and complain to myself about the clutter. 🙂