Cleanliness is Next to...

Don't you love a clean desk?

Unfortunately, the desk is only clean because I dumped everything here:

 and here:

On the other hand, it may comfort a few readers to know that some things never change.

Today's Question

How can I put my hands on the same piece of paper multiple times over several weeks in the course of other tasks, yet still never find it when I specifically look for it?

Sinking to a New Low

Enough said?

Organizational Advice

Not sure how to decide which office papers to keep and which to discard? Here's a simple, sure-fire way to dramatically decrease the deliberation time:

1. If you aren't sure about the item, stack it on your desk.
2. Revisit the stack one to three years later.

Nice Surprise

I got to work this morning after a holiday break and a day of being sick, feeling less than enthusiastic about the day and week ahead. So it was a nice surprise to see that I cleaned my office (somewhat) before I left last week.

I know that to the uninitiated, the office still looks like a mess, but believe me--it actually looks great. I should be kinder to myself more often!

Being Human

I will meticulously check the size and position of every text box in my PowerPoint presentation to ensure they are exactly the same.

On the other hand, I'm perfectly OK with the permanent detritus that floats on the floor below the bed.

How I Pass the Time

One of my favorite parts of working at the reference desk is perusing the new books, all of which parade past the desk on a bookcart before going to their new home in the stacks. I always feel a thrill when I arrive at the desk and see a new cart has arrived.

Investigating the new book cart is a great way to add to my "books to read" list, even though I don't need help finding titles. Here's one I added last night:



And the best fun of all is rearranging the cart's contents in call number order. It makes me feel so happy and peaceful to impose perfect order on one small part of my world.



Now if only those new books weren't so naked...