It’s not until you pack up your entire life, all of your possessions, and fit them into a very small space for transport on a truck across the country, that you realize how much stuff you actually have. I had no idea how much stuff I had. I wrote about it last week, but it bears repeating. It’s amazing how many things we tend to carry with us from place to place but never look at in between the long moves. While I recently wrote about something I did take a look at (I had just forgotten) there are a great many other things you simply have never looked at or used in between moves. Those items need to be a focus.get in your way
Recently I’ve had to make such a move. I’ve had to take everything in my little office, disrupt the wonderful working space I had, and trade it in for something new. I’ve got to tell you that I think the space where you do your work is important. Quite vs. Loud is one of many considerations (I prefer quit, personally) and there are many others. Many of them effected by the environment that you end up working in. Something simple, like the lack of a stapler (or, please forbid, extra staples) could be the difference between a good day and a bad day. When you do something frequently enough you tend to get into a rhythm. Everything just starts working the way it should and you don’t have to think about getting things to work because you already know that they do. This feeling is something to strive for.
The reality is that just as many of those object that are “office standards” can get in your way if you never use them. If you’ve just finished school for the semester (or if you just need a break from studying), you might consider going through your work area to find the things you don’t need, and put them in storage, sell them, or give them away. It’s amazing how much you don’t actually use those things you have piled up around or sitting near your desk. It’s amazing how happy and freeing it is to get rid of those blocks.