One thing I learned during my two years of isolation while I focused on learning every little detail about myself was the importance of clearing my workspace before going to sleep.
People “clearing their desk for the weekend” or “for the holidays” is not unheard of, but how about every day?
What I did as my last step before leaving my working area was:
Close my laptop.
Unplug everything (graphic tablet, hard drives, etc) and organize the cables.
Put away any notepads, papers, tools or any other small things away.
Throw away any trash around my desk.
That's a very detailed way of saying I basically just cleared everything out of my desk every night (clear instructions for my fellow ADHDers).
It sounds very simple and it is so it surprises me how underestimated this apparently insignificant action is.
So how can such a small thing make a difference? Let's talk about the effect it had on me.
Right off the bat I can tell you it's a magnificent wind down! It's the perfect transition between working time and rest time and an actual, palpable way to tell your brain “work is over, moving on”.
The second reason is simply the visual satisfaction of seeing the space clean and that tiny “well done, you!” booster.
But the third and most important reason is what this ritual did for me the morning after, when it's time to get back to work.
Walking into my office and seeing a clear desk immediately gave me a refreshing feeling each morning. It felt like a blank canvas, a new beginning.
A clear desk is a clear mind.
For me, avoiding visual clutter is essential for my productivity. By not having anything from the day before lying around I avoided getting pre-demoralized by any struggles or problems I might've left unsolved the previous day before I even started this one (I saved that part for when I needed to check my daily todos lol).
This feeling of “newness” made me feel motivated as I went into the current day with a “clean slate” mentality.
Once at my desk, I repeated the process of setting up everything which, again, was the perfect transition to kick me into “work mode”.
All in all, I would dedicate 10 minutes to this ritual: 5 at night and 5 in the morning. To some, this whole process might seem like a pain but to me, sacrificing 10 minutes of my time for a whole day of motivated productivity is well worth it.
After adding this into my routine I ultimately realized that a clear desk is a clear mind.
So don't underestimate the power of cleaning your workspace on the daily whether that is a desk, a station, a workshop or a kitchen.
Give it a shot and tell me how it works for you as I would love to know!
Clear Your Desk! (No, seriously)