Facing the (Sometimes) Ugly Truth

meghandeskWe GTD enthusiasts sure do like showing off our workspaces. And, naturally, we show them off when they are looking their best: inboxes in a near-pristine state and folders lined up tidily with their labels gleaming in the sunlight. Honestly, I love it. Like many other GTD geeks, I get a perverse pleasure from looking at other people’s workstations. I get  inspired and sometimes even pick up an idea for a new way of doing something (like my new Tickler file – LOVE IT!).

But, I also think it’s important to acknowledge that GTD isn’t about always being tidy. In fact, the moments when GTD is most valuable are the messiest and ugliest moments. Take this recent snapshot of my desk, for example.

This is what it looks like after a week that included four speaking gigs, two road trips (to get to some of the aforementioned speaking gigs), an all-day conference, and two birthdays (my husband’s 40th and my son’s first). Oh, and that’s in addition to my full-time job at clockwork.net, blogging at geekgirlsguide.com and trying to maintain some semblance of a personal life. Gaaaah!

But, you know what? That’s LIFE. It’s freakin’ messy. The minute something feels “done” or “perfect” — something comes along to mess it up. The real power of GTD is in realizing that it’s not about how awesome your desk looks, it’s about realizing that — for most of us — there is no such thing as “done.” We have to get comfortable with  that fact.

Ultimately, my desk tends to reflect my state of mind: when my desk is a mess it means that, before I just go about mindlessly cleaning it, I need to get my head back in order. What are my priorities? What do I need to do? What do I want to do? What can I realistically accomplish in the time I have?

In my own life, it played out like this: on Tuesday morning last week (around the time this photo was taken), I sat down at my desk and felt immediately overwhelmed. Every inbox in my life was literally bursting at the seams. Instead of freaking out, I grabbed a very large cup of coffee and began a Weekly Review. I immediately started to feel  calmer. I checked the calendar to ensure that I could spend the day getting things back into focus. My inboxes slowly started to dwindle.  (By the way, the most frustrating thing is processing one’s inbox while more input keeps coming in — getting to zero took me all day.)  I channeled my energy either where it was most needed (urgent  emails!), or where I most felt like letting it go (Did I remember to book that hotel for our anniversary weekend?). I ended the day feeling like things weren’t perfect, but they were good enough for now, and I’d finish the rest tomorrow.

I’ll be the first to admit that this discipline of defining the edges of my own work doesn’t come easily. I’m the type of person that will stay up until 1am to finish something because I feel compelled to, not necessarily because it needs to be done. But, I’m working on it. I’m working on learning that my time is finite and I could literally spend
the next 7 days in front of a computer working non-stop with no breaks for sleep or meals and I still wouldn’t be “done.” I’m not a widget maker, I’m a knowledge worker and my work is never done.

Yeesh, it feels uncomfortable to even say that!  “Hello, my name is Meghan and my work is never done.” But, it’s true. And the more I practice saying it, the more I believe it, and the less I feel compelled to keep my inboxes at zero all the time (which, I can tell you from experience, is a losing game). The more I believe that I’m never done, the more I can choose to close my computer at 5pm and give my kids my full attention or keep my iPhone turned off on a date with my husband. These things are just as — if not more — important that my inbox or my desktop.

meghansmallSo, the question is not: is your desk spotless right now? The question is: do you feel in control right now, and how long would it take you to get there? If the answer gets a bit messy, don’t worry about it.  That’s part of the game.  After having said all that, I totally want to see your awesome desk. (Send those along to us at [email protected])

Meghan Wilker is a regular contributor to GTD Times. She’s also been featured in David Allen’s In Conversation series on GTD Connect, spotlighting some of the most fascinating people in our network of GTD’ers around the world.

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15 Comments

  1. My desk is spotless right now, but that’s only because I just did my weekly review yesterday and the first item on my checklist is ‘clean desk’.

    I think it’s completely OK to let the mess creep into your life, as long as you’ve scheduled regular times to sweep it away.

  2. Are you saying that is a messy desk? Jeeze-a-whizzers, please do not inspect my lair as it is quite definitely not remotely as neat and accessible as yours, nor am I feeling in control. I realize the Weekly Review is key, and it’s hard to make it happen. The article is lovely and inspiring. Perhaps I will read it again and it will fire me up. Thank You,
    -Brooke Millington.

  3. I totally relate to so much of that, save…

    I am a widget maker, who is also a knowledge worker, and my work is also never done. I am not sure, and don’t want to make assumptions (4 agreements is even bigger than GTD in my life if you can believe…) but I think you may have just suggested that to be a knowledge worker implies that you are not also a “maker” (I prefer the simpler term). If so !! How’s that for being impeccable in my word? :^)

    My desk (at home for sure, work’s not too bad) by the way is a s%&t-hole right now, and I am feeling too tired to care after thirteen hours at the “mill”. So be nice or I’m coming for your widgets!

    A sensitive maker,

    wave_man

  4. This article comes at the perfect time because my desk is currently FAR from perfect. In fact, clearing it off is one of the MAIN things I want to “get done” today. And my inbox is nothng close to zero. I must admit that I have fallen off of the GTD wagon and seriously need to climb back on. Where, oh where, to begin….?

  5. “Ultimately, my desk tends to reflect my state of mind: when my desk is a mess it means that, before I just go about mindlessly cleaning it, I need to get my head back in order.” Wow, Meghan, this line really spoke to me. I have been feeling overwhelmed and this brought home what I needed to do. Thanks! (And no way I’m sending a pic of today’s desk… ugh!)

  6. THANK YOU! One thing I keep reminding myself and others that eventhough we GTDers have things “orginized” it doesn’t mean that we aren’t busy – very busy!!

  7. You make me feel better! Right now, my desk is more clean than not. It’s a daily struggle, though. I’ll see about getting a picture taken later this evening to send it off to you.

  8. Great article, thank you!
    Instead of living the illusion of being able to capture the whole of the mountain of things to do, I’d rather be a happy mountain goat, being with the what’s so and powerfully dealing with any breakdowns!

  9. I’m coming off a horrendously busy 8 days:

    *A 13 hour car trip
    *The loss of a friend to cancer
    *Two major speaking engagements to prepare for and deliver
    *Leading a three day conference I’ve been planning for nine months
    *Another friend calling to say she was having heart surgery.
    *Normal work stuff

    What I love about GTD is that while I had stuff everywhere, a simple sweep of it all into my blue OFFICE folder and a quick toss of it all into my Inbasket and my desk was neat again to the unknowing eye. After tomorrow, however, I’ll be back in office and will face the blue monster and all the junk I’ve thrown to it. 🙁

    In the pre-GTD days, it would all be tossed into my bottom drawer and across my desk and the mess would bug me incessantly.

  10. John (wave_man):

    Excellent point!

    While I am a “knowledge worker” I am also, in many ways, a “maker”. There are projects I do that result in the creation of a thing (most often a web site or application).

    The main point I was trying to make was that my work now is vastly different from the job I had working in a warehouse when I was 19. I got orders, I filled orders, I went home when the whistle blew. Simple, clean and easy. I knew when my work was done because the whistle told me so.

    Now? Well, now I can do my work from home, from the office, or from a beach in Mexico (I wish!). So, it’s up to *me* to decide when the work is done (or “done enough” as I’m starting to think of it), and that can be a very hard thing to do. I don’t think our brains are wired that way quite yet. We have to remind ourselves to stop.

    I do appreciate you calling me on the finer points of how I communicate that point. I love word nerds (and the Four Agreements, too)!

    Thanks for weighing in.

  11. Meghan- I just listened to your “In Coversation” interview this morning, which I found very helpful and inspiring, so it was great to follow that up with a look at your work space! I think you put it very well when you noted that in a larger sense, we’re not “done” and that that’s not the best way to think about prefectionism; rather, think in terms of continual progress. And a work space that gets messy sometimes isn’t a problem, as long as you have a reliable method (and, ideally, time) for getting clear. Thanks for sharing!

  12. “there is no such thing as “done.” We have to get comfortable with that fact.”

    This is the best thing about GTD for me and the hardest.

  13. I agree totally Meghan – especially with your view of inboxes are never done. Mine are rarely done, well maybe for a minute or two. I have a bad habit of trying to handle my email inbox as items are pouring in, just processing them into my GTD workflow could keep me busy all day at times. I have to “just say no” and get some work done when I find myself trapped by the email demon. John

  14. I want to know what your new tickler file looks like? What did you change? What makes it better?

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