Monday is National Clean Off Your Desk Day.  You may not know it, but the first book published on unique days was Chase’s Calendar of Events.  Mr. Chase had a messy desk.  His daughter decided he needed a special day to clean off his own desk.  So the second Monday in January is dedicated to National Clean Off Your Desk Day.  

Technically, every day should be National Clean Off Your Desk Day for everyone!

Part of cleaning off your desk is to remove items from your desk that might take your attention away from your work, or your phone call.

Family Pictures

Let’s start with something easy to fix – family pictures.

When you look at them, you think of your family — not your work. If you see your children, you think of something they did. That might make you smile, OR you might remember something else that could take you “down the rabbit hole” (waste more time) because you spend too long thinking about it and not working. –i.e. You discovered this morning that your child went to school without finishing his/her homework, and you’re thinking about what you are going to say to him/her tonight.

Hang them!

That doesn’t mean you have to remove pictures from your office, just your main work area. Hang pictures on the wall and take the distraction off your desk.

There’s another reason to hang your pictures on the wall. When the pictures are on your desk facing you, your guests can’t see them when they come into the office.  ( Just look at the picture above this article and picture sitting on this side of the man’s desk with family photos on it facing him.)

When the pictures are on the wall, they are visible to your visitors. Show them off just like the paintings/pictures and certificates on your walls.

Now you can turn and see them when you’re taking a break. This way they won’t interrupt your thinking while you’re concentrating on a project.

If your family photos are on your desk, hang them up to create more of a distraction free work area. 

Watch for the next blog with the next article on more desk distractions.

 Comment below if you have family photos on your desk and if you ever noticed how they affect you.

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