Recently clutter-expert Paul Talbot visited the Early Ed studios and critiqued the amount of clutter on each of our desks. I'm always a little suspicious of such ideology - most of the time the message is that if you haven't used something in more than a year, then you probably don't need it and should throw it away.
However, I like to think of my desk (and elsewhere) as a miniature library, filled with everything I could possibly need, at the touch of my fingers. If it takes more than 10 minutes to access something...well, that's simply too long.
According to Paul, the act of keeping everything is a sign of insecurity. I don't quite understand that. Perhaps the act of never throwing anything away is a sign of insecurity, as opposed to collecting lots of stuff that I might need one day. There's a big difference there.
Like, for example our show a couple of weeks ago when we did the story about the KPMG study of Vancouver. How disappointed would I been if I had erased or thrown out that KPMG corporate anthem I had at my desk for the last five years? Or having "Honky The Christmas Goose" at a moments notice? To put up with a little clutter is worth it in the long run.
But it's also about comfortable working environments. I do clean up my desk every so often. When it gets to the point where I cannot find something (rarely), or if a stack of CDs fall over while trying to find the pen that works (more often) then it's time to clean and re-organize. It last for about 4 months. My main problem is not putting the CD I just used back in its proper space.
Here's a little tour of the desks in the Early Ed area:
This is Margaret's desk. Not that bad, actually. Some papers and CDs on the side, but generally a very easy desk to find things on in a pinch.
This desk belongs to a temporary producer. As you can see, the lack of pretty much anything means that usually the person in question is usually not at this desk long enough to clutter it up.
Producer Laura Palmers desk may look fairly organized, but that's a rouse. The papers are stacked upon older papers, organized into neat piles, but there's enough here for a copy of War and Peace. Shhh...she spent a while cleaning it up last week too.
This is Shiral's desk, scattered but relatively organized. She keeps particular piles of paper that are important and will be used fairly often. A bit messy, but certainly not a problem area.
Jenna's desk is embarrassingly clean. What can I say? I couldn't work here. It's like those display condos; everything in it's place and no extraneous thingys anywhere. Do people actually live like that?
Ahh...good o' home! Ok, so I haven't put the CDs away in a while, and that would take care of a lot of the stuff around the sides. And the cabinet shelf above my desk has a door, which makes the space instantly cleaner. It certainly looks "lived in", doesn't it? Cozy, even. And only I have the power to locate things here too - keeps me indispensable.
Meanwhile, one of my favorite local artists, Jonathan Anderson who fronts Jonathan Inc. has contributed some gorgeous arrangements and production to the new album by Kensington Prairie. The band is pretty much Rebecca Rowan, of Maplewood Lane fame and it's a very pretty album, and from the sound of this album, I would bet that Rebecca has been listening to a lot of Rose Melberg lately (Rose's music is highly recommended!)
Coming next post...I get asked a lot, where do I get my music? All revealed in good time.
Dang, I can't find my pen now...
