Commercial Clutter

This post originally appeared in The Commercial-Free Mind, March 2004.

The Costs of a Messy Desk

How clean your desk at work is is mainly a matter of style — but not entirely. Writing this morning in Fortune, Mina Kimes describes the “clean desk policy” at Audi, which parallels that of dozens of other corporate workplaces. The reason for a clean desk? “We want to create a sophisticated atmosphere,” says executive vice president Johan de Nysschen. “It’s conducive towards organization.” But appearing competent and sophisticated is not the only argument in favor of a relatively organized office desk.

How Much Clothing Does It Take?

Some people know they have too much clothing. Others are not sure. But the amount of clothing a person needs is far less than most people imagine.

The confusion about clothing comes from the huge improvement in the durability of textiles that happened a generation ago. Clothing made since 1990 is about five times as durable as clothing made before 1970, and we have not yet fully adjusted to this.

What Are You Setting Yourself Up For?

My friend Rhoda had told everyone about the health benefits of ginger, so it wasn’t too surprising when she came back from a weekend goal-setting workshop and said she had a plan to start selling ginger to the world. She even showed me the plan, 15 pages of circles, lines, and small handwritten notes. By Friday, though, she wasn’t so sure.

Pretend You’re Moving

In Fear of Nothing, I mention moving as one of the events that can change your perspective on your possessions. Moving is so expensive, in such an obvious way, that you know you cannot move everything. You have to let go of some of the less important items. But you don’t have to wait till you move to get the benefit of this change in perspective. You can start preparing for your next move, even if you have only a vague idea of when it might be. Or you can pretend you’re moving.

Space Journaling

Sandy Grason writes regularly on the use of journaling for personal transformation. I came across an article of hers that addresses the basic problem of clutter in the way that I advocate in Fear of Nothing, by focusing on the quality of space, but with a flair I couldn’t pretend to imitate. Sandy graciously offered to let me repeat her article here.

Book Cover Revealed

Readers have been asking for months what the Fear of Nothing book cover will look like. Finally, here it is.

How I Went From Writing About Computer Programming to Writing About Life

There is good news on the book Fear of Nothing. A week ago I got the 7th draft back from the editors, who say it’s now final. I am now getting the book ready to go to press, and to record as an audio book. It’s my goal to get the book in your hands in time for your new year’s resolutions — which I hope will include tearing up your to-do list (more on that as the new year gets closer).