Reading time: Less than 1 minute
This is my weekly installment of “writing about writing,” in which I scan the world to find websites, books and articles to help other writers. Today I discuss the tidy office of Joshua Becker….
My office is mildly cluttered right now. And I don’t like it.
I know I think better, write more effectively and work more productively when my office is tidy. My vague feelings about the benefits of tidiness were recently articulated by Joshua Becker, the founder and editor of the blog Becoming Minimalist.
Here’s a link to his post under the headline: “The Possibilities of a Decluttered Writing Space,” in which he summarizes the main benefits of a tidy office as follows:
- Less distraction
- More freedom
- Increased self-confidence
- New opportunities
Then, he concludes, “A clear writing space offers a clean slate—a place to begin again and consider endless possibilities. Even if your new day consists of completing yesterday’s project, reopening a file provides a fresh starting point and new perspectives for tackling a problem or task. That’s one of the reasons I clear my desk every evening before ending work.”
If you’d like some advice about how to declutter your office, check out Becker’s blog right now, for some practical advice. (That’s a photo of his office at the top of this post.)
As for me, I’m about to go clean up my desk. My thanks to friend and colleague Annie Hungerford-Lowell for forwarding the Becker post to me.