You’re on a path to better balance but from where you’re standing, the trail looks cluttered and steep, and you wonder if you will ever regain control of the chaos that is your work environment.  As you survey the clutter on your desk and sort through dozens of unanswered phone calls and emails, the next thought that probably runs through your head is, “Where do I start?”  The reality of that question is usually enough to cause even the most hopeful person to put the blinders on and ignore the whole mess.  “It will never get done, so why bother?!”   Do you wish to continue your suffering or make an effort to change?  Yes I know.  You’d clean up, organize, and prioritize if you had more time!  Since the mess won’t go away unless you make an effort, why not start small?  Today choose one area of your work space to de-clutter.  Sort through emails and delete all obsolete messages, scan through your phone log and highlight the calls you will return this morning – then call them, or sift through that pile of paper on your desk and put everything in its place.  Tell yourself you won’t add any more to the pile this week.  Once you make an effort at cleaning up one ‘problem area’ you may be motivated to work on other areas too.  If you’re way too busy to even move a paperclip out of the way, hire a professional organizer to make a clean sweep of your work space.  

1  Make a list, check it twice, check them off.

Lists are helpful to organize and manage the overwhelm of tasks running through your head.  At the start of your day write a list of your ‘to do’s’.  You’ll immediately know whether you can realistically manage all you have on your plate for the day.  Sort items into ‘immediate’ and ‘by date’ categories, eliminate any unnecessary tasks.  As you tackle each item cross it off the list!