Desk Space

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In my work world, it is irresponsible to believe that I can start at one task and expect to carry it to completion without interruption.

At any time the phone might ring, and I may spend the next 45 minutes with my phone tucked up against my ear and then the following hour putting together resources and a letter to the caller.

Or perhaps an e-mail will pop up in my inbox with a request that I translate the letter and send it internationally before I leave for the day.

Then maybe someone passes by and asks if I can help them help a friend... and they will come back in a few minutes to pick up whatever I can put together.

As each interruption arrives, I pull out the necessary tools and push the first task aside to make room for the new. And so it is that the more interruptions I have had, the messier my desk becomes. Pens get lost under new stacks of paper; I pull out my foot stool for the surface space it provides.

I think sometimes my brain works the same way. The more interruptions, the more cluttered my thinking, the harder I have to search for that barely visible train of thought that will lead me back to a previous realization.

At work, when the day draws to a close, I separate the great spread of papers into themed file folders and tuck them away, taking comfort in the ever-so-brief sheen of my uncluttered desk. Sure the system fails occasionally, but if any of you happen to know where I might be able to find folders the like of which I can store half completed thoughts until I can finish them, would you let me know?

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