Do you have stacks of papers everywhere? Do they threaten to topple over at the slightest touch? Do you, regardless, know where everything is?
My mission at work today was to get rid of my stack. I'd been moving it (yes it - multiple stacks had mutated into one giant stack) from my desk to a work table to my bag and back again. The stack was somewhat organized, with sticky notes indicating my thoughts about the organization of what was in it, but it was still a stack. And today was the day I was going to do something about it.
So, I began. I came up with a system, labeled some file folders, punched some holes. I chatted with my fellow coaches as I worked, finally let go and recycled some unimportant paperwork, and set up a pile for the shredder. I could feel some of the stress leave my shoulders as the stack got shorter and more things found their home.
I now have a few stacks, but they are much shorter, and each will be more manageable on its own.
I do need a better system for dealing with paperwork though!
What brought about this momentum, this need to clean, to organize? Could it be the meeting being held in the room tomorrow? Could it be that it was a mindless task that my brain could handle today? All of the above?
The world may never know.
My mission at work today was to get rid of my stack. I'd been moving it (yes it - multiple stacks had mutated into one giant stack) from my desk to a work table to my bag and back again. The stack was somewhat organized, with sticky notes indicating my thoughts about the organization of what was in it, but it was still a stack. And today was the day I was going to do something about it.
So, I began. I came up with a system, labeled some file folders, punched some holes. I chatted with my fellow coaches as I worked, finally let go and recycled some unimportant paperwork, and set up a pile for the shredder. I could feel some of the stress leave my shoulders as the stack got shorter and more things found their home.
I now have a few stacks, but they are much shorter, and each will be more manageable on its own.
I do need a better system for dealing with paperwork though!
What brought about this momentum, this need to clean, to organize? Could it be the meeting being held in the room tomorrow? Could it be that it was a mindless task that my brain could handle today? All of the above?
The world may never know.
There are always piles, but like you said I always know where everything is! Good for you for tackling the pile.
ReplyDeleteI tried. I felt a little bit like just putting the whole pile into the closet!
DeleteI think paper is definitely the root of so much of our lives as educators. Systems. Papers. Moving them. All of it... I loved your ending with the reflection on why... but whenever someone is coming to visit, I definitely start working on those stacks. Great way to take an 'ordinary' moment from your day.
ReplyDeletePaper is huge. We are talking (and talking) about moving to digital portfolios. It's like cleaning your house before company visits :)
DeleteMy office desk is one giant stack at work! I usually clean it off at the end of the year, but didn't get a chance to do so, running summer library, so it's grown to gargantuan proportions this school year. May your post inspire me to pop in some Saturday to clean it up!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I'm going to try to get there for one day over April break as well.
DeleteEvery now and then I get an office day to go through stacks and it feels SO good to get rid of them. It's also a little scary because I usually find something important in those stacks and have that "Oh, that's where that was" moment.
ReplyDeleteluckily that hasn't happened yet!!!!
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