Eye on Entrepreneur   >   Desktop Control

My eyebrows fall into a frown when I witness a desk’s surface cluttered with stacks of papers, magazines, periodicals, binders, legal pads, and notepaper rising a foot into the air. Or if the workspace resembles a toxic waste dump loaded with a collection of stuff – including used coffee cups, stationary supplies, and/or personal mementos - strewn sloppily about a dusty surface. I dare to imagine what the inside of the desk drawers or filing system looks like if the organization skills displayed to the public view is this mess. It makes me also wonder how much time he/she wastes searching for a particular piece of information or how effective, efficient, and productive is their resultant work.

In general your desktop should contain what you will need to achieve your goals and objectives for the day – for the week at the most. All other material should be discarded or filed away for easy reference. Think of your desktop like a dining room table. It’s set for the business of eating when you’re ready to dine and cleared immediately thereafter. I never leave my desk for the day without purging and prepping the surface for tomorrow’s action plan.

No dust gathers on my desk or my desire to achieve my goals.

I must tell you that I love my desk - my battle station. I’ve always embraced it as my special place for making my dreams come true. Even during my early years when I shared an office with Fast Eddie at the Haverford Community Hospital Sports Medicine Center, I had my desk prepared for action. There was always ample desktop space for attacking any file or phone call, creative endeavor, community initiative, business plan, or book manuscript. And yes, I had and still have to this day personal photos, motivational doodads, memorable knickknacks resting on the perimeter of the workspace but never infringing on the battle zone. The center of my desktop is reserved for the center of my focus – taking small but significant steps toward the realization of my goals and objectives.

If you visit my office you will notice that my desk chair is positioned so within a 360-degree arm’s length I can retrieve any necessary project or financial information within seven seconds. I refer to it as my “7-Second Rule.” How would you fare with my 7-Second Rule? Or would you require seven minutes? A study among the American Women Business Association revealed that 43% of members spend 75 minutes a week searching for misplaced information. That’s a scary waste of time.

When it comes to efficiency, in addition to having a very efficient personal assistant named Sue, the essence of my 7-second secret is a two-drawer fireproof file cabinet resting to the left of my desk, a custom wall-mounted bookshelf on my left and a beautiful two-drawer credenza at my back. All personal stuff, office supplies and stationary – I still enjoy writing handwritten notes - are conveniently tucked away in the desk drawers. Hard copy files for my business investments and on-going projects and dreams are filed via category and then alphabetically in the file cabinet (See: File Management). The shelves contain handy reference books and literary memories. And within the deep drawers of the credenza are stacks of Private Placement Memorandums (PPM), business plans, and manuscripts arranged according to my interest/investment categories: entertainment, technology, and lifestyle.