The case for a smaller desk

In March I gave away my big oak desk. It had room for two monitors, a scanner, three stacks of proofs and a plant that was slowly giving up on me. The new desk is barely wider than my shoulders.

Here is what I noticed. A small desk cannot hold unfinished things. Every evening I have to decide what stays and what goes, and that small decision turns out to be the most useful ten minutes of my day.

Clutter is just a list of decisions you have not made yet.

I am not suggesting you saw your desk in half. But it might be worth asking what your workspace lets you avoid deciding.