Bill Myers - December 27, 2008

OK, I know this is going to sound crazy. But bear with me.

Over the Christmas Holidays, my wife and I spent the day after Christmas re-arranging our offices.

We cleaned up all the clutter, cleared away a year's worth of 'I'll get to it' debris, disconnected our computers, and re-arranged the furniture.

In my office and hers, we positioned each light, each chair, each desk and our individual computers so they were in the 'right' place.

Our goal was simple.

To create a inviting environment to work in. A place we looked forward to spending time in, and a place that eliminated stress rather than add it.

Because so many of us spend so much time in our offices, we sometimes don't see the slow creep of debris that can make the office a not so appealing place.

And working in a 'not so appealing' place definitely can cut down on your productivity.

So spending a few hours at the start of the new year cleaning up and re-arranging your office to make it a more pleasant place to work, can give you a jump start on the new year.

Your newly cleaned, newly rearranged office will give you a fresh outlook and help prepare you to take on the new opportunities and challenges the new year will bring with it.

So next time you're in your office, look around. Is it time to do some house cleaning?