Where's Your Glue Spot?

More and more I have noticed that most clients have a glue spot in their office or home. You know this place. Whenever something gets put there, it never moves. That specific spot has really good glue all over it and when an item gets put down, its stuck.

Sometimes we just don't see the items in this spot once they've taken up residence there. Sometimes the location is hard to clear out because of its location or things around it. Whatever the issue, the glue spot will forever keep attracting and holding clutter unless you attack it deliberately with some anti-glue strategies.

1. Figure out where the glue is. Prime locations are the floor, just inside the door of your office, (usually the first flat surface), behind the door, under the desk or in a corner behind the desk. Often people have a special glue spot on one corner of their desk. You know the one - you are probably looking at it now.
2. Designate 15 minutes today to clear this spot. Make sure the items that you clear find a home that they can be returned to every time you use them.
3. Designate 15 minutes tomorrow to clear this spot.
4. Designate 15 minutes the next day ... and so on until the spot is clear of debris, clutter or anything else that may have been stuck there.
5. At the end of each day, keep aside 15 minutes to clear this glue spot. Make this a daily ritual.

Glue spots exist, I believe, as a result of our own organizing personalities. Trying to make them go away may be more futile than helpful. Managing the spot will help you to keep yourself and your space organized so that your work life is as productive as possible.