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VetVine Client Care

Posted On Nov 18, 2015

Updated On Jun 25, 2025

The True Cost Of Clutter

Wellness Wisdom

Originally contributed by Gwen Pettit, PT, PCC, MA, MS

When I start to get overwhelmed my office can become very messy and cluttered. That clutter will then distract me from bigger and more critical projects. I used to rationalize that it was best to leave stacks of notes and "to dos" - so that I could continually see them and not forget about them. The reality, however, was that I wound up spending too much time looking for that one piece of paper that I needed for an upcoming phone call. Does this sound familiar?

Springtime often brings out the feeling of a need to clean - to clean out offices, piles of paper and even computer files. The tough part - for many - is deciding where to start. To keep things in line, it's important to first decide how much time you are willing to dedicate to the project. After committing to that, the best practice is to then break that project down into smaller steps - ranked by the level of importance or time sensitivity. Once you've defined those things, you can then consider these four steps: 

  • Step 1:  Schedule a time to clear the clutter - put it on the schedule.
  • Step 2:  Go through all of the piles and make a decision to either file it, read it, or throw it out.
  • Step 3:  Pull out anything that requires an action (e.g. setting up a specific time to return phone calls or complete charts) and delegate whatever you can to others.
  • Step 4:  Set up a system for filing or keeping items and make sure they're in a place where you can find them again! This can be a physical file system or on your computer. Only use your schedule for time sensitive things, not as a to do list. 


    I had a job once (my worst new job as a manager) where the previous manager had kept scraps of paper with notes on every past meeting. It was impossible to tell what was important or just interesting, and it was stressful to even think about sorting through it all. I started a habit of clearing out files every Friday afternoon. That simple action decreased my stress, gave me confidence, and ensured that management notes and decisions were not going to be found on scraps of paper. It was the experience and interactions with the people in my office that made my job interesting and successful, not reading through every document in a file.


Create a system that will encourage you to regularly discard extra or unnecessary items. Keep it simple, start small, and have fun throwing out the clutter.  Doing so will minimize the amount of time you spend trying to find things, free up your brain to focus on higher value activities, give you a sense of fulfillment, and improve how you feel in your space.