A week ago tonight I did my first fifteen-minute session, clearing clutter from my desk top, which looked like this.

Desk New Year's Day 2009

Tonight, I paid the last bill, wrote the last check, and filed the last document. (The check was to Sierra Club, btw, to help them lobby Congress to protect Giant Sequoia National Monument from logging.)

I also took care of a couple of new pieces of mail that landed on my desk today and required immediate attention. Here’s my desk now.

Desk free of clutter 01-09-08

The rolodex, book and cards, lotion and headphones are staying because I use them too frequently to be getting them out and putting them away. Er, I suppose that’s not absolutely true about the book and cards. I keep them because they comfort me.

How I feel: Blessed! Yes, I feel blessed. Strangely, I feel as though I can breathe better. Perhaps the Feng Shui people are right about freeing energy when we free clutter.

Strategy update: Lay a plan for keeping the desk clear.

Next: Begin clearing the clutter in the desk drawers. (More on that tomorrow.)