Okay, so I wanted to talk about this thing I tried recently, something I started calling the ‘haper hempel’ method in my head. It wasn’t anything official, just my own little experiment to deal with my perpetually messy desk.
Getting Started with the Chaos
My workspace was getting out of hand. You know how it goes – papers pile up, little gadgets appear, pens multiply, and suddenly you can barely see the desk surface. I’d had enough. I decided I needed a drastic change, not just tidying up, but a real reset. That’s where my ‘haper hempel’ idea kicked in.
So, one Saturday morning, I took a deep breath and just swept everything off my desk. Everything. Pencils, papers, chargers, those little stress balls, sticky notes, all of it went into one big cardboard box I had lying around. Felt pretty weird looking at a totally bare desk.
Then, I put back only the absolute must-haves. For me, that was:
- My laptop
- The monitor
- Keyboard and mouse
- One notebook
- One pen
That’s it. Looked ridiculously empty.
Living Through the Experiment
The first few days were… interesting. The core rule I set myself was: if you need something that’s not on the desk, get it from the box, use it, and then put it back in the box. Sounds nuts, right? It kind of was.
First time I needed scissors, I had to rummage through the box, cut what I needed, and then dutifully put the scissors back into the box. Same with my phone charger later that day. It forced me to really think, “Do I need this right now? Is it worth digging for?”
After about a week of this, a few things became clear. Some items I retrieved from the box multiple times a day, like my headphones and my water bottle. Those eventually earned a permanent spot back on the desk. But the box? It was still surprisingly full.
What I Learned
Looking into that box after seven days was a real eye-opener. So much stuff I hadn’t missed at all! Old cables, dried-up markers, random promotional freebies. I realized I kept them ‘just in case’, but that case never really came.
So, I got ruthless. I went through the box properly. A whole lot went straight into the trash or recycling. Some things I found proper homes for, like in drawers or shelves away from my immediate workspace. The stuff I used maybe once a week? It stayed off the main desk but was stored nearby.
Honestly, this whole ‘haper hempel’ thing, my made-up process, really worked for me. It was a bit extreme at first, putting things back in the box, but it broke my habit of letting clutter accumulate. My desk has stayed much clearer since then. It showed me pretty starkly what I actually use versus what I just keep around. Simple, maybe a bit silly, but it did the trick.
