Pre-Vacation Rituals

For some reason, before I take vacation at the end of summer, I feel the compulsion to clear/clean my desk, route my files, dust and wash old mugs, etc. Subsequently, my departure from the office on the last day is a bit manic, crazed, and much too complicated.

It starts simply enough. I start to worry about how this ENTIRE PLACE will fall apart without me (yes, delusions of grandeur for sure). Then I think I need to summarize my current work in a memo with all my files totally organized and sorted and delegate out the responsibility. Then I send many, many, many emails to everyone and their brother notifying them of my departure. But the death knell comes when I attempt to put in my briefcase the few "must do" items before vacation. Inevitably something is hard to find and with every piece of paper I have to pick up, dig out, and move, I get increasingly frustrated. So I start to clean, and sort, and purge, and file.




Several hours later, I realize how much crap I accumulate and how much dust each piece of crap has accumulated. It really is astonishing how we fill up our space, our lives, our minds with so much unnecessary clutter.

But I do love a good purge -- whether it is closets at home, or my cluttered cubicle at work. And the big benefit is I return to a much cleaner space.

So now, you've seen the "before" pictures. But for the "after" shots you'll have to wait until my return. The camera is locked in someone else's desk and I need to get home and get some pre-vacation sleep.