So what do you do with this “growing edge”? Exactly what you’ve been doing, only more so. If you’ve been building a new habit and then letting it go in times of stress, which is what most people do, then you need to develop new stress habits. It’s easy to do right thing during calm, peaceful times in your life, as if any of us really have those. It’s harder when real stress starts. So what you need to do is develop a list of things you can do during a stressful time to keep your new habit going. For me, a real problem when I’m stressed is caffeine. I have a problem staying off of it, and when I’m stressed I guzzle it. My ways to avoid caffeine include not having it in house, keeping plenty of decaf soda cold, and drinking more milk. I love milk, so this is not a hardship. When I get a caffeine craving I have a glass of milk.

The bottom line on this is that action leads to solutions. Make a list of actions you can take to keep your growing edge growing, even when you don’t feel like it, and keep taking those actions. Feel free to drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing.

Once paper is off your desk, you should be able to see surface, which will probably be littered with books, pens, soda cans, memo pads, and CDs, if it looks anything like my desk. Take one category at a time, like CDs, and put all of them away. Then books, and so on.

The rest of your office may be cluttered in same way as your desk, with stacks of papers and books scattered around. Use same method. Start with paper, don’t touch anything twice, and declutter by category—CDs, books, etc. after paper.

De-cluttering doesn’t have to mean deep-cleaning, though you may get motivated and do that. Really it just means getting clutter out of way so you can work. Letting go of it is as simple as realizing you don’t need it where it is right this minute, and putting it somewhere else—even if that somewhere else is recycle bin.

A good rule of thumb is, if you can get that piece of paper again, especially by printing it off your computer, you don’t need to keep it. Now, you might, if it’s important. But just use this as a rule of thumb.

Happy clearing!