I understand why it is so difficult to clean up an Org: Poison Oak

I have been WFH on and off since we started Elements.cloud in 2016.  I share a home office with my wife but I am up at 6am talking to the UK so I get it to myself and then I cycle to the ferry to go to Salesforce Tower and 535 Mission where the team works.

But the home office never felt like an office.  It was always a spare room, with my desk pointed into an alcove with poor light, wifi and lots of – important, can’t throw away, don’t know who owns it or needs it –  stuff.  Then COVID-19 kicked in and now it is my full time workspace and has been for the last 10 weeks.

So why was it on Memorial Day that I finally transformed our home office?  2 words: “Poison Oak”

At the weekend I had a severe allergic reaction to poison oak after 2 days yard work. We don’t have poison oak in the UK so had no idea it was so scary!!  Some serious steroids stopped the spread but the itching was intense and I had to be active to take my mind off it.  So I Marie Kondo’ed the hell out of the home office.  I took everything out.  I ripped out the makeshift desks. I filled the dents in the walls and repainted. And then only put back in what I really needed. Sadly I didn’t take the before picture.  But I do have the after picture and another room full of the – important, can’t throw away – stuff which was not important enough to make it back into the new office.

This took 2 days.  1 day to empty. 1 day to repaint and move back in what I needed.  I am so much happier. So much more effective. Now it is a wonderful space to work, and I am wondering why I suffered for the last 4 years.  It took less time to fix the office that the amount of time I have taken thinking about changing it, or trying to find what I need when it is buried in boxes or on overstuffed shelves.

Isn’t this a metaphor for you and your Org?

What will it take to get you started? If it will help, I can send you some Poison Oak. I have plenty to share.

cover photo by James Whitney on Unsplash