Prevent Fatigue and Worry
Good Working Habit No. 1： Clear Your Desk of All PapersExcept Those Relating to the Immediate Problem at Hand.
Roland L. Williams， President of Chicago and North-westernRailway， says： “A person with his desk piled high with papers onvarious matters will find his work much easier and more accurateif he clears that desk of all but the immediate problem on hand. Icall this good housekeeping， and it is the numberone step towardsefficiency.”
If you visit the Library of Congress in Washington， D. C.， youwill find five words painted on the ceiling-five words written bythe poet Pope： “Order is Heaven’s first law.”
Order ought to be the first law of business， too. But is it？ No，the average business man’s desk is cluttered up with papers that hehasn’t looked at for weeks. In fact， the publisher of a New Orleansnewspaper once told me that his secretary cleared up one of hisdesks and found a typewriter that had been missing for two years！
The mere sight of a desk littered with unanswered mail andreports and memos is enough to breed confusion， tension， andworries. It is much worse than that. The constant reminder of “amillion things to do and no time to do them” can worry you notonly into tension and fatigue， but it can also worry you into highblood pressure， heart trouble， and stomach ulcers.
Dr. John H. Stokes， professor， Graduate School of Medicine，University of Pennsylvania， read a paper before the National Convention of the American Medical Association—a paperentitled “Functional Neuroses as Complications of OrganicDisease”. In that paper， Dr. Stokes listed eleven conditions underthe title： “What to Look for in the Patient’s State of Mind”. Hereis the first item on that list：
“The sense of must or obligation； the unending stretch ofthings ahead that simply have to be done.”
But how can such an elementary procedure as clearing yourdesk and making decisions help you avoid this high pressure， thissense of must， this sense of an “unending stretch of things aheadthat simply have to be done”？ Dr. William L. Sadler， the famouspsychiatrist， tells of a patient who， by using this simple device，avoided a nervous breakdown. The man was an executive in a bigChicago firm. When he came to Dr. Sadler’s office， he was tense，nervous， worried. He knew he was heading for a tailspin， but hecouldn’t quit work. He had to have help.
“While this man was telling me his story，” Dr. Sadler says，“my telephone rang. It was the hospital calling； and， instead ofdeferring the matter， I took time right then to come to a decision.
I always settle questions， if possible， right on the spot.
I had no sooner hung up than the phone rang again. Againan urgent matter， which I took time to discuss. The thirdinterruption came when a colleague of mine came to my officefor advice on a patient who was critically ill. When I had finishedwith him， I turned to my caller and began to apologise for keepinghim waiting. But he had brightened up. He had a completelydifferent look on his face.”
“Don’t apologise， doctor！” this man said to Sadler. “In the lastten minutes， I think I’ve got a hunch as to what is wrong with me.
I’m going back to my offices and revise my working habits.... Butbefore I go， do you mind if I take a look in your desk？”
Dr. Sadler opened up the drawers of his desk. All empty— except for supplies. “Tell me，” said the patient， “where do youkeep your unfinished business？”
“Finished！” said Sadler.
“And where do you keep your unanswered mail？”
“Answered！” Sadler told him. “My rule is never to lay down aletter until I have answered it. I dictate the reply to my secretaryat once.”