I have a small office space with a wooden desk which I work on. A neatly placed Apple Mac lies on top next to a small pile of papers that are relevant to my current work. An orange ‘Mr Splat’ which is in essence a rubber man who has been squashed so I can lay my coffee cup on it sits next to my desk lamp. A pen rests on ‘post it’ notes that fuel my creativity. A few of my business cards lay neatly stacked with two business cards collected recently in Cape Town placed on top.
BUT
Beneath my desk is a grey box.
The lid of the box has to be encouraged to close. It holds every bit of paper which I still need to file, older business cards I collected, calculator, stapler, relevant cables and the most daunting of all - unopened post - lots of it.
It’s order and chaos in close proximity.
The thing is the grey box is for my eyes only anyway. You may look at the state of my workspace and get an idea of my character and working style.
Point is its not the full picture.
I need to spend time going through the grey box. I find that when there is some structure, some order, it creates space for me to be even more creative and productive. But I ignore it. Despite knowing how important it is, I don’t prioritise it. I just keep going and keep adding. I don’t stop.
Just like I need to spend time going through every file I have dragged off my desktop into the ‘to clear’ folder so you can see the full pic of U2’s stage.
Just like my clean room has built in cupboards...
Just like that ordered, neat image you are projecting has a heart and soul behind it that could be very much like my grey box. Full of a bunch of stuff that needs dealing with.
It’s easier, I know, just to chuck more stuff down there with the intent ‘to clear’ so that the outer picture looks good. It always rises to the surface. My grey box has a certain capacity and one day that one envelop will be too much for the box to carry and the lid won’t close exposing its contents to the world.
Order and chaos in close proximity.
When will you stop in the pace of life and deal with what really counts?
When will you open up the box and clean up the contents, create some order?
I am keen to get to the place, as an entrepreneur, that I can truly say that my desk and the grey box beneath it represent the same person.
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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com