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Kelly Forrister
Taking The Rocks Out Of Your Shoes
Sharing a filing cabinet was a big step in my marriage. When my husband and I merged our home office files, we needed more drawer space. We went down to the local office supply store to get a bigger filing cabinet.
If you’ve even been in the market for filing cabinets, you know it’s a bit like car shopping. You pay for what you get and the options seem endless. There are top-of-the-line ones that promise better friends and more money that just seem to purr when you open them. And then there are ones that are slightly above a metal shoebox.
We chose the low-end one that wasn’t exactly what we wanted. After all, it would only be a temporary solution. We had talked about getting all new home office furniture, so why get the beautiful high-end one now and then have it not match the newer, nicer furniture we might get someday maybe? That plan would have worked fine, except temporary turned into 5 years.
Sliding the drawers open sounded like a cat howling. It was so lightweight, even filled with files, that it moved whenever we opened the drawers and we had to perch a foot up against it anytime we used it. An attempt to lock the drawers with the provided keys (easily interchangeable with a paper clip or anything really) proved useless and literally bent the drawer when the lock got stuck.
More than a few times we were tempted to create “To File” piles next to the cabinet to minimize the frequency of having to actually go into the drawers. Filing with that cabinet was like walking with a rock in our shoe. It got more painful and annoying as time went on.
Finally, we were fed up. We went back down to the office supply store. Five years later, there were even more options, yet I was determined and had a plan. I had done my research online and was going for the best. I wanted the one that purred and I wasn’t settling for anything less.
We drove home with our new filing cabinet like proud new parents. John took the corners carefully and I beamed out the passenger window at everyone we passed as if to say, “We have a new filing cabinet! I know, isn’t it adorable? 26” deep! You MUST come over and see it!”
We wasted no time in moving our files into the new cabinet and escorting the old one out. It’s been a week now and we couldn’t be happier. Now, believe it or not, we actually look forward to filing. It’s amazing what a difference great gear and equipment can make.
The power of GTD is about paying attention to what has your attention. Look around your office space now. Is there anything that you’ve wanted to change? Is there anything that you give more of your attention to than it deserves? Perhaps it’s time to take that rock out of your shoe.
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