One of the biggest pet peeves I have is dishes piling up in the sink. Not only does it totally gross me out, but I can’t start cooking with all of the countertop space consumed by dirty dishes–this is what gives the dishwasher the starring role among other appliances in the kitchen.  It is an out-of-the-way space to store dishes until it is full enough to run.  The key is this: after the dishwasher is finished, it needs to be unloaded.  The dishes have a place — the cabinet — not the sink, countertop, or dishwasher.

In the highly fluid office of a general contractor, items in my inbox are constantly reassigned priority levels, especially when the newest five tasks needed to be done last week. It is all too easy to pile up filing on my back counter and say to myself, “I’ll do it later.”

Office Manager Tip: Filing is like doing the dishes; do it in regular loads, or run out of counter top space.

— Riggins Construction (@RigginsConst) April 30, 2010

The back burner seems to be the purgatory of choice for incomplete tasks with even a slightly-lower priority; more often than not, this is the default for filing. A secretary I once worked with, who will remain nameless to protect her innocence, often left the back burner burning for quite some time. This would create more problems than it was worth: missing information, can’t find an invoice, where is the letter I received from Mr. So-and So?, and their cohorts. Ideas on time and task management were answered with the all-too-predictable response of “I don’t have time.” Continue reading →