I am just about ready for a melt down in my house when it comes to the clutter. The problem is that I know that if I took the time to clean up my work area, I would eventually save time because it wouldn’t take so long to locate things. However, I also know that it will take about a day, maybe two, before things are back to looking like a bomb exploded on my desk.

This is also true for the area where I make most of my jewelry. In fact, it’s to the point now that I have about a 6 by 6 inch square on my work bench, and now that I’m working on another book, I really, really need to make some jewelry. But, like my desk, again, it will take a few days before it is messy all over again.

At least I can say that I’m not alone. From “World of distractions:”

People spend an average of 30 percent of their work time hunting for documents that are sometimes buried under phone messages, sticky notes, paper piles or personal items, such as coffee mugs, cell phones and framed photos, said Peter Godinez, an office technology consultant of Performance Group, a Ventura firm that helps companies get organized.

FastCompany Magazine concluded in its study that executives waste six weeks per year searching for lost documents.