Home Office: Sustain 躾
Keep it going without willpower.
Build the maintenance habits that keep your home office working over time.
Sustain tasks for the Home Office
- Quarterly paper audit: purge anything processed and no longer needed
- Annual tech audit: is every device and cable still in use?
- When a project closes: archive the files immediately, don't let them drift on the desk
What is the Sustain phase?
Sustain (躾, Shitsuke) is the hardest phase and the reason most organisation attempts fail. It means building the habits, schedules, and accountability that keep the previous four phases working over time. The goal is a home that maintains itself — not through constant effort, but through well-designed routines that become invisible.
Common questions about the Home Office
How do I keep my desk clear?
The desk should have a base state — monitor, keyboard, mouse, lamp, nothing else permanently. At the end of every workday, return to base state. Items that resist being cleared signal that they need a designated home: a filing tray for active papers, a shelf for reference books, a drawer for stationery. Fix the home, not the desk.
How should I organise paperwork at home?
Three categories: action (needs a response or decision — maximum 10 items, reviewed daily), file (needs keeping — in labelled folders by topic), and recycle. Nothing else exists. Paper that doesn't fit one of those three categories should not be kept. Process new post the day it arrives; never let it stack.
How do I organise cables in a home office?
A cable tray mounted under the desk handles the main runs. Velcro ties (not cable ties — they're reusable) bundle cables that run together. Label both ends of every cable with a label maker or masking tape. Toss cables with no current device — they will not become useful.
How do I focus better by organising my workspace?
Visual clutter directly increases cognitive load — your brain processes every item on the desk as a potential task even when you're not actively looking at it. A clear desk is not aesthetic preference; it reduces the mental overhead of sitting down to work. The base-state desk practice takes 5 minutes and has a measurable effect on focus.
Common Home Office mistakes
✗ Mistake
Desk as the default landing zone for everything
✓ Fix
A desk is a workspace. Nothing lands on it that isn't active work.
✗ Mistake
Paper piles that "need to be dealt with"
✓ Fix
Piles grow. An action tray with a daily review is the fix — maximum 10 items.