Pet Peeve of the Day

I've talked at length before about putting stuff on my chair.  Thankfully that hasn't happened in a while. 

But something else did happen, and I'm on the fence about whether it's just as bad or even worse.

I have an inbox.  It's the first thing anyone sees coming into my workspace.  It directly faces the entrance and has a big "IN BOX" label.  Pretty hard to miss, yet many people manage to.  Apparently I work with the vision-impaired.

I come back to my desk after a lengthy absence, and there's one more pile on my desk than when I left.  Yes, I keep track of these things.  If I hadn't been, it might easily have been mistaken for one of my many "to be done later when I'm not busy" piles.  It turned out to be something that has to be done immediately.  This could have been a disaster, except for my anal-retentive obsessive-compulsive healthy work habits.

The lesson:  always keep your desk organized, and memorize what is on it when you leave.  When you return, compare and immediately account for any differences.  Because the attorneys WILL expect you to know they gave you something, even if they don't put it in your inbox, or put a post-it on with instructions, or even send you an e-mail saying "by the way, I gave you ___".