How to strip a desk — and what to put back.

Remove everything from your desk. Everything — not most things. Put it on the floor. Now sit at the empty surface for ten minutes and notice what you reach for. What you reach for first is what belongs back. Everything else needs to earn its return. Most things do not make it. That is exactly right. **The monk's process:** Sit for ten minutes with nothing on the desk. Notice what feels missing. Reach for things that are not there. Make a list. Return only what you reached for. Set a rule: nothing returns to the desk without being used within 24 hours of its return. Things that sit unused for a day do not belong on the desk. Wait a week. Then do it again. The second time is easier. **What usually stays:** The input devices. The monitor. A single notebook and pen. Water. The lamp. That is often everything. **What usually does not make it back:** Decorative objects. Chargers for devices not in daily use. Pens that are not used. Cables for things that could be wireless. The small tray where things accumulate. The desk that remains is the desk that serves you. Not the desk that represents you.