Whether you fight clutter isn't a matter of right or wrong; it's about what you want to accomplish.
— John Maxwell

Our church office area was designed for clutter — not the clutter of paper and files; rather, the cluttering of the pastor's schedule.

The door of the pastor's office opened into the waiting area of the administrative lobby. When the pastor exited his office, he couldn't help but see whoever was there for whatever reason. Being a people person, I would walk up, kiss the baby, and say, "How are you doing? It's good to see you. How are the kids?"

In the process I would hear an illness described or learn of something I needed to do.

Although I enjoy interacting with people like that, I found it distracted me from larger issues. It lessened my effectiveness. It was clutter.

Clutter is anything that distracts, that takes me out of focus, that keeps me from thinking or doing what I ought. Clutter is weight, baggage, whatever bogs me down.

Time wasters, for instance, are clutter. A tiff ...