3M

A miracle invention from the wonderful folks at 3M Corporation, Post-it Notes are small, coloured (usually yellow) pieces of paper with a strip of weak adhesive on one side. You simply write your note and stick it to anything - fridge, phone, boss(!), desk, diary.

Post-its never go away. Once stuck, somehow, they assume a sacred status. I used to work with someone who would stick Post-it Notes to his computer screen. They were never removed, and eventually, his entire screen was ringed with little yellow squares - it looked like a Microsoft sunflower.

I remember, about two years ago, taking down a book, its pages festooned with little Post-its. I started to remove and throw them away but it took a real effort to conquer the feeling that I was disturbing the markers which another person needed, even though I knew that the person who had placed those markers there had been . . . . . myself!

Is it inertia that prevents people from throwing these insidious bits of yellow away, or the fear that you could be junking something of possible value to someone else? Can we make a Post-it Note disappear by burying the wee terror at a crossroads at midnight with a toothpick stuck into its heart? What we really need is Post-it Notes that self-destruct once their primary task is fulfilled. Imagine how much more fun office life would be then. ~ Inspira