Clutter: What It Is And How It Affects You;
You want to be more productive. You want to accomplish more. And, you want to do it faster, easier and with less effort so you have time to do all the other things you want to do in life. You want more free time to spend with your family, to enjoy your hobbies, and relax!
You can enjoy all of this by learning how to better manage your time and tasks. It sounds simple and it can be. But, there’s actually something you need to do first. You need to optimize your environment so you can get better results. And that typically means clearing the clutter.
Clutter stands in the way of your productivity.
Clutter is one of the biggest obstacles to accomplishing your goals. When you can’t find things, you waste time. When you’re constantly pulled off focus because your eyes are drawn to the big mound of dirty laundry, the stack of dusty books in the corner, or the empty coffee mugs on your desk, you automatically decrease your productivity.
Physical Clutter
Clutter takes a variety of forms.
Physical clutter is, by far, the most common and obvious type of clutter.
You can see it. It takes up physical space.
It can make it impossible to work or, if it’s really extreme, to move around your environment with ease.
Everything from papers to client files, from stacks of books to your collection of gadgets — all of these things can be categorized as clutter.
And, There’s More!
Mental Clutter 
Mental clutter can take the form of thoughts, beliefs and attitudes.
They act as filters through which you interpret everything in life.
These may be habitual ways of thinking that don’t serve you and which may be detrimental to your well-being, not to mention your relationships with others.
These take a bit more effort to clear, but it can be done. Creating a more productive mindset, by processing and clearing false beliefs, is the foundation of the personal development movement.
Digital Clutter
As our lives are being transformed by bits and bytes, you now have to deal with digital clutter.
One example is when you work with a dozen tabs open on your computer browser. There might be a reason why you need a few of them open, but more than likely, they’re creating more distraction and actually decreasing your productivity.
Additional examples include a disorganized hard drive or cloud space, a messy computer desktop, or passwords that are scattered all over the place.
We all know that serene feeling of gazing upon a simple garden or walking into a spotlessly clean room or office.
It’s freeing, uplifting, and, most of all, inspiring.
The environment feels spacious and calm, even if it’s a small space.
Similarly, we all know how the opposite feels. If you walk into a messy, cluttered home or office, it feels stressful, constricted, and can sometimes trigger feelings of anxiety. Our eyes are taking in a lot of visual stimuli which triggers our brain to try to make sense of it all.
The first thing to do is to assess your mental, physical, and digital clutter.
If you’re not quite ready to dive into clearing clutter, simply make a list of things you want to clear.
It’s easiest to start with physical clutter.
You’d be surprised how wonderful you can feel by taking focused action in this one area.
The reason for short clutter clearing sessions is that it begins to surface emotions and create mental exhaustion.
For some folks, it’s very uncomfortable to make decisions about keeping or discarding things.
If you need assistance, consider enlisting the services of a professional organizer who can either coach you through the process or who can work alongside you to make the process easier.
The next step — take action!
Once your list is complete, decide to focus on one thing only.
To prevent feelings of overwhelm, start with one small area — maybe your work desk or your file cabinet (or even one drawer of a file cabinet).
Next, set a timer for 15 minutes and sort through everything very quickly, discarding anything that is old, outdated or no longer needed.
Challenge yourself to repeat this process each day for 7 days — either within the same area or select a new one.
If you can focus on this for longer than 15 minutes, go for it. Otherwise, limit yourself to short periods of time
One Small Action Every Day
Clutter doesn’t serve you.
It stands in the way of everything you want to do.
Once you understand how it affects you, you can make different choices.
Take just one small action each day and see it change how you feel and your overall productivity.
You’ll be happy you did!
In the next post we’ll look at 5 Tips To Set The Stage For A Productive Work Space
If you found value in the post please share it. Feel free to comment below and let me know what clutter you have to get rid of…
10 replies to "How To De-clutter Your Life. – Part 1"
Hi Marlene,
I have clutter in all of the categories you mention in the post. Thank you for your practical tips, I look forward to reading your next post.
Hi Linda
I think we all do 🙂 although we don’t always like to admit it!
Hope you’ll find the tips in the next post helpful.
Welcome to the group Marlene and this is one area of everybody’s life that always needs work especially mine. I had a quick look through your tips and will be taking a longer look later and implementing some of them. I’m looking forward to your next post.
To your success
DaveT
Thanks, Dave. I’m so glad I can be part of this amazing group!
I hope the tips in the coming posts will be of help to you.
Wishing you lots of success too!
Marlene, you’re awesome! What a post. Don’t hold back because you just hit a home run with this article. I’m going to sign up so I can follow your posts. I’ve got loads to learn from you 🙂
Hi Andrew
Wow, thanks so much for the great comment and compliment. You absolutely made my day 🙂
Thanks for signing up. I really appreciate it and hope that my future posts will bring great value.
Wishing you loads of success!
Thank you Marlene. Your post is written just to the point and something I need ( and probably most of the people who work from home). I have tried to declutter my life to progress in different areas so your practical tips are very supportive to do so. I will follow your next posts on the subject.
Hi Aleksandra
Thanks so much for the kind words! I’m glad you can use the tips to help you de-clutter! I’m sure you’ll find the next post valuable too 🙂
This was a highly informative and well thought out post. You are on your way. Welcome to the group. I can feel the energy in your writing. Going to have to keep my eye on you. You are an inspiration. Keep it up.
Hi David
Thanks for the kind words and the welcome!
I feel very blessed to be part of the group and hope I can contribute a lot of value 🙂
Wishing you loads of success!