Clutter

Clutter seems to be the focus for many people lately. Or, more correctly, clearing the clutter. Last week I spent the better part of a day clearing the inboxes of my two email accounts. I had over 300 emails in each account. I had read most of the emails, thought I should keep them because I just might need the information some day and then promptly forgot about doing anything with them. This seems like a simple issue and yet it has many layers to it.

Clutter draws our attention and often comes with a judgment attached to it. How much of your personal energy and time is spent thinking about your clutter, about how you should do something about the clutter, or about wishing you didn’t have all of this clutter? We often spend enormous amounts of time focused on thinking about clutter rather than clearing it. This is a challenge especially for people with low Workability energy. When you have low Workability it will be helpful to create a process for yourself that truly works. Here are a few tips that have worked for me.

• Create quadrants in a room and focus on clearing one area at a time
• Choose the one thing that would make you feel like you have really made a difference – start there
• Or, start with one thing that you could quickly accomplish, maybe it’s emails or a stack of papers to file
• Set an appointment with yourself (in your calendar or on your phone) – it will serve not only as a reminder, but also says that it is important enough to you that you made an appointment
• As you clear one space, and then another, you create momentum and have the experience of doing what you say you are going to do – this is very powerful!

Clutter comes in many forms – stacks of papers, piles of clothes, dishes stacked in the sink or on the counter, a full email inbox, thoughts that keep re-cycling through your mind, “stuff” in your garage and attic that is ready to be given away, and many, many more. What clutter is calling to you? What could you clear easily and create more space for yourself? What clutter have you been avoiding?

The picture above is how a low Workability creates a big meal (in this case, Lobster Souffle). It is messy and things are scattered all over. However, it all comes together, just in the nick of time!