Photo Credit: Jeffrey Beall via Compfight cc
When you look at the above photo, what do you see?
(Hopefully you don’t see your own office.)
What are the words that you start thinking?
unorganized?
chaos?
messy?
distracting?
yikes!?
You could accurately describe this office by using any of those words.That would be a nightmare to work in everyday. But, if your life resembles this photo in any way, here are 3 rewards that taking the time to declutter will give back to you:
1. Taking the time declutter cuts down on distractions.
When you have everything in order around you, then you can concentrate on what really matters. You don’t have time to be distracted by things that have an easy fix. Save that time for the more important things in life and take notice on how cleanliness increases your focus. Maybe I am just talking to myself here, but I accomplish more when the area around me is clean.
One idea here is to go as paperless as possible and create an effective filing system to achieve a cleaner area.
2. Taking the time to declutter actually gives back time.
The items that you need are easier to find when you know where they are. “Put things back where you found them” begins to have a bigger impact when those items are necessities to your everyday life. Having a specific spot where you place the essentials has really helped me on my computer. When I know where files are at on my computer, I can get more done in my day. This is just one practical step, but you can begin to apply this small habit in every life area and focus on something else that needs more of your attention. Find ways to turn everything into a routine that you can in your life and take notice to how much time you can save in a day.
The initial time it takes to go through things will feel like a burden, but it will be worth it in the long run.
3. Taking the time to declutter puts you in a better mood.
When your mind is clutter free, then your perspective is different. There are less “not fun” tasks to think about and more free time to do the things that you enjoy. You can take control of your mood by accomplishing those little things that take up mental capacity.
Start with setting aside 15 minutes in your day and taking the time to declutter the areas that need attention.
What is one thing you can do to make things cleaner in your life? You can leave your comment below.
One specific thing I did recently was to purposefully take a sabbath from social media and fill that time with housework I’ve been neglecting. With smartphones nowadays, it can be very easy to check up on the latest tweets, FB comments or other social media forums then get caught up easily in a digital conversation. Next thing you know, a lot of time passed and tasks that needed to get done isn’t.
Great tips…thank you!
Good points! I know exactly what you are talking about, Joe.
One specific thing I did recently was to purposefully take a sabbath from social media and fill that time with housework I’ve been neglecting. With smartphones nowadays, it can be very easy to check up on the latest tweets, FB comments or other social media forums then get caught up easily in a digital conversation. Next thing you know, a lot of time passed and tasks that needed to get done isn’t.
Great tips…thank you!
Good points! I know exactly what you are talking about, Joe.
This is so true. I can’t get anything done until my workspace is clean and free of clutter. I wrote a similar post on my blog because I’ve been so meticulous with stuff like this. Great post Adam!
Good stuff Leo. Checking it out now.
This is so true. I can’t get anything done until my workspace is clean and free of clutter. I wrote a similar post on my blog because I’ve been so meticulous with stuff like this. Great post Adam!
Good stuff Leo. Checking it out now.
I had a laugh at myself,it´s as Mr.Leo said below or above so true. I´m a mess with all the notes I have from a whole bunch of different ideas all stacked in the same little notebook. I should start organising them in several notebooks, cause I spend 30 minutes going through all those ideas, I like one and say I can use this today then I keep reading and say I like that one too lets use it today with that other one, and by the time I stopped going through all the notes I forgot what the hell where the ones that I wanted to use and go back again and then write them down on a different piece of paper. This advise should be obvious, but it´s obviously necessary.
Ha. Well, I like your idea about the different notebooks. Try that out and let me know how it works, Charly. Thanks for reading.
I had a laugh at myself,it´s as Mr.Leo said below or above so true. I´m a mess with all the notes I have from a whole bunch of different ideas all stacked in the same little notebook. I should start organising them in several notebooks, cause I spend 30 minutes going through all those ideas, I like one and say I can use this today then I keep reading and say I like that one too lets use it today with that other one, and by the time I stopped going through all the notes I forgot what the hell where the ones that I wanted to use and go back again and then write them down on a different piece of paper. This advise should be obvious, but it´s obviously necessary.
Ha. Well, I like your idea about the different notebooks. Try that out and let me know how it works, Charly. Thanks for reading.
I once had (think I will start again) one notebook with those colored sticky’s and I divided the notebook in 4 or 5 different subjects – worked for me. Off to the notebook store.
Awesome, Marguerite. We all find different things that work for ourselves.
I once had (think I will start again) one notebook with those colored sticky’s and I divided the notebook in 4 or 5 different subjects – worked for me. Off to the notebook store.
Awesome, Marguerite. We all find different things that work for ourselves.