i have the pleasure of getting to run and/or walk with up to ten people each day of the week. usually we talk about eating habits, lifestyle changes and exercise all depending on how each person’s week is going and the challenges they are facing.
this weekend, a client and i were discussing different ways to incorporate healthier lifestyle habits into her life. as we talked, we both realized that we were living with excess clutter in both our working environment and our personal space. To the random observer, neither of our situations might appear that bad. But to us they seemed unorganized which prevents us from being as productive and efficient as we need to be. for my client, her clutter was preventing her from being focused on healthy eating. for me, it was preventing me from being as efficient at work as I would like. we both made a pact to try to eliminate the clutter and reorganize this week. THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE is to eliminate the clutter!
here are a few tips to help you eliminate the stress and the mess:
* CLEAN UP YOUR COMPUTER – we all have them… random folders and files that need to be deleted. or icons on our desktop that lead to nowhere. and let’s not forget emails that need to be either opened or deleted. another thing to look at is your facebook or twitter connections – if there are posts that annoy you or bring you down, then they probably should be deleted as well.
* REORGANIZE YOUR WORKSPACE – a very successful businessman once told me that the key to his success was that his workspace was always clean and organized and that his inbox was always empty. he never left work until all work was done or delegated and all calls were answered. he said this gave him the peace of mind to focus on big picture ideas or to just relax. cleaning up your office space is the first step to making this a habit.
* AUDIT YOUR KITCHEN – we have issued this as challenge of the week before, but it is never a bad idea to clean out your kitchen and restock it with healthier food. just having it cleaned up may lead you to making healthier eating decisions throughout the week.
* HIRE A HOUSEKEEPER – it may seem like a frivolous thing to do for many of us, but having a cleaning service come by for a one time or once a month visit may be the best money you have spent in a while.
* CLEAR YOUR MIND – getting the clutter out of your head on a regular basis is important too. take an hour out of your week or thirty minutes out of your day to meditate or just lay down and take a random nap. i would also suggest yoga as a great way to get the clutter out of your mind.