| |
| |
|
Organizing Information |
|
|
|
Clutter Campaign - Maintain Your Success
To want in one's heart to do a thing for its own sake; to enjoy doing it; to concentrate all one's energies upon it-that's not only the surest guarantee of success. It is also being true to oneself. Amelia Earhart Live Clutter-Free Forever. Have you noticed how clutter is like a boomerang--it seems to come back quickly? The best way to prevent the "boomerang effect" is to commit to a way of life that supports your new resolve to stay clutter-free forever. The five-step Clutter Campaign is not a step-by-step linear process. Instead, it is like a circle continuing in an unbroken line. You continue to design your vision, eliminate your excuses, commit your time, select your tools and maintain your success. As each new setting or challenge arrives, you know exactly what to do next. Here are six options for you to explore: ? Revisit the freedom of your clutter-free, ideal setting. As you continue the circle of your Clutter Campaign, remember your picture of your ideal setting. Remember how that setting helped you feel and operate. Identify some symbol of how good your setting can feel. This might be a set of "before" and "after" photos, a piece of art, a special set of linens, fresh flowers. Revisit this symbol regularly and use it to help you stay committed to a lifetime of living clutter-free. ? Explore holding on and letting go. Record some of your thoughts and discoveries as you have had experiences with holding on to items and letting go of other items in this Clutter Campaign. What were three items easy to let go of? What are three you now have a renewed appreciation for? What are three things you can pass on to others to watch their pleasure in using them? ? Identify other users who will benefit from your surplus. List the organizations and individuals you enjoy donating to. List their contact information and terms of accepting donations from you. Does donating your surplus make it easier to let go of things? ? Schedule time/select plan for regular attention to organizing. Identify specific times for regular organizing tasks and time blocks for the intermittent ones. Is it better for you to set aside one week a year and get everything all accomplished, or do you prefer to do twenty minutes a day, three times a week to keep it all under control? No system is right unless it works for you. Note below the time and plan you will follow. ? Create systems of support and/or accountability. What does it take to keep your resolve strong? Do you operate better from attraction to your vision or from a desire to escape the Clutter Trap? Who encourages you in your process? What method, person or process keeps you on target? Do you use rewards or incentives to keep yourself going? List three elements of support or accountability that work for you. ? Celebrate successes. In every lifetime process, we need to take time out to celebrate our successes. This helps remind us how far we have come and strengthens our resolve to continue. Sometimes the celebration is small and private, sometimes is it extravagant and public. Do you allow yourself to a special pampering, take luxurious time with a friend, take time for a hobby or passion? List some of the ways you celebrate success. Ask other people too, and record some of their responses. © Barbara Hemphill is the author of Kiplinger's Taming the Paper Tiger at Work and Taming the Paper Tiger at Home and co-author of Love It or Lose It: Living Clutter-Free Forever. The mission of Hemphill Productivity Institute is to help individuals and organizations create and sustain a productive environment so they can accomplish their work and enjoy their lives. We do this by organizing space, information, and time. We can be reached at 800-427-0237 or at www.ProductiveEnvironment.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Your Organizing DNA Do you like storing your papers on top of your desk in trays, baskets or just plain piles? Do you have a preference for Post-it notes and maybe some colorful file folders? Or are clearly labeled files and file cabinets more your style? Do you 'file' or 'pile'? I make it a practice of testing my workshop participants for this very thing because of its importance in creating and supporting an effective, organized workspace.The brain's dominance factorResearch conducted in the late 1980's proved that human beings exhibit brain hemisphere dominance in early childhood. Clutters Side Effects: How the State of Your Home Affects Your Life Each area of your home has a symbolic meaning with which you resonate on a subconscious level. Clutter and untidiness within each of these areas causes constriction and inertia in the corresponding aspects of your life. Overwhelmed? Try the Red Zone Tactic Some people seem to be born organized. You probably remember them from school: the ones who always had well-organized pencil cases equipped with erasers, sharpeners, pens, scissors and glue-sticks (probably in duplicate). Effective Closet Cleaning Tips - Let Go of More Than Skeletons I know I have a problem when I have to battle with the overflow every time I try to shut my closet door. Well, okay, it's not really a closet, more like an overgrown cupboard, but as it's all I have something's got to give. Managing Mealtime Madness It is 5:00 pm and Cindy has no idea what to make for dinner. In the process of searching through the freezer, she causes an avalanche of frozen foods to fall to the floor. Do You Have A To-Do list? I have a huge white board in my home office, about 4ft x 3ft.. The Love It Or Lose It Principle: One Simple Key to Living Clutter-Free Forever It wasn't long ago that you spent an entire weekend "decluttering" - and now you are expecting guests in two days, and the guestroom is full of "stuff" again!According to a study by the U.S. Declutter Your Home in 11 Easy Steps Feeling overwhelmed at the thought of organizing your home? Start on a smaller scale instead and it will be a whole lot easier.For example, instead of starting with the entire house, commit to starting with one room. The Top 10 Habits of Organized People Have you ever wondered how some people seem to have "it all together - all the time," while you struggle with deadlines, misplace items, and run late for appointments? Are you interested in learning the secrets to their organizing success? If so, implement the following strategies and you too will experience the joy of more focus, time and success.1. Letting Go Of Your Excuses At this point, you have probably run across some belongings that don't exactly serve a practical purpose in your life. Some items simply cannot be judged according to their function alone. Letting Go of Clutter In Your Office Some people would say I'm the last person in the world to be writing about clearing out clutter; I seem to accumulate so much of it. But I also get rid of it, when it reaches the point of bothering me. Getting Things Done: A Guide To Next-Action Lists Getting Things Done (GTD), is a productivity methodology designed by David Allen. GTD increases your productivity by getting things out of your mind, and into a reliable system that you can trust. Clear Your Clutter and Free Your Life Whatever your clutter problem the answer is the same: make a decision to clear your clutter and then take action to clear your clutter.Without action, the decision is meaningless. How Long Do I Need to Keep This? - A Guide to Receipts, Statements and Financial Clutter at Home In most homes, paper causes clutter. And it seems to mysteriously multiply by itself. Getting Organized For The New Year - Part 1 The following procedures will insure an organized and well run office. 1. Everything Fits Together Perfectly! Here's a little lesson I experienced while packing boxes for my move to Victoria, BC.I decided to pack my own belongings so that I would have more money to set up my apartment once I'd moved. Life Lessons - Get What You Want; A Lesson from a Green Sea Turtle! Sometimes major life lessons come from the most unlikely of sources. As strange as it may sound, I learned one of my biggest lessons about the importance of knowing what I want out of life and the best way to get it, from a green sea turtle. Organizing - Time is of the Essence! What does "time" have to do with getting organized? Everything! Our society today keeps us running and constantly inhaling, seemingly never allowing us to stop and "exhale"!De-cluttering our workspaces, whether it is our office, our kitchen, or our garage, enables us to be more productive in our daily lives. Once we organize our physical environment, our minds naturally become clearer. 5 Easy Steps to Making Housework More Manageable Sometimes the task of keeping a clean, tidy house just seems overwhelming. Why is that? Because it never ends! You never get done! In order to make the task more manageable and give you the feeling that you have accomplished something. Simple Ideas to Conquer Paper Clutter Are stacks of papers, mail, newspapers, and growing "to do" lists cluttering your home? Has it been months since you've seen your countertops or have you completely forgotten what your countertops look like? Paper clutter includes bills, warranties, cards, mail, memos, sticky notes, lists, letters, advertising flyers, school papers, etc. If any or all of these items are cluttering your home and countertops, follow the simple ideas below to organize your papers and gain control over the clutter.
|
| Article List | Index | Site Map |
|
All logos, trademarks and articles on this site are property and copyright of their respective owner(s).
The comments are property of their posters, all the rest is Copyright © 2006 CanadaSEEK.com - All Rights Reserved. |
