Purging to Increase Focus and Efficiency

Cluttered Desk Drawer

Have you ever watched Hoarders on the A&E network?

Do some of those houses make you nauseous?

How messy is your house or your office? Have you ever thought about decluttering your space?

Decluttering and tidying up seems to have become a huge trend recently. Marie Kondo wrote a book called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing that apparently a zillion other people have read beside myself.  She’s everywhere, including The Wall Street Journal.

For me, this was life-altering. It’s all I could talk about and think about for about a month straight.

I purged. I donated. I did it all. (Ok, maybe not all since I’m still not finished.)

Recently I was asked to be interviewed by the great folks at UnStuckable and also to write a guest post about my experience with purging. Granted, I was nowhere near the level of these tv examples.

In the podcast and the article (links coming soon), you’ll get a pretty good picture of the benefits I found in doing a huge purge.

I can’t recommend it enough.

Decluttering and purging brings great focus

What I don’t elaborate in those pieces much is that purging brings great focus.

Here are some random office examples and the benefits they brought me:

  • My desk is now clear, which allows me not to be distracted
  • Computer cables and adapters have been severely minimized and stored, decreasing the time and hassle of finding what I need
  • Getting rid of office supplies frees up drawer space that can be utilized more efficiently. No need for finding other ways to store things (i.e. another cabinet)
  • Books have been donated allowing only those that I truly value to take up space. One large bookcase has been removed (out of two)

My new office space is a place where I can now focus, increasing my efficiency and productivity. Not only that, I love being in there now!

Tidy Up Your Task List

Don’t stop at your physical space. Bring this concept to everything you do, including your task lists.

I recently met a client who uses task management software. When I glanced at it, I saw a list about 30 items long. And that was just what I could see on the screen. That list went on for a few screens.

I get it. We all have a lot of stuff to do.

My list is long too. One main reason is because I write everything down.

If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist.

However, with a little bit of organizing, my list looks a lot more manageable and not so overwhelming.

I can focus on the most important things. The MITs. The Frogs.

Every month, I also reflect on my list to see what truly needs to stay on it. Nobody wants a long laundry list of tasks so do some purging.

Circumstances change in your life. It’s ok to purge things that you once thought were important to do.

 

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