Clutter, whether it’s littering your closet, computer, or calendar adds a layer of confusion and stress to everything and is a stumbling block that keeps you from attaining your goals … or even seeing them, sometimes! Time management tips can open your eyes to new potentials by helping you clear out the distracting debris of non-essentials.
These 3 wise gardener’s tips will help you find time to clear the clutter from your life. Whether it’s your To Do List, your workspace or your home that presents your greatest time and clutter challenges, decluttering is your sure path to decreasing stress and increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
To illustrate the importance of these wise gardener’s tips, here’s a brief visualization: • First envision your life as a lush and verdant garden, brimming with whatever bounty you'd love to bring into your home. • Next, picture yourself returning to your garden after a week's vacation. Quite often, that's all the time it takes for weeds move in and set up shop!
And so it is with your day. Many, many things ask for your attention. They differ in the importance that they hold for you, but they all clamor for your time and your energy. And your time, space, and energy are all finite.
And therein lies the challenge. If your limited resources of time and energy and space are given over to things that you don’t value or that aren’t necessary, then you will surely struggle to find time and energy and space for the really important things. Before you can say, “Hey, wait a minute!” the weeds overtake your garden and you are in danger of choking your own potential in all the tangle.
So, how do you open things up, once the clutter has gotten out of hand? Try these 3 Wise Gardening Guidelines to clear the clutter that is mounting in your life, whether it’s your time or your space … or both … that needs tending.
1. Divide the job into sections. Don’t overwhelm yourself, or you’ll stop. Surveying your current situation can be daunting, but adopt the philosophy of the wise gardener. You know that you might not be able to weed your whole garden in a single afte
oon. So what do you do? You divide it into sections, and clear out a piece at a time.
2. Start with the easiest challenge. You may be tempted to throw yourself at the largest obstacle, in order to make swift progress. But you can actually progress more quickly by starting small. Thinking of the garden again, you know that you build muscle, rather than strain your back, by growing strength gradually. If you have ever thrown yourself into gardening after a lengthy hiatus, you know exactly what I mean!
So, start with omitting one or two activities you're ready to let go of from your calendar. Or clear a small area in your house - maybe a countertop. Once you've de-cluttered something, you will notice the results. That, in turn, gives you a feeling of satisfaction that can help fuel your next de-cluttering effort.
3. Maintain your streamlined schedule (or cleared area) as you move forward. Remember, you are working to create a new system, so maintaining what you accomplish is key. As you incorporate a change into your routine, you build on your progress.
Again, think of the garden. After you have cleared the weeds, you admire your work, tend to your plants, and maybe mulch the area to discourage new weeds from taking the place of the old. Take time to appreciate your new spaciousness. Savoring is part of the reward that encourages you to keep going. And notice how keeping up your good work uses new sets of muscles.
As you chip away at the chaos of your day and create more time and space for yourself, you will be amazed to see what emerges! That's because clutter not only clogs your time and your space, it clogs your energy, your creativity, and your confidence, as well.
Of course, letting go of habits is hard. And clutter, in your life and in your surroundings, is nothing if not a habit! But see what approaching this issue with steadiness, curiosity, and compassion does for you. Before you know it, you'll start seeing changes. So start small, stick with it, and reward every positive step that you make. Don't expect magic, and magic will happen!
So, how will you start simplifying your life today?
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