by Travis Wright
Clutter has always been a problem for me. A ‘Big Time’ problem. Mail would come in, I would put it over here, or I would put it there, or maybe in a stack over on that. Things would come into the life, and end up in a pile unattended. My office was a paper pit full of random notes, post-its, papers, bills, etc. It was a hellhole.
It would be embarrassing to have someone come into my office and hang out… due to all the clutter. But, I figured, ‘Hey, that’s just the way I’m wired. I’m a creative web designer, this is just the way I am.’
Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. There is a better way. Now that I know the way, it’s time to share the gospel.
The first book, I picked up on the subject of declutter, was One Thing at a Time, by Cindy Glovinsky. This explained to me, 100 Simple Ways to Live Clutter-Free Every Day.
In this book, I learned to:
- Put a Trash Container in each Room.
- Get a Great Letter Opener
- Rate my Memorabilia and Get rid of Crap I didn’t need.
- Open up the Curtains and windows, to let fresh air and light in
- Schedule a Regular Reading Time.
This book has plenty more good tips, and if you are looking to get organized, I recommend picking it up.
The next book in my organizational journey, was Ask and it is Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks.
While reading this book, I wasn’t expecting to get some organizational epiphany, just tips and tricks on how to manifest things that you would like in your life. Well, since organization is something I have been wanting to manifest, it came to me on page #239. Process #14. The Process of Clearing Clutter of Clarity.
Now, what we do here, is go to Office Depot or OfficeMax-type place and buy some bankers boxes, that all look the same. They recommend that you purchase 20 of them. Now, what you do with these boxes, after folding them, of course, is to put things that you don’t really NEED around and put them alphabetically in the boxes. If you don’t go the alphabetic route, then put similar things in similar boxes. Then, you use an audio recorder to state what is in each box. You would then get some 3×5 notecards to write down what is in each box.
My approach was to get 10 boxes and put them alphabetically, and have stored them in my attic. The amount of clutter gone from my radar is unreal.
The third book that I have read to help me get organized is the world famous book by David Allen, Getting Things Done. This book is the king of bad-ass productivity.
What I have learned from this book:
- Setting up an in-box for all new information
- Process this information and determine the next action for each project.
- Setting up alphabetical folders in my file cabinet to help me find the project’s information
- Setting up 43 folders, one for each day of month, one for each month in the year. These are tickler folders for things we don’t need to do, right now, but on a specific time.
- The importance of keeping your email inbox at ZERO.
- WRITE THINGS DOWN! Get them out of your head, and on paper!
All three of these books have valuable insight into how to organize your life. And by adopting some or all of these tips/tricks, you will find yourself with a lot less stress in your life. By looking at your to do’s in a new way, and thinking ahead of time, about what the next steps are on your projects. It eliminates a whole lot of stress. When new stuff comes to your mind, write it down on a piece of paper, and put it in your in-box to think about later. Work on the projects that you already have determined the next actions for.
Now, I live in a world where I have a ‘Mind Like Water’. My office is clean and organized. Most of the crap that was laying around my office, has either been thrown away, or put in bankers boxes upstairs in the attic. My bills are paid punctually, as I know where my bills to pay ARE LOCATED! There is no clutter in my office. There is no clutter anywhere. Everything has its place, and its nice to know that all I have to think about, are my project’s next actions.
This is very liberating, and I suggest you look into these three books.
Much Love-
Successfully,
Travis Wright
CultivateGreatness.com
