Declutter before you organize.

So much has been said about organization. Yet, do you know that when you have too much stuff, it’s almost impossible to organize it.

I know that sounds odd. One thing I’ve learned from Lisa Woodruff, from Organize356.com is that we need to declutter first.

When I first listened to a podcast she did about this, I was skeptical. I have been “organizing” for years. I love it! And I also help my business clients organize for their optimal success.

As a coach, I’m always open to new thoughts, ideas and ways of doing things so while at first I wasn’t sure. But then I realized she was right.

I work with many solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who have a small team. We work on many pieces of life and business as the two go hand in hand. What comes up all the time (and I mean all the time) is the amount of clutter my clients have. Both external and internal clutter. And it needs to be dealt with before any real progress can be made. 

And it takes up so much of their time! Time they could use to increase revenues or have time to themselves.

What to declutter first.

For the sake of time, let’s take a look at a few things that if you were to declutter would save you time. And this works even if you aren’t a business owner. My clients do this for both their business and their personal lives.

There are so many things that you have that are taking up your energy, space and time. They might be different than you think, but they are not exhaustive. We’ll cover more over time but for now, let’s look at your:

• Health.
• Calendar and schedule. 
• Phone apps.

Are you scratching your head thinking “ok, one of these things is not like the other.” And by that you are probably thinking, I don’t know why health is on there and at the top.

Fair enough, let’s look at each one, shall we.

Your health.

I spent many years in the fitness industry and still keep my hand it in to this day.  I can tell you how much time people spend on their health when it is poor. Not to mention, it’s costly and it deprives you from doing what it is you want both personally and professionally.

When you take the time to clean up your health, you give yourself so much energy, time and space. Here are several ways for you to declutter in the health department:

• Stop eating processed foods and eating on the run. Redefine your eating habits. Choose healthy, for you, foods that you enjoy and have them ready especially at lunchtime so that you can easily nourish your body. By taking care of this, you’ll save time having to think about what you want, making it (or worse going to get it). My clients plan their eating weekly. They already know what it is they will eat and when they will eat for lunch (and many for dinner) prior to their work week.
• Don’t drink excessive coffee or soft drinks. Drink lots of water instead. Yes, you probably know the benefits of drinking water and if not, here is a link for you to check out.  It will give you many reasons why water is important for our overall health as well as how much you may need to drink. One of the benefits I love is that when you drink water, you need to use the restroom.  It is a built in alarm for your body to get up and move. We so often just sit and work at our computers and movement is absolutely key to our health.
• End being immobile. Move more throughout your day. While drinking water will force you to get up periodically. That is a great thing. Incorporating exercise into your life will give you many amazing benefits which you can read about here.

When you declutter unhealthy habits and start taking care of your health you will feel better. You’ll have more energy and be in an optimal frame of mind making getting things done easier and perhaps faster so you’ll save time.

You’ll find that it is easier to organize your health once you let go of the unhealthy habits and begin new ones. You will find that they fit nicely into your day and on top of that you’ll love your results.

Calendar and schedule.

Got too much to do? Racing around networking or going to meetings? What about feeling as if you have no time to do what you need to in your business and in your life?

The next segment to declutter before you can organize is your calendar and schedule.

When I work with my clients we take more time than you think to look at this area of their world. So many people try to fit themselves into a system that someone else designed and truly, it doesn’t always work.

I know, I still do it sometimes. So we are organizing our time (which we barely have enough of because we have too much clutter) around someone else’s idea of how we should “manage our time” and are frustrated that it isn’t working.

Where are you spending your time and is it the best use of your time? Are you feeling that what you are doing is a good use of your time and are you getting the results you want because of it?

If we worked together I’d ask you those questions and more so you can have a clear picture of your time.

Usually what happens is you begin to see that things on your calendar and in your schedule don’t need to be there, you don’t even want to do them in the first place but maybe are afraid to let them go. Or you don’t even know why they are there in the first place. 

Declutter your calendar and schedule and you’ll be able to organize the things you do want and need to do so you do them in less time. Again, when you do this, you save time. All good right?

Phone apps.

This one is loaded, the reaction my clients have when we talk about this area is pretty interesting.

They all (and I mean all, no one has easily said “yes, let’s delete this”) want to keep every single app on their phone!

Why? I always ask. 

Because I…(wait for it…) might need it someday.

And that’s the crux of clutter, having things we don’t use now but might need someday.

The funny thing is, we can delete them from our phones and put them back if we ever want to again. Though, truth be told, I do a follow up with my clients a month or so after they declutter their apps and no one has wanted to put an app back. In fact, when I ask them what the apps were they wanted to keep (actually fought with me to keep them), no one can tell me what they were. Telling, yes? YES!

When you declutter this area, you free up space on your phone (inside and out). You have a clearer view of what you have and can easily access and your brain relaxes because there isn’t so much “stuff” clouding the picture (so to speak). You can now easily organize the apps you use and love and have ready for you when you want them. And of course you…drum roll…save time!

There you have it. Yes, there are many more areas and we’ll talk about them in future articles but for now, commit to decluttering these three areas and start noticing how much time you have, how better you feel and how easily you get things accomplished!

Want help?

I offer a free 30 minute Design Your Success with Purpose session. We’ll get you started on the one area you know you need to most help with.  Schedule your free 30 minute session now.  If you find you want help with more, we’ll talk about what that support looks like for you.