How A Clear Space Gives You Clarity To Make Decisions
In this blog Helen Sanderson, owner of Calm From Clutter, operating in North London, tells you why dealing with life’s small stuff matters. And how it can empower you.I had a great business coach once. I was struggling with the magnitude of all the work I had to do, I was in all honesty overwhelmed! He told me to focus on the big rocks of my business and to beware of getting caught up with the gravel. That is a particular challenge for anyone (especially me) who has an eye for detail and a tendency towards being a perfectionist. But all of our personality assets – caring, sharing, perfectionist, focused, chilling – need to be managed or they take over and become our masters, rather than assistants! Note to self: Good enough is better than perfect and not finished. Steve Pavlina has a great blog about this: completion-vs-perfectionGet tidy by making a serious mess
I often find that my clients get caught up in shifting around the gravel, the small details of their life, and it paralyses them. I call this ‘washing machine syndrome’: stuff in your life and thoughts in your head just seem to keep churning round. Some of you will recognise this tendency to shift piles from one place to another and create more mess in the process. The solution I suggest, and that I’ve found works, again and again, might surprise you: make a real mess! May sound crazy, but when I am decluttering it is just like that, you do create more mess on the way. The process of clearing, sorting, ordering is a messy one. But by getting all that stuff out and ‘on the table’ you really start to see the wood for the trees and make real progress. One word of caution, though: without a clear vision, direction, discipline or a guide leading a clear path through the maze, you can still end up going around in circles. To read more about this and some other common pitfalls to avoid, download my free booklet 7 mistakes people make when decluttering.So what do we do, deal with the gravel or the rocks?
Most people I work with tell me they are overwhelmed and can’t think straight and have reached a place of paralysis or depression. Clearly, this state of mind isn’t best placed for visioning your life. If your head is foggy with lots of stuff, then you can’t see out of the window to the view beyond.
So, even though in general I agree with my old coach, at times there are significant advantages to dealing with life’s gravel. Clearing some of that unfinished business that floats around in your mind can help to clear your head and your space. Part of my work as a declutter consultant is very much focused on supporting people in dealing with those little bits of unfinished business. The ‘gravel’ that’s weighing them down and stopping them from making decisions and creating the home and future they aspire to
Lists in your head?
How many of you have lists in the back of your mind that never make it to your desk? Every day the “nagâ€