Clear Clutter from your Mind and Work Space - Step 16 of 21 Days of Focus

When you clear clutter from your mind and work space, you will increase your focus. Perhaps clutter is not an issue for you. If so, congratulations! But I would venture to guess that almost everyone deals with physical clutter and mind clutter to some degree.

Physical Clutter

For me, I had both issues to deal with. While I would never consider myself to be a slob, I haven’t been a neat knick either. When it came to my desk, I always struggled with piles of paper. My filing system was all in my head. I knew exactly where each piece of paper was, unfortunately, it was all on top of my desk!

While I wanted to have less clutter on my desk, I was too busy to do anything about it. Frankly, I didn’t think about it until a sales person came into my office one day and exclaimed, “Oh, Jackie!” My first reaction was, “What? What happened? Did you lose the sale? Did a client cancel?” She said, “No, look at your desk.” Oh! Well, I became more conscious that day!

When I quit working in the corporate world to work out of my home, I hired a Feng Shui consultant, Samantha Shields. Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of placement that brings clarity, energy and success to your personal and professional life. It shows how to create good Chi, or energy. Clutter blocks the flow of energy. Everything has energy.

If you don’t have a place for everything, create one. I love colored file folders, so I’ll make it a point to file away the most important papers like copies of tax forms, receipts and other paper. I know that some folks scan all of their documents and file them on their computers. It’s important to find a system that works for you.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, the bad energy can affect your psyche even out of sight. Cluttered closets and cabinets will have a negative energy affect. Make it a point to organize your closets, book shelves and cabinets. There are lots of organizational items to help like shelving, containers, etc. that you can use to have a place for everything.

Make it a habit to clear off your desk each night. It will make a difference in how you feel and how you start your next day.

Mind Clutter

Our minds are just like our computers, sometimes we have to clear up some space! It’s been stated that we have upwards of 60,000 thoughts a day. A lot of those thoughts are the same ones. In addition to that, we are exposed to 5,000 advertising messages a day.

Americans feed their minds with non-stop news and information from television, the Internet, smartphones, tablets and readers. It’s not enough to just watch a local news program anymore. There is now an endless loop of the breaking news happening on the bottom of the screen. Emails buzz and social media updates ding and chirp 24/7 on our devices.

Fortunately, there is a program to clear up mind space. It’s called meditation. Meditation starts with being still and quiet. By meditating for just ten to twenty minutes a day, you can literally clear your mind from cluttered thoughts. You’ll also relieve stress. That benefit alone eliminates a host of potential problems. Other benefits include becoming more tolerant, less judgmental and clearer in your thinking.

When talking about meditation it’s usually referred to as practicing meditation. There’s a reason for that – it takes practice! Clearing the thoughts and demands placed on us is extremely hard; however, the rewards are worth it.

Focus becomes easier when you clear clutter from your mind and workspace.

That brings us to Step 17 – Feed Your Mind with Good Food – Books and Programming

Step 1 – You Have to Have a Plan

Step 2 – Take Action on your Plan in Small Steps Every Day

Step 3 – Don’t have an All or Nothing Attitude

Step 4 – Focus on Your Strengths

Step 5 – Meditate or Think on your Plan

Step 6 – Get rid of Distractions

Step 7 – Review your Plan at the End of the Day

Step 8 – Lock Out Doubts and Fears

Step 9 – Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Step 10 – Listen to what Expands You