Eliminating Clutter to Free Up Space and Time for Writing
So far, 2012 has been about getting rid of clutter and getting more organized. I have to give some of the credit to Leo Babauta of Zen Habits and his current series on clutter. It’s a battle I’ve had to fight more in recent years and his posts have helped motivate me even more.
I have a cluttered brain. And, therefore I have a cluttered desk and a less than efficient schedule. The ramifications of this chaos have the potential to derail all my best efforts. I am exaggerating a bit but I find that the hours spent in front of a computer, surfing the net, reading quick articles, following links and checking my social media sites are not helping me enhance my ability to focus.
My brain has begun (well, let’s be honest. I’ve always been this way I suspect) to drive my work patterns and conversational threads like a series of linked posts. One thought takes me three steps away in a totally new direction. Granted, I am able to tie things together and return to the original point. But, following along with me can be amusing, fascinating or frustrating depending on your style.
I’m developing new patterns. I make lists with regularity now–with a column for calls, email and to-do’s, prioritized if necessary. Each accomplished item gets a hot pink check mark. I’ve already begun a list for tomorrow with the things that I didn’t finish this weekend. As I want Monday to be uber-productive I’ve added times to the morning portion of the list.
The stack of New Yorkers marked for a must read article? Gone. In the recycling. Realistically, I won’t find time to go back and read them. Now I’ve got a corner of the kitchen counter free. And less guilt about not reading enough.
The piles of books in every room in the house? Sorted. Books to donate or trade-in are in one pile, while other books have gone downstairs to the library. There is a smaller, relevant stack next to my desk and a few, select books by the bedroom chair.
The pantry and kitchen drawer are next on the list but not as important. They’ll keep for another week or more. This weekend’s tasks have centered around the computer–deleting old mail and organizing documents.
I’m trying to get back to my personal writing. I blame some of my procrastination on the clutter. I see papers, folders and other things out of place and somehow it has a larger impact. A neat clean space without distractions gives me the physical and mental space to be creative. When I take care of the to-do lists and deal with things I’ve been ignoring it’s a very freeing experience. In procrastination mode I have constructed this notion that the tasks are tedious or time-consuming. Once I actually tackle an item I find it was simple and the feeling of accomplishment is just short of euphoric!
We’ll pretend, for the moment, that the garage is invisible because the house clutter is neatly residing in recycling stacks in the garage. But, hey! Ya gotta start somewhere!











