Spring Cleaning: It is Time to De-clutter

Spring Cleaning: It is Time to De-clutter
By Bob Moore, CMC, MCC, The Effectiveness Coach®

Word Count: 406
Reading Time: Less than 3 minutes

The arrival of spring is a welcome sight, particularly for those who experienced a long, cold winter. Spring is traditionally a good time to clean up and clear out the clutter that has accumulated over the winter months or longer. Do you realize just how much energy we consume by simply having to look at our stuff, much less move it around from time to time?

Where to Begin?
How about the papers and magazines that pile up because of an illusion that their disposal will somehow be easier to deal with it another time? Now look at those far out-of-date magazines scattered around or in stacks you intend to go through again? Take the time now to purge or update those magazine subscriptions. Could this be a good time to decide just how many you really read and benefit from?

What’s on Your Desk?
The arrival of spring signals the end of tax filing time and may be a good time to get ready for next year by starting new tax folders. What about any leftovers, like all those receipts and tax forms that need to be archived and put out of sight? What else is on your desk or nearby posing a distraction? Be aggressive and take back your work space—all of it by filing or dumping the rest of the accumulated paper parked there. Any bookshelves in sight that have become a repository of obsolete catalogs and anything else parked there for no really good reason?

How About Your Computer?
Did you really think you could just pack more information into those electronic files indefinitely? Take the same approach you use with your physical spaces. When was the last time you deleted or cleaned out old, unnecessary correspondence, including spam from your email inbox? Next make a date with your computer's hard drive and identify all areas that need attention such as your directory structure, folders and duplicate and redundant files. Any chance there is a technical issue or two you have simply been tolerating? Schedule a time to just do it. You computer will thank you and you will become much more effective.

This is by no means a complete list of what may need attention. However, this will be a good start. I predict the extra energy you realize by dealing with these areas will demonstrate the value and motivate you to move forward toward a clutter-free work area.

Enthusiastically,

Bob

Bob Moore, CMC®, President
Effectiveness, Inc/The Effectiveness Coach®
Aligning Human Capital with Strategic Objectives

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