It's Time to Clear The Clutter!!!!

It's Time to Clear The Clutter


“If you want to feel better, clean your desk.”
– David Allen

I've always said that if I ever get into another business after the personal development industry, in will be the self-storage business in America.

Why? Because people are obsessed with buying stuff!

And when there's too much stuff in the house, do they get rid of it? No, they get another storage unit. You can't even get the car in the garage – your poor car has to sit outside because you've got so much stuff.

But WHY is clutter a problem in the first place?

Why Clutter Is a Costly Problem

If you have physical or emotional clutter – meaning clutter in your Inner or Outer Environments – then it's very difficult for something BETTER to come in to your life.

Have you ever noticed that when you clear stuff out, you feel better? I know you've experienced this.

For example, someone cleared the clutter from her office, her business doubled in 40 days!
Someone couldn't even see the rug in her office because she had so much clutter. When she cleaned out the clutter, she took out 17 garbage bags of clutter from her little office.

Guess what? In 30 days, she made enough extra money in her business to replace the carpet she couldn't even see before.

In this article, I'll show you how to clear the clutter from your Outer Environment. In the next article, I show you how to clear the clutter from your Inner Environment.

Exercise: Installing Your Outer Environment System

1. What are the biggest blocks in my HOME Environment?

2. What are the biggest blocks in my WORK Environment?

3. What ACTIONS can I take this week to clear the clutter from my Outer Environment?

4. WHO can help me clear the clutter – and WHEN will I ask for their support?

OUTER ENVIRONMENT QUESTIONS 1 & 2 — What are the biggest blocks in my Home and Work Environment?

Write 10, 20 or more blocks. Be honest about what your biggest blocks are in your Outer Environment.

At Home, it may be that out-of-control closet, your desk that hasn't been cleaned since the Carter administration, the garage you can't get in.

Whatever your blocks are — and you know what they are — write them down.

What about your Work Environment? "I can't find my papers. I don't have the right software. I don't know where my computer is. I have an old computer that doesn’t work properly."

And clutter doesn't always mean a bunch of junk. It might mean that you need tools you don't currently have.

Would you expect to build a nice house with just a hammer, a screwdriver and two nails? You need all the correct tools and systems to do the job.

If you want to grow your business, yet don't have the tools you need to grow, it's going to cost you.

So write what's MISSING as well as what's IN YOUR WAY.

Your head trash is going to say, "But I don't have the money, I can't afford it!" What else is new? Write it anyway.

Question 3: What ACTIONS can I take to clear the clutter from my Outer Environment this week?

"when I'm starting to clear the clutter from my life, which should I start with - the Inner or the Outer?"

I always tell them: Start with the Outer.

I know that sounds counter intuitive, because you say, "But I want to feel good on the inside!"

Don't worry, you will.

Your Outer Environment includes the things you can see and touch. In case you haven't noticed, your Outer Environment greatly affects your emotional and spiritual well-being.

You can't find your papers. You're tripping over too much stuff. You have clutter. Isn't that frustrating?

Well, to be frustrated is a feeling, and feelings are caused by something. Therefore, when you remove the outer cause of the inner feeling, you will feel better.

So go through that closet, go through your files, clear off your desk and unload your inbox. Throw stuff away. (We'll get to the emotional stuff in the next article.)

4. WHO can help me clear the clutter - and WHEN will I ask for their support?

You know that friend you can't stand - the one whose house is always neat and whose desk is always perfect? Yeah, that one.

That's exactly the person you need to ask for support.

If this just feels overwhelming to you, ask a neat friend to help you.

We all know someone like this. Call them and ask for their help!

You are not alone.

Ask your Loving Mirrors at home and your Safe Havens at work.

Because life gets much easier when you let yourself have the support you need to succeed.

Spend time this weekend clearing your mind and physical environment