The Holland Area Chamber of Commerce Podcast Series

Preparing You For The New Normal

De-Clutter...

The next step in preparing for your future is to DeClutter - get rid of the messes of your past so you can have the space and clarity to focus on the future.

			Ann Harten, Haworth, Inc.



			"Stop all of the dings and buzzes and trembles and all of the alerts that cause you to think -- even for a nanosecond -- that you just got an email." ~Ann Harten


			To-Do's for Today 1. Schedule an Appointment with yourself to De-Clutter. Try not to cancel! 2. Make a List of the people, things, and ideas that you need to live out your values and achieve your goals. Call that your Keepers list. 3. Start with a small section of your workspace. Clean it completely. Pat yourself on the back, then tackle another small section. That’s how you eat an elephant!

Organizational experts agree on four ways to manage the things, relationships, and ideas that are cluttering our lives.

Clarity is really important in times of stress. In order to maintain perspective, it's important to stay focused and optimistic. And it's hard to be focused OR optimistic when we're overwhelmed with distractions and "stuff."

Dump It.

If there’s something in your life that doesn’t help you live out your values or achieve your goals, then it’s not important. Get rid of it.

Delegate It.

No one in this world has achieved success without the help of others. True delegation requires you to invest in a relationship enough to develop trust and mutual understanding.

Defer It.

Don’t have time to work on something now, but just can’t bring yourself to throw it away? Then put it away, and make a date with yourself to work on it again when you have the energy or experience to do it with excellence and pride.

Do It.

Some experts define stress not as having too much to do, but having too much left undone. If you can finish it in 2 minutes, get it done. Your sense of accomplishment will sore. Need more than 2 minutes? Then defer it, delegate it or dump it!

Delocate It.

Move it out of sight until you have the time to recycle it or dump it. Keep it out of your line of sight so it doesn't distract you.

Building a clutter-free habit...

It’s easy to say no to distractions when you have a bigger yes. Now that you’ve decided on your purpose, fill your days with important tasks and activities. Then you won’t have the time or space for clutter.