Tag Archives: simplify

Simplify your life!

This is “National Simplify Your Life” week.

Because it’s part of my business name (Organize to Simplify) I’m constantly thinking about what “simplify” means to me, my friends, my family, and my clients.

Here are some things that may need to be simplified in our lives:

  • Stuff?  Yes!
  • Schedules?  Yes!
  • Technology? Yes!
  • People?  Yes!  (yikes!)

Stuff:

Most of us have way more stuff than we need (and probably even want).  Look around the room you are sitting in and really take a hard look at everything that surrounds you.  Do you use them?  Do they bring you joy and happiness?  If not, what would it feel like to let them go?  How would it feel knowing that they were in the home of someone that actually needed and wanted them? Not only is it okay to let things go, de-cluttering makes us healthier:

According to the Chicago Tribune: “Getting rid of clutter can have unexpected health benefits. Letting go of material things gives a feeling of euphoria some liken to the runner’s high. It’s liberating and frees up time and space for healthy habits, such as exercising. It can even reduce allergy symptoms and help you lose weight.”

Schedules:

Raise your hand if you feel you have too much to do and not enough time (I can almost see all of your hands raised right now).  Do you need to do everything on your schedule?   Are there things you knew at the time you should have said “no, but thanks for asking” to?  Are you doing things that don’t make you happy and are not critical (book club you no longer enjoy, exercise class you are only attending because you already paid for it but don’t really like, networking meetings that don’t bring you joy or clients, etc.)  Much like our stuff, cluttered and over-crowded schedules can affect our health.  I encourage you to take a look at your schedule and see what you can eliminate.  What would you do with that extra time?  Exercise?  Sleep? Spend more time with family and friends?

Technology:

Am I actually suggesting you give up technology?  Absolutely not!!! What I am suggesting is taking a critical look at how much time you are devoting to it.  Personally, I don’t do Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr,  but I spend way too much time on Facebook.  What are you learning from all these connections?  Is it really a “connection” or just a way to spend time?  What would happen if you disconnected from a social media platform or two?  What would happen if you reduced the amount of time you spent on them?  What would you do with that time?  Remember, doing nothing is a perfectly acceptable answer to that question.

People:

This one may sound harsh, but it’s worth thinking about.  I could never do without connections to people.  I love being around people; being with people fills me with joy.  But, are there connections I am spending time maintaining that no longer serve me (or the other person) the way they used to?  Think about it.  Is the time spent maintaining a relationship disproportionate to the joy the relationship brings you?

Some people come into your life just to teach you how to let go.”   Search Quotes

I’m pretty sure we are all aware of things that could be eliminated from our lives, but it’s so hard to take that first step.  So, I’m going to challenge you:

Over the next week:

  • Eliminate one item of clutter.
  • Cancel one unnecessary appointment.
  • Reduce time spent on technology by one hour.
  • Take a critical look at one relationship.

Simplify your life . . . one small step at a time.

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com

Member Color - Web
National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter Vice President
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How do you A.C.T.?

When working with clients, I hear a lot about how there just isn’t enough time or energy to do everything they want to do.  In actuality, it’s not really a time or energy  issue . . .  it’s more about decisions around where to spend their time and mental energy.

I’ve found it helpful for my clients (I use this myself, also) to break down how they use their time or energy into three categories I refer to as A.C.T.

A – Action:  This is where we should spend the majority of our time and energy.  This is the area where we can get things done.  Decisions are within our control.  Actions are doable. We are in charge of our destiny. “Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan.” (Margaret Thatcher)

C – Consciousness:  These are things that are facts and issues we can’t control, yet are worrisome to us.  This category may include the health and welfare of a loved one; whether or not we will get a promotion (once the Action category is no longer in play); climate change (yes, we can do our part, but we can’t control all of it), etc.  Until we let our brains process things in the consciousness zone, they will just sit and ruminate.  Acknowledge them, say a polite “thank you” then let them go.

T – Trash:  This is the easier stuff to let go of.  Falling into this category may be the actions of others (can’t really control those, can we?); the weather (unless, of course you’re having an outside wedding and it looks like rain, then the Action category would be appropriate); things that have happened in the past (can’t change those), etc.  Let go of things you can’t control that don’t have a huge impact going forward.  To these items, I say “Why did I waste my time and energy on you?  Good riddance!”

When your time or energy starts to get the better of you . . . A.C.T.

Cindy Jobs

www.organizetosimplify.com
Member Color - WebNational Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Chapter President
 ICD_LogoTag_Horz_72 websiteCertified Premium Subscriber, Institute for Challenging Disorganization

How can you simplify your life?

simplifyLast week was “National Simplify Your Life” week.  I meant to write a post last week about this subject, but I took a week off and REALLY simplified my life by not doing any work.  How’s that for “simplifying?”  Not very productive, but it felt really good!

Although I didn’t write the post, I thought about what simplifying my life would look like.  What do I have to simplify?

  • Stuff?  Yes!
  • Schedules?  Yes!
  • Technology? Yes!
  • People?  Yes!  (yikes!)

Stuff:

Most of us have way more stuff than we actually need, and probably want.  Look around the room you are sitting in and really take a hard look at all the items that are in the room.  Do you use them?  Do they bring you joy and happiness?  If not, what would it feel like to let them go?  How would it feel knowing that they were in the home of someone that actually needed and wanted them? Not only is it okay to let things go, de-cluttering makes us healthier:

According to the Chicago Tribune: “Getting rid of clutter can have unexpected health benefits. Letting go of material things gives a feeling of euphoria some liken to the runner’s high. It’s liberating and frees up time and space for healthy habits, such as exercising. It can even reduce allergy symptoms and help you lose weight.”

Schedules:

Raise your hand if you feel you have too much to do and not enough time (I see lots of hands raised right now).  Do you need to do everything on your schedule?   Are there things you knew at the time you should have said “no, but thanks for asking” to?  Are you doing things that don’t make you happy and are not critical (book club you no longer enjoy, exercise class you are only attending because you already paid for it but don’t really like, networking meetings that don’t bring you joy or clients, etc.)  Much like our stuff, cluttered and over-crowded schedules can affect our health.  I encourage you to take a look at your schedule and see what you can eliminate.  What would you do with that extra time?  Exercise?  Sleep? Spend more time with family and friends?

Technology:

Am I actually suggesting you give up technology?  Absolutely not!!! What I am suggesting is taking a critical look at how much time you are devoting to it.  Personally, I don’t do Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat, but I spend way too much time on Facebook.  What are you learning from all these connections?  Is it really a “connection” or just a way to spend time?  What would happen if you disconnected from a social media platform or two?  What would happen if you reduced the amount of time you spent on them.  What would you do with that time?  Remember, doing nothing is a perfectly acceptable answer to that question.

People:

This one threw me for a minute, but it’s worth thinking about.  I could never do without connections to people.  I love being around people; being with people fills me with joy.  But, are there connections I am spending time maintaining that no longer serve me (or the other person) the way they used to?  Think about it.  Is the time spent maintaining some relationships disproportionate to the the joy the relationship brings you?

“Not every person you meet is here to stay.  Some people come in your life only to teach you something.”  Anurag Prakash Ray

I’m pretty sure we are all aware of things that could be eliminated from our lives, but it’s so hard to take that first step.  So, I’m going to challenge you:

Over the next week:

  • Eliminate one item of clutter.
  • Cancel one unnecessary appointment.
  • Reduce time spend on technology by one hour.
  • Take a critical look at one relationship.

Simplify your life . . . one small step at a time.

 

Organize to Simplify CMYK

 

www.organizetosimplify.com

cindy@organizetosimplify.com

206-707-3458

National Association of Professional Organizers, Seattle Area Chapter President

seattle

 

 

 

Institute for Challenging Disorganization, Six Certificates of Education