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Crazed by Clutter?

I know my cluttered style needs attention (again) because I can no longer see my desk. I do not exaggerate. Unwieldy piles of paper, files, and books compete for cascading dominance.

I’ve personally stopped trying to become a super neat or organized person. I’m simply not. But sometimes the clutter gets in the way. I can’t find an important document. Or I simply can’t focus. My work space is too messy, and I am overwhelmed by the blur of important projects literally swirling around me. I can’t focus on one task without addressing all of the tasks—so I do nothing at all.

Do you lack focus, too? Do you feel overwhelmed? Are you having trouble discerning priorities or taking action? You may be dealing with some form of clutter in your life.

The messy desk is the most visible and obvious manifestation of clutter. But we experience clutter in priorities and relationships as well as in our stuff.

It is easy to let projects and efforts multiply beyond what our schedule can bear. These competing priorities fight for our attention and our time. We struggle to focus on any one priority because our attention is diverted by the debate going on in our head justifying why we are not working on another urgent item.

Similar confusions can clutter our relationships. The new employee needs training. Team members need ongoing coordination. Soon, you’ve neglected key contacts in your professional network not to mention your family and friends.

Dedicate a day or two each year to sweep everything off the desktop and decide again what to give a place of prominence and what to throw away. Time to pause and take stock. To get some perspective and reorder the parts accordingly. Instead of being a decisive filter, you may discover you’re more of a delaying bottleneck.

Some papers can be shredded. Some relationships may need to be filed for a season. Some projects may be better in another team member’s hands.

Clutter happens. Do we have a way to pause periodically and reorder our papers, people and priorities? Set aside a Friday now to sort through your clutter.



Here's My Thought...


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