You are here.

Although you’ll rarely catch me at the mall, I’m a fan of those big kiosks that harbor a colorful, glowing diagram of the entire place.

No matter how lost, there’s a friendly star that tells me where I am.

Knowing where you are helps orient you. It helps you find direction to move forward confidently. It helps you appreciate where you’ve come from.

A map for an inspiring home office

Just for you, I made a map that shows how to create a workspace that nourishes you. It has seven basic steps. (You’ll just have to imagine the glowing colors.)

1. Feeling deeply stuck and unsatisfied.
2. Creating an idea of the workspace you really want.
3. Taking stock of how things are today.
4. Clearing out the things that no longer serve you or your business.
5. Finding intuitive places for the things you want to keep and use.
6. Enjoying a fairly functional, soul-nourishing workspace.
7. Creating fun, intuitive systems for projects and business tasks.

Where are you?

If you’re working on several of these steps at once, that’s totally normal. You may also find that you repeat some steps again and again. No judgment about it, that’s just how it works. It’s a process.

What step(s) are you on today – and how do you feel about it?

(Reminder: Comments before August 24, 2009 enter you to win some fun stuff from Inspired Home Office. Please feel free to participate!)

17 comments

There are some who say that email is dead. Obsolete.

Bah, I say! Email is alive and well. And growing, if the current state of my inbox is any indication.

It’s my intention to not let email run my life. I want to choose it instead of feeling controlled by it.

Here is how I prevent email overwhelm

What works well:

I give myself permission to not reply to everything. Even delete stuff without replying.

I sort out the non-urgent stuff without having to look at it. I set up filters and folders in my Gmail account which has been a lifesaver.

I use a vacation responder on the weekends. It tells anyone who emails me when I’ll be back. That way I’m absolved of the guilty feelings I get when I know someone is waiting for a reply.

As a general rule, I clear out my inbox weekly. I read email more frequently than that, but a mostly empty inbox is my goal once per week.

Lastly, I have an email account that is bottomless. Gmail lets me “archive” as many emails as I want so I don’t have to get rid of them, ever.

What I’m working on

Easing up. Email is often a somewhat helpful distraction when I’m trying to think up ideas. Instead of berating myself for checking email when I don’t need to, I’m getting better at being gentle with myself.

Starting at the end. Since my goal is to clear out once per week, I have begun responding first to the people who’ve waited the longest. This takes a HUGE load off my shoulders. It’s just hard to do because the new email always seems more fun and interesting to me.

What do YOU do to prevent email overwhelm?

What works really well for you? What are you working on?

Share your organizing insights and ideas! Remember to be kind to yourself and others.

36 comments

Surprising discoveries about the nature of your workspace

This week, I learned something that shocked me.

Not once, but twice – in one week – someone told me that they really liked my newsletter and that they would schedule a one-on-one with me once they got their office cleaned up.

This wasn’t a sales conversation, mind you, they just offered this information because they really, really like Inspired Home Office.

That last part – about cleaning up before getting help – totally shocked me.

Jen gets a clue

I talked over this discovery with Inspired Spouse. As a dental hygienist, she shared that if people don’t brush before their cleaning, “they feel embarrassed and are really apologetic.”

This made perfect sense.

It feels pretty awkward to be seen with your stuff hanging out. No wonder people want to clean up before getting help.

Reassurance for embarrassment

If you feel embarrassed about how your office looks, take heart. You are in good company. Two people last week and plenty more. In fact, I’m still blushing about the “before” photo I posted last week from the before-and-after photos of my own office redesign.

If the thought of sharing a photo of your space makes you squirm, whoo! I completely understand! I want to offer you reassurance that you don’t have everything figured out. Your space doesn’t have to be perfect or clutter free.

Your inner critic might have a million things to say about the current condition of your space, but rest assured – it is really okay as-is. Gummed up and uncomfortable is remarkably normal.

Your office is like a puppy

Have you ever tried to train a puppy? They are so cute and wiggly and (ahem) kind of messy. Your workspace is kind of like a puppy – it’s creative and wiggly and it gets messy all over the place. Believe it or not, that mess is actually quite useful (I’ll get to that in a minute).

Requiring yourself to clean up your office before getting support is kind of like insisting your puppy be obedient before taking her to puppy school.

If your puppy is still in that goofy phase, she might not be perfect in class, but you get a lot out of taking it together. It’s fun to learn and grow together. And you can use what you learn later when you’re both more experienced.

Mess is useful.

If you have a messy office, starting from where you are right now can be good for the same reasons. You may not be able to implement everything immediately, but you’ll learn a lot of skills you can use again and again.

The other thing? With no puppy, it’s hard to practice teaching her to “sit” and “stay”.

Mess gives you the raw materials for an organizing system. If you throw it all away, it actually slows down the organizing process. You have to wait till it all comes back again and then organize.

You might look around you and think, “Well, if mess is useful, I have a lot of useful in here.” If you do, I invite you to notice if you’re isolating yourself because you think you have to figure it all out before you can get help figuring it out.

Nothing to do – no judgment – just notice if you expect that of yourself.

Things to try

1. Inquire. If you want more structure in your space, think about what your needs are. Do you need a buddy? Do you need a clear goal? Do you need an incentive (chocolate, anyone)? What would give you the support you need?

2. Try a little tenderness. Practice being gentle with yourself and create compassionate expectations (not brutal ones). Treat yourself like you would a cherished friend. If puppies get pats and rewards, so can you.

3. Notice if you want support. Support can look like a lot of different things. You may have someone you trust that you can include in your process. You can read this to feel encouraged and nourished. Think about if there’s support you’ve been missing.

What’s important is that you find a way to begin.

As you create organic systems in your space, you’ll get more focus in your business, more spaciousness for your creativity, more income (who couldn’t use more of that?), and more confidence to move your plans forward.

Organizing doesn’t have to be embarrassing or painful, it just has to work for you. What do you need to move forward today?

2 comments

How to clear stuff organically and with minimal resistance

75% of Inspired Home Office newsletter readers say their #1 problem is clutter.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by clutter, take solace in the knowledge that you’re not alone and in very good company (people who read the newsletter are awesome).

However, solace alone isn’t enough to dissolve your overwhelm, right? And the clutter doesn’t go away on its own. You’ve probably noticed that.

The downside of “kicking yourself into gear”

The downside? It hurts! Kicking is ouchy.

Instead of feeling guilty, frustrated, and trying to kick yourself about your clutter, how about trying a gentle, non-violent process that honors all of you – and still gets results?

I offer to you a non-traditional way to work through clutter. Follow the steps below.

Where is the clutter?

Look around your space and zero in on where the clutter is and what it is. Is it a box? Some piles? A piece of furniture full of magazines? Is it everywhere? Just notice.

What does it mean to you?

Take a moment to look at one area that’s really bugging you. Chances are good that the stuff there holds some emotional significance.

When you look at the clutter, notice: what emotions come up for you? Maybe you feel overwhelm, or resentment, or apathy, or confusion. Or something else. Can you tell what you’re feeling? Give that feeling a name.

Open up to the feeling

Lots of people think that moving the clutter will make their feelings go away. Sometimes this works. Sometimes it’s more loving and respectful to feel the feeling first and take action after.

Once you have named the feeling, make some space in you to feel what comes up. Let it be okay that you feel this way. Emotions are good and they give us useful information.

What does it remind you of?

Stuff hold memories.

I worked with a client recently who had several boxes of things that belonged to a beloved family member. Although she didn’t like the cluttered boxes, she realized that she still felt grief over the loss of this special person. This is what the “clutter” reminded her of.

Another woman realized that the clutter in her office reminded her that her husband had “taken over the house” after he retired. Her feelings were about the clutter and also her loss of space and control. Big stuff.

So, I invite you to gently inquire if the stuff you have reminds you of something unresolved. It’s okay if it doesn’t. But ask. It might be helpful information.

You might have more emotions. That’s okay and totally normal. Just let yourself feel whatever comes up.

Ask yourself what you need.

This is the most important question at Inspired Home Office: What do you need? If you have clutter, if you have feelings, if they remind you of something, ask: what is it that I need?

When you ask yourself this question, trust. Trust what comes up for you. Give this process some time and really listen. You might even want to write the words down.

Asking this question will give you better ideas because, in the end, no one knows how to care for you better than you do.

Think about how you’d like to meet that need.

Once you get a tiny idea about what you need, begin to think about how you might like to create it. Take some small steps. Reach out for support.

Repeat.

Yes, repeat. This is because clutter will continue flowing into your space. Clutter is a lot like leaves in autumn. Leaves fall and scatter, so we rake them up. Spring and summer create more leaves, and then they fall again. So we rake them up.

There’s nothing unnatural about that. That’s just how nature is. It’s the same with clutter. Paper. Email. We can spend a little time paying attention to it, asking some insightful questions, and the way to rake them up appears.

Doesn’t that sound nice?

Why these steps work

Usually clutter exists for more complex reasons than we realize.

This process creates space for the whole story instead of treating clutter like The Problem. After working with me for a while, some people report that the clutter just doesn’t come back. And they feel peaceful about the stuff that does appear. So cool!

When I work with people 1-on-1, I use the very same process with them and it works magic. The discovery in this process can feel exciting. The amazing part is that people really do get excited about cleaning and decluttering. And so can you.

The non-violent process is organic and can meet your need for a clear space in a way no “handy organizing tips” ever could.

Give it a try, and let me know how it goes.

Care to comment?

People often tell me that they feel constricted in their office. Squeezed. It’s a place that’s cluttered and provokes anxiety when they try to spend time there.

Surrounded by things to do and things neglected, it can be so hard to concentrate on the stuff that really matters. And, in these challenging economic times, there really is no better time to take your office relationship seriously.

Office relationship?

Yup. Just like a friend, your office needs your attention. It has one job to do: support you.

And with your help, your office can be a place that you love. A place that encourages your creativity. A resource that helps grow your business and helps it thrive.

Sounds good, but really?

Do you find that when your office feels out of control it’s hard to know where to start working on it? Me too. It’s all so overwhelming. It’s so much easier to ignore all that stuff, shove things out of the way.

Easier, that is, in the short term.

If you want to pay attention to your office space, the first thing you need to do is set aside the time. It doesn’t have to be a lot. Making an appointment with your office on the calendar is a great way to get things going in the right direction.

Agh! An 8-headed hydra!

Clearing a space, any space, can become an out-of-control project, running down winding rabbit trails. Because of this, it’s key to make an effort to end when you say you will.

Once you make that appointment, stick to it.

Can you imagine if someone asked for 15 minutes of your time and then took up half of their day? I don’t know about you, but I’d be kinda ticked off.

It’s the same thing when you work on your space. If you say 15 minutes, don’t force yourself to do it for a half day – or you’ll harm your relationship with your space. Keep a timer handy or a reminder of when it’s time to stop.

If you stop when you say you will, it’s a profound way to care for yourself. It’s respectful to you. You’re more likely to feel good.

Respect your time and calm the 8-headed hydra

I usually recommend that if you’re clearing out a space, a pile, a closet, that you pick up a single object and decide what to do with it before moving on to the next.

This approach works well for people who get overwhelmed by the immensity of the project. Bite-sized bits.

You’ll be surprised how much you can clear in a short amount of time. And it makes a huge difference in how you feel in your space.

Why it matters

It’s not news that we’re in an official recession – you can see signs everywhere if you look. It’s more vital than ever to have a clear strategy through this. To have a good sense of where you stand financially. To feel grounded and solid about the path you’re on in your work.

When I’m scattered, I lose things that affect my business: receipts, checks, bills, potential new clients – you know, important stuff like that. Maybe you do, too.

Caring for your office can be fun – and it can really give your business the stability it needs.

Taking action

So, here’s my challenge to you today:

1. Ask your Wise Self: “What is the one area in my workspace that, if I addressed it this month, I’d feel a lot more solid about my business.”

2. Notice what ideas come up for you. And write them down somewhere (go ahead – get a pen!).

3. Get out your calendar and decide the best times to work on this area.

And see if this investment of time helps heal your relationship with your space – and your spirit.

Care to comment?

Your best buddy has a perfect office, neat as a pin.

You notice the display at Office Big Box has furniture that look so organized and tidy.

You drool over the latest office feature in Martha’s magazine that looks so adorably perky.

The green-eyed monster has moved into your office and has taken over whatever semblance of  confidence you may have had.

How’d that happen?

It’s natural to look around you for solutions – especially if you’re stuck or dissatisfied with something in your life. And while searching for ideas and inspiration is great, it’s downright depressing to look at how others do it and compare theirs to yours.

“That’s so expensive, I don’t have that kind of money to spend.”
“That looks impossibly neat, I could never keep my office as clean as she does.”
“My office isn’t that big, I don’t have anywhere to put anything!”
“I’ve got so much paper and stuff, I could never get my office to look like that.”

Do these comments sound depressingly familiar?

Or, worst of all, there’s:

Thank God no one sees my office.

Comparison, unveiled.

When you compare, you see differences. And they keep you stuck. Comparison can make you feel badly about how your office looks, your self worth, and even doubt whether you’re an effective business owner. Comparison can become a downward spiral of self-doubt and self-loathing.

If you feel some of those terrible feelings about yourself or your office, you’re not alone.

The answers aren’t out there. They’re in here.

If you’re struggling to put order and beauty in your workspace, I want to let you in on a secret: the key is inside you.

You can look at a million websites for ideas and read dozens of books about organizing, but all that information will not change how your office looks or feels. I’ll bet you already know that.

If you’re looking outside of yourself for answers, you’re missing out on a valuable resource: your own wisdom.

Self-defining vs. comparison

All those people you were comparing yourself to? They all had something in common:

• Your best buddy knew what she wanted.
• The Office Big Box furniture designers knew what they wanted.
• That Martha Stewart – she knew what she wanted (doesn’t she always?).

It’s not like they all had some magic formula that you can’t access. Each of them had a vision – and then they created it in real life.

Find your vision

To banish the green-eyed monster and gain back your workspace mojo, here are 3 practical steps to take:

1. Ask yourself what you want.

What is it you need to work peacefully in your office? No matter how far from it you may feel, write it down or draw a picture of it – and describe it in as much detail as possible.

The purpose of doing this is to forge a clear idea of what your perfect office is like. When you see ideas in magazines, they become tools rather than deterrents to your progress.

2. Figure out what your parameters are.

What’s your budget, space needs, storage needs, etc. This puts your vision into real-life perspective.

3. Start taking small steps toward your vision.

Once you’re clear, the best thing to do is take action. Sitting on your hands will just make you frustrated. What’s one small thing you can accomplish toward your vision? What’s a tiny thing you can do today?

The important thing is to focus on small steps, because they add up. And they’re so much more compassionate.

Care to comment?

Have you ever had to dig to find an important piece of paper? Okay, who hasn’t?

Generally speaking, the stuff on your desk is made up of three things:

• projects in progress
• things “to do” that aren’t urgent
• miscellaneous stuff you don’t have a home for

Beyond that, there are also file cabinets and bookshelves and closets that contain storage. There’s a lot of stuff around!

One day it dawned on me that all of this paper – every last piece of it – was eventually going to end up in the trash can.

It could be tomorrow or it could be after your death, but all the stuff you’ve got is temporary.

When do you want to deal with it?

In my Inspired Organizing class, we’ve been talking about the concept of office maintenance. The root of this word means “to hold in your hand” – to physically pick the thing up and do something with it. Maintaining your accumulated papers is an important key to having a resilient business and organized office.

Sounds bone dry, doesn’t it? Keep reading, though, there’s more to it.

Space care is self-care

See, creating a habit of picking up things in your workspace and deciding what to do with them can be a really profound way to care for yourself and your business.

Maintaining your space provides an opportunity to make decisions about things you’ve been considering. It diminishes visual distraction. Most of all, this maintenance helps your business and your brain stay in a state of flow, rather than stagnancy.

How do you like to maintain?

When it comes to maintaining one’s office, there three kinds of people: Schedulers, Tenders, and Buddy-uppers.

• Schedulers like to treat their office as if it were a real client. You like to make appointments in your calendar that set aside time to work on maintaining your office. This system works as a reminder and it helps you prevent procrastination.

• Tenders treat their office like a houseplant. When the office starts wilting or gets chaotic, Tenders people will take time out and deal with the clutter. You’re not crazy about being pinned down to a specific schedule, but when things get out of control, you go into a flurry of activity to get it back again.

• Buddy-uppers like to have real live humans involved in the maintenance of their office. Having someone’s support that you’re accountable to is key. Having a sounding board is extremely helpful because the companionship is reassuring and it helps you stay focused.

The love behind the maintaining

It’s important to know that no maintenance style is superior, just unique to you. If you haven’t done maintenance in your office for a while, give some thought to what approach might be most helpful for you. And take the next step.

The end goal of maintenance is to help bring each paper, each item, to the next place it needs to go – when the time is right for you. Sometimes it’s to a file or back into the mail, sometimes it’s the trash can or the recycle bin.

If you take one item at a time and choose its next destination before moving on to the next, it can be a few short minutes before your office is a spacious, invigorating place to work.

Care to comment?

An inspired look at reducing your paper-induced stress

Since the ancient Egyptians began writing on papyrus 5000 years ago, humans have been making decisions about where to store these flimsy pieces of plant pulp.

Fortunately for us in the modern era, paper isn’t as fragile, expensive, or prone to rot as those hammered fronds. But it does mean that we can acquire a lot more of it than the ancients ever did. A ton. Even in our technology-rich world, people still rely heavily on print and paper.

Look on your desk right now and you might find things like mail, bank statements, records, books, checks, correspondence, receipts, printed emails, files, and more. All of it paper. Ra help us!

Paper’s like water

The interesting thing about paper is that it’s a lot like water. If there’s a clear direction, it will end up where it needs to go with a minimum of fuss. It will “go with the flow.”

When the direction of the flow of paper isn’t defined, it will pool up in unexpected places and in undesirable volumes. When life gets crazy and when you put off handling mail for a while, it can become a tsunami-like wall of paper.

Today, we’ll hone in on the kind of paper that comes to you unbidden: mail.

What’s in your mail?

Simply put, mail is made up of containers (envelopes, boxes) and contents (everything inside them). But it’s not that simple. It can include postcards, newsletters, coupons, fliers, catalogs, and more. It gets sent to you equally by people you want to hear from and people you don’t.

Some mail requires action: urgent, moderately urgent, not urgent at all. Mail comes from someone who wants you to respond in some way. As if you don’t have enough to do.

This may be obvious, but because there are so many choices to make about all this mail it’s often easier to deposit it in one location and close the door.

Where does it come from?

Come rain or snow or storm of night, the stuff I get in my mailbox arrives every day at about 10am. When we first moved into our house a year ago, we had no system. So the mail piled up. Our personal mail, business mail, stuff for the previous tenants. Everything. It was a mess.

At a spot in the kitchen where everything was landing already anyway, I set up a mini-mailbox. There, we divided the mail by who it was addressed to.

Now, it’s my daily routine to pick up my mail and sort it at the mini-box. I open everything immediately and discard of all the things I don’t want: envelopes, inserts, credit card offers, etc. I have plans to put a recycle bin and a shredder nearby, so all that’s left over will be the items that need action.

Where does it go?

Deciding where to put things once they come into your life is a personal decision that is unique to you.

To discover what works best for you, watch how you obtain your mail and observe the path it travels from the mailbox to your desk. Over time, you will begin to notice where it pools up and stagnates.

Where do you put it?

Where things accumulate, you need a way to remind yourself to take the next action step.

If, for example, that piece of mail is a bill, where would you like to put it so that you remember to pay it? If it’s a conference registration form, where will it live so you remember to take the next step (like filling it out or checking your budget)?

Everyone does it differently according to their own preferences. I have one client who uses a vertical file folder system with a file for bills and a file for receipts to enter into her bookkeeping software. I like to file it out of sight after putting a task in my organizing software.

What would work for you? Follow these steps to find out.

Things to try

1. Notice where your paper comes from

For a few days, bring a heightened awareness to the myriad sources of mail and paper in your workspace. You don’t need to fix or change anything, just notice with curiosity the places it all comes from.

2. Stem the tide

You may see after a few days that there are ways to reduce the volume of mail and paper.

When I noticed the number of catalogs we were getting, I called each business and requested to be removed from their mailing list. This may sound tedious, but the volume of mail decreased dramatically within a month – so there was less to sort.

When you start reducing the volume you have to deal with, it’s a profound way to care for yourself and nurture your business.

3. Think about where you want the things you need.

Look carefully at what kinds of things accumulate and notice what you need and trust the answers that come up for you. Often simple solutions are the most effective.

4 comments

Creating calm after the storm

A few weeks ago, I asked readers to send in questions about their home office struggles and anything they’ve been wondering about. I made this request partly because I just like to hear from you.

And also, of course, because I want to help.

I received an email from my buddy, Karen, who is a parent coach (and a darned good one!) in Portland, Oregon. Here is what she said:

Well, [my issue is] not at all wacky, but actually fairly boring. MAIL! It’s taking over! UGH!

Okay, taking a deep breath now. . . I got behind on a bunch of stuff and I’m a bit overwhelmed getting caught up again, so my desk looks like a typhoon hit it. Not sure when I will have time to clean it either. Thank god it’s a roll top!

Anyway, some strategies for handling mail and maybe for handling a back log without the overwhelm would be great!

The thing I love about Karen’s email is that it’s so honest. We all have times in life like this and maybe you laughed in self-recognition reading it – I know I did! So when you read this, Karen, just know that you’re in good company.

From the backlog – into flow

You probably know what a backlog looks like. If you say the word “backlog” out loud, it just feels depressing. And trying to “get through” a backlog pile can feel like a daunting, overwhelming, sloggy task.

Breaking it down

The most important thing to know about a pile of accumulated anything is that it’s made up of individual parts. It may look like one thing – a big pile – but if you look really closely, it has many separate pieces.

If you’re in the place that Karen describes, there’s just one way forward: pick up a single piece. Open it.

Then get rid of what you don’t want (envelopes, “don’t miss out” offers, credit card checks, etc.). Keep the bits that you really do want or need.

Then pick up the next piece. If you focus on one at a time, really focus on it, it helps keep the overwhelm at bay.

Tracking the important bits

If you do this for 20 minutes or so, what you’ll end up with is a pile of to-do’s. Things to file, things to follow up on, bills to pay, etc.

You may find it handy to write a list of these actions as you go so you don’t have to keep the whole pile on your desk to remind you.

Get support

If you’re overwhelmed by the pile you’re facing, that is totally okay (not to mention normal)!

You might want to do some self-nourishment before, during, and after the time that you work on it. Maybe you’d like a nice cup of tea or cocoa to sip on. Or some of your favorite music at a rousing volume. You could even include a trusted friend to assist you in person or maybe check in with someone by phone when you’re done to get a dose of encouragement.

It can also help to set a timer or otherwise restrict the amount of time you work on this project. A specific amount of time helps you make decisions faster and can give you some relief knowing an end is in sight.

Things to try

An overwhelm reframe

It’s common to have all kinds of fearful or judgmental thoughts about a backlog of stuff. If you notice these thoughts coming up, make space for them – and then remind yourself of how important your work is to you, your clients, to the world.

Instead of a “beat-self-up” session, choose to make your downsizing process an act of love and service to your business. Bring your heart into it.

Separate the wheat from the chaff

After establishing a time limit, pick up once piece at a time and decide what you’d like to do with it. Be kind to yourself by stopping when you agreed to (unless you’re really having fun).

Think sustainably

Next week, we’ll explore ways to stem the tide before it crashes in. Tune in then and find easy and encouraging ways to increase your peace and decrease mail-related stress before it happens.

Care to comment?

Bringing consciousness to the things you own

How’s your holiday wish list coming along? Maybe you’re pining for a new digital camera or a cozy cashmere sweater… Or something practical like a vacuum cleaner that actually works.

Whatever it is you’ve been dreaming of, you may find yourself thinking about how much it would add to your life and how much you’d enjoy possessing and using it.

Yet, unlike items on this wish list, many things come into your home and your office that arrive with less intention or forethought.

Things that own you

Prime culprits fall into these categories:

• That which is sent to you by others: mail, catalogues, opportunities
• Things that other householders bring in: miscellaneous items, laundry, the pet’s toy
• Things you thought you might need someday: an odd business card, a brochure for a class, a CD you never listened to
• Unwanted bits that arrived with things you do/did want: packaging, storage cases, twist ties
• Broken stuff: Empty printer ink cartridges, outdated equipment, batteries you’re not sure have totally expired
• Invisible stuff: Things that used to support your and your business but no longer do

Technically these items belong to you, you probably don’t consider them your possessions.

A definition of irony

The Oxford Dictionary of English states that the root of the word possession is “able” and “to sit”.

That’s right. Unwanted possessions are able to sit – and sometimes quite persistently.

Surrounding yourself with possessions you’ve chosen

One of the biggest blocks I see with home-based businesses are quantities of things from the categories above – that have accumulated over time. When I ask, my clients tell me that they feel dead walking into their office. Repelled. Dread. Exhausted. Unmotivated.

That’s because they’ve accidentally surrounded themselves with belongings they’ve not chosen consciously.

Things to try

If you accumulate possessions unconsciously, there is a remedy.

1. Begin simply by picking something up and asking a simple question: “Does this support my business?”

2. If it doesn’t support your business, it doesn’t belong in your office. Chances are good that someone else can benefit from its use – whether directly or through recycling. Moving it along frees up space and energy.

3. If the item does support your business, the next step is to give it a home where you’ll remember to access it… if it doesn’t have one already.

Invite in what you want – on purpose

Give yourself permission to invite in your office only what will support your work, effectiveness, and joy. Doing this will give you more energy and momentum to do the work you love.

Care to comment?