Boundaries, continued

Did you ever have one of those “Okay, fiiiine. I’ll do it” moments? Someone wants something from you. You know that whatever is being asked is too much, but you say yes anyway?

Yup. Me too.

“Okay, fiiiine” is a way of permitting something into your life, into your calendar, into your mind. In the moment, it usually feels like you don’t have a choice. Your daughter didn’t work out a ride to dance class. Your spouse forgot to switch the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Your client needs to meet with you at a time of day when you’re kinda groggy and not on your game. You don’t want to, but you do it anyway.

Psst! It’s sacred.

Most people slip through this moment without realizing what’s just happened. Believe it or not, it’s sacred. “Okay, Fine” is an opportunity to honor your boundaries in relationship to time and to commitments. It’s a sacred moment when you’re given the chance to act toward your highest good.

The goal isn’t to say no to everyone, the goal is to recognize that you have a choice in that moment. To wake up to the possibility that the world doesn’t need to rest on your shoulders alone. If you can recognize this opportunity to choose, you can begin to develop your No muscle, your Work it out yourself and get back to me muscle, and your I accept this request and will gladly do it muscle. Powerful stuff!

Over time, requests for your attention, time and talent can fall into elegant categories. No, thank you becomes a viable answer. Resentment falls away. It’s as if you develop your own inner stoplight, complete with green arrows, blinking yellows, and solid red. You develop your own boundaries. People trust you more. You trust yourself more too.

Playing with “Okay, Fine” in your workspace

When you have too many Okay, Fines on your to-do list, your life can feel pretty crazy. When you have lots of Okay, Fines on your desk, it can look pretty crazy. I’m sure this isn’t news.

It can be really helpful to look at the sources. Sometimes things end up on your desk because you have a boundary you’re unconscious of or haven’t enforced. For example, there’s cat litter on your keyboard again — and you suddenly realize this bothers you. Or someone interrupts you while you’re working — and although you love them, you dislike their timing. Or you’ve gotten another one of those catalogs for the nth time — and realize you don’t want to keep shoving them around.

And remember that you have a choice.

Because you do. And it’s a sacred, precious thing.

The sneaky stuff that skips “Okay, Fine” entirely.

Lots and lots of stuff sneaks into our spaces before we even get to Okay, Fine it. It slips under the radar without our say-so.

Email, for example. Messages and invitations on Facebook. Free bonuses. Jury summons.

It’s sneaky stuff. For all intents and purposes, it looks like stuff you have to do. It piles up or comes unbidden and the assumption is that you have to do it all. Use it all. But you don’t, because you have a choice.

It might seem selfish to consider your needs first, but it’s not. In fact, by doing this, you’re modeling for others how to care for themselves and empowering them. It’s a double sacred gift: you grow more grounded and so do the people around you.

Turning off the hose

When you’re not sure how to choose or your boundaries are unconscious, it’s like a garden hose with no nozzle for regulating the flow. That sneaky stuff leaks (or sprays!) into your space without your consent.

Let’s say that you wanted to practice exercising this choice. One of the best tools in the Inspired Home Office lineup is the Wish Kit for helping you determine what you want in your workspace. This a powerful tool helps you practice using choosing and focusing on what you want (rather than what you don’t want). You begin to move forward quickly.

So start by thinking about what you want in your space – physically, energetically, emotionally, practically, and in terms of your boundaries. It could look like anything!

Once you have some clarity, you can set up some structures that honor your boundaries in your space. Here are a few ideas:

* Placing a beautiful cloth over monitor at the end of the day
* Having a door that closes
* Wearing noise-canceling headphones
* Asking for what you need (not be interrupted, bandwidth use)
* Proactively removing irritants – unsubscribing to newsletters, people who irritate you on Facebook or twitter, etc.
* Setting up email filters
* Setting up work hours and play hours
* Putting “buffer time” or transition time between activities
* Scheduling vacation time (even if you stay home)
* Culling out resources you no longer use that take up space
* Relocate the cat boxes to another room

These actions turn off the hose of frustration, resentment, and overwhelm. What boundaries would you like to establish in your own environment?

No matter where you start, know that establishing healthy boundaries, “letting your yes mean yes, and your no mean no” is a process. It takes time. Bring gentleness and curiosity to your process and you’ll see results in no time.

7 comments

New Zealand.
Egypt.
Yemen
Somalia.
Bahrain.
Iran.

Just reading off the headlines make me think of the millions of people experiencing loss, pain, uncertainty and fear right now.

If you’re like me, you probably vacillate between feeling deep concern and helpless distraction. I lean toward worry in the face of confusion, and I’ve noticed that my thoughts about all these events have been cluttered. My feelings have been messy.

If your worries are more domestic — focused on home, work, or loved ones– you may find that you experience the same kinds of feelings and lack of focus. Distraction.

Any time you add clutter and disorganization to the mix, thoughts and feelings are less focused. Sometimes it feels like a constant buzzing in your head and heart.

Focusing that buzzy energy

Allowing overwhelm to persist prevents you from bring the gifts you have to those who need them. No matter what’s troubling you, let me gently encourage you to focus on what you can do.

Think about the smallest do-able thing:

• Clear off a space on your desk
• Journal about your feelings
• Share your thoughts with someone with a compassionate ear
• Offer support to someone affected by local or world events.
• Consciously limit how informed you are (what Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan calls a media diet)
• Write a check to support organizations who provide aid.

The other super-helpful declutterer of thoughts and feelings

Hand it over. Write or recite a list of all the things that concern you at the moment under the title: “I am releasing to the Universe…” I do this weekly and it lightens my load tremendously. There’s no way I can carry it all. Consciously releasing your attachment to big, overwhelming stuff allows life to use that energy for something better.

Time and time again, choosing to hand it over to the Universe, to God, to that Something Bigger then Me creates peace and amazing resolutions I never dreamed possible. The act of letting go — on purpose — resolves the issues I was stuck to. If you want to read more about how to do it, my much-loved article about Grape-Scented Markers is here.

Suffice it to say, you don’t have to carry it all.

And not to belabor the point, but while the very process described here works with feelings, it also works with any distracting object (or collection of objects) in your space.

• Notice overwhelm and distraction
• Remember what’s important
• Focus on what you can do
• Release the rest

Sometimes doing these steps with your physical space makes room to then work with the feelings inside.

No matter what’s on your mind and heart, know that you’re not alone. It’s okay to make space inside of you for whatever troubles you. In the end, the people you love benefit, your work benefits, and the resulting peacefulness radiates through the circles of connection to the places that need it most.

2 comments

The “What do YOU do?” series gives you a glimpse into my life as a messy, creative person and invites you to share your organizing insights and ideas. Jump in – you’re an expert on your own experience.

It’s happened enough times that it’s become a joke: It’s not Office Spa Day unless someone breaks a shredder.

All that vigorous cleaning and the poor shredders don’t stand a chance!

Why shred in the first place?

Besides the fact that I live in the identity-theft capital of the U.S.? It’s just smart.

What is currently working well for me:

We own a shredder. That’s a good start. Technically, it belongs to Inspired Spouse, but I do occasionally use it. Yup.

(I’m fishing… can you tell?)

What I’m currently working on:

Everything else. I know I should shred things like account numbers and checks and stuff, but I tend to err on the risky side, I’m afraid.

The shredder lives in Inspired Spouse’s office, not mine. So I have to (ungh!) get up from my desk to use it. I’d rather recycle.

How do YOU do your shredding?

Please share your pearls of wisdom. Help is needed in the Inspired House! : )

Share your insights and ideas! Your comments on your own process are welcome. House rules: Give advice to me or others only when it’s specifically requested. This makes exploring safe and learning possible for every reader.

6 comments

While I want this blog to be an oasis that nourishes you, sometimes I come across remarkable stuff that has only a passing resemblance to relevant blog content. ADD is my excuse for the random fun you’ll find here. Enjoy!

Got stuff?

Sometimes half the journey is knowing where to send it all!

Here are some out-there ideas for giving things away to be reused:

• Humane Societies take pet food, blankets, paper towel rolls, newspapers
• Latex paint recycle centers
• Craigslist.org
• Freecycle.org
• And this awesome article has a bunch of other ideas (hat tip to OregonStager)

What wacky things do you recycle?

The ADDness goes on, but I’ll stop here for now. Have you any random suggestions to add?

3 comments

How the stuff around you is a sign of abundance

You have stuff.

Maybe you hate the way the printer works. Or the snarl of cords that lurk under your desk. Maybe it’s the massive accumulation of half-finished projects. Or papers that may have been important once, but now fill you with dread.

Sometimes it feels like your stuff has you.

Because of the negative feelings you have about some of the items in your workspace, you begin to resists the entire space. The whole enchilada. You feel cramped, uncomfortable, and it’s hard to get anything done.

Over time, you start to develop a barely-tolerable relationship with your space.

Renegotiate your relationship

If you are in a relationship with a person who nourishes you, you actively care for that relationship and give it your time and attention. You give back what he or she gives to you. You grow closer and feel loved and supported.

It’s the same way with your belongings.

If something you own feels unsupportive or draggy, it’s healthy for you to manage it so that it doesn’t affect you negatively – or you can simply let it go.

You have a right to a workspace that feels clear and inspiring.

Find gratitude for your stuff

While you may feel enslaved by stuff, in reality, you are swimming in abundance. Every object around you is like a friend, waiting to assist you, help you, or inspire you.

Even negative-feeling items around you are your devoted, if imperfect, servants.

• That printer will print out anything you ask, at any time of day, in almost unlimited amounts. Could you possibly imagine asking a flesh-and-blood human to do the same?

• That pile of books, if overwhelming, are a collection of teachers gathered together to inform and advise you.

• The desk, though it looks out of control, it’s a sacred space dedicated to your work. This space helps you create, complete important projects, and is the altar from which your greatest gifts are offered.

What overflowing abundance you have, right in your very midst!

And your stuff will nourish you in return.

What thing in your space is most distracting to you right now? Take a moment to notice it.

It is serving you? What do you feel grateful for about this item?

Where would you like this item to go – so that you feel more clear and supported while you’re working? You might want to let it go entirely. You might want to put it somewhere out of sight. It’s up to you. Whatever you feel compelled to do, take that one action.

If you do this process, one object at a time, you will feel clearer, lighter and will have practiced a profound kind of self care.

And aren’t you worth it?

5 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

The upside of piles and why your brain likes them so much.

Maybe you loved taking human biology in school – maybe you hated it. I was a fan, myself, until we reached the chapter about the brain.

The stomach? Got it.

The heart and lungs? Got it.

The filtering liver – a little mysterious – though comprehensible. But, to me, the human brain was a gray globby thing that made no sense at all.

The problem? The aforementioned “globby” part. I couldn’t see the mechanics. Studying neuron cell diagrams didn’t help one bit. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around how that tofu-like mass could made my body move, see, or think.

Now that I’m a more patient grown-up, I’ve dedicated myself to learning about the brain to include in my work. At Inspired Home Office, of course, we talk a lot about the brain since it has such a profound impact on how you concentrate (or not) and how you organize your stuff.

Ready for some nerdy stuff?

Some research circa-1970, discovered specific neurons in your brain that process the edges of objects. Object edges? Crazy. There are, in fact, even neurons that respond to the distance between and the movement of object edges, too.

Uneducated, but my guess is that this edge-noticing neuron helped our ancestors visually track prey and predators.

Even if you’re not hunting buffalo or running from an angry mastodon, this research is relevant to organizing your workspace.

Edges in your office

Take a good look around your workspace, and I’ll bet you’ll find object edges everywhere.

Your computer screen has them. Papers have them. Books, files, pens – you name it. It stands to reason that the more edges your brain has to process, the more likely you and your brain might get overwhelmed. All those edges!

Lumps

A lot of creative people, including many of my clients, like lumps. Compared to lots of scattered papers, for example, lumps of papers are soothing. Scattered papers have tons of edges. A lump, by contrast, only has one set of edges.

See where I’m going with this?

If you pile stuff together, you’re actually giving your edge-processing neurons a break. How cool is that?

The trouble starts when you can’t find what you need in your lumps. You can’t always see what’s in your lumps because, well, they’re in a lump!

Helpful lumps and woozles

With apologies to Christopher Robin and Pooh, if you like to lump, you can put your things into helpful lumps:

• Helpful lumps allow you to see things and not forget about them
• Helpful lumps allow you to mentally process as few edges as possible
• Helpful lumps take up less space than a regular lump

My favorite kind of helpful lump looks like this:

This type of stair-step file holder has a small footprint on your desk, but allows you to see everything at once. (URL added to photos for your convenience – I’m not a vendor for the companies that carry these products.)

Incidentally, I’m not crazy about the folders with clasps (in photo) since they’re hard to get into. But the black wire thing is awesome.

Other helpful lumps can look like this (Notice the lack of a lid? Definitely a good thing.):

Or this…

Mine?

Okay, I’ll show you. It looks like this:

Client files were removed for privacy – I’m not that neat. Oh, and don’t talk to me about the wallpaper. It’s a project, trust me.

Other ideas? Your helpful lumps don’t have to live in a folder. I worked with a client recently who was thinking about putting up shelves and giving each project its own basket on the shelf, like a little nest for each idea to incubate in.

Be creative with making more helpful lumps. Trust what you need.

Things to try

Do you have a bunch of randomly sorted items that make your brain process edges?

Play with putting them into helpful lumps using the examples above and see what happens. It can be surprisingly fun!

Care to comment?

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?