I’m dedicated to helping you live a more positive, productive life. One of the ways I do that is through decluttering, which is a topic that has threaded its way through this podcast since the very beginning.
Clutter comes in all forms and can be found in all aspects of our lives, which is why I encourage whole-life decluttering. I’m a big believer in cleaning out closets and getting organized in the traditional sense–I do love a good spring cleaning–but I don’t want us to miss all the areas we hold onto things that do not serve us, and as such, make our lives more difficult. It’s one of the simplest ways to live better, by releasing what doesn’t serve.
Filters for Decluttering
If you are a fan of decluttering, be sure to check out the Declutter Playlist. You can also search for particular episodes and topics with keywords like “declutter” or “clutter” on that page and you’ll find a collection of the blog posts with embedded players on each page.
This is especially helpful for an episode like 246 “A SIMPLE Way to Reduce Clutter and Stress” which includes my SIMPLE system framework for creating your own personalized decluttering system.
This framework is intended to help you create something I call “filters” – just as a physical filter helps you keep what you want and discard what you don’t, a filter for decluttering will help you see what works in a space in your life. Filters are created by your values, preferences, and goals.
Examples could include traditional filters like knowing the purpose of a room to know what belongs in it, which is a very simple approach to something like a kitchen. It’s a place where you prepare and consume food, so you have food, appliances, plates, storage, and such. But for us it’s also a meeting area for the family, and a partial mudroom. So we have backpack storage and a command center.
Filters for other spaces can vary so I’ll go through four areas today to help you consider what applies to your life. I realize that figuring all this out can be a challenge, which is why clients work with me. At the end of the episode I’ll share more resources and options, but for now we’ll start with a very simple question you can keep asking yourself: Does this serve me?
In a previous episode about habits that energize you, I talked about why I think energy management is more important than time management. Energy management is about understanding and optimizing our personal energy levels.
Once you are able to assess your energy levels as well as figure out what energizes and what drains you, you’ll quickly spot things you’re holding onto that you may need to release so you can thrive. As you consider the places in your life and ask this question, consider your energy. Sometimes that’s the simplest tell that something’s works or doesn’t.
4 Areas You Can Declutter Your Life
Let’s review four areas in your life that you can ask yourself this question. The categories I’ll cover are people, things, tasks, and thoughts.
Releasing People Who Don’t Serve You
Consider the people in your life, those that are closest to you, that surround you day-to-day. Consider who you follow on social media, the podcasts you listen to and the YouTube videos you watch.
Who are you letting into your world, your space, your innermost thoughts?
Who is in your ear, encouraging you and discouraging you?
And are these relationships supportive of who you are and what you want to do?
Do they feed into your goals or your anxiety?
For instance, if you’re trying to cultivate a positive mindset, are you surrounding yourself with people who uplift you or those who constantly complain and bring you down? Or perhaps you follow social media accounts that (even if they don’t intend to) make you feel inadequate, it might be time to unfollow.
Think about your interactions. Do they leave you feeling energized or drained?
Releasing Things That Don’t Serve You
Consider the things in your life. Physical clutter comes from so many sources, whether we’ve run out of time and energy to handle it, we’re collecting too much, it’s more than the space can handle, or it’s not meant to be where you have it. This is where it’s essential to know the purpose of your space, whether it’s your office or kitchen or bedroom or a corner of a dining room.
Wherever it is you need to understand what you want to be doing there. It can tie into your values and family and needs to reflect your current time in life. It’s also why you need to think about the person you are now. Are you a person that needs the things that surround you? Do you feel like they honor your space, or do they distract you and make you feel more frustrated than focused? It’s easy to hang onto things because you *might* use them. Clothes and shoes are common. Do you have things in your closet that no longer fit you or your lifestyle, or are worn and less than inspiring?
I know especially when budget is a concern it’s hard to toss things from a practical standpoint, but consider how much space they take up and time you use moving past them (get through the drawer or sort through the closet) to get to what you will wear. Consider how those things you hate to part with are taking up precious space and keeping you from a lovely new closet organizer or adding to the morning scramble to find what you need.
Or perhaps you have a stack of books you know you’ll never read? Don’t come at me, I’m a fellow book lover! But it’s important to consider how these items take up physical and mental space. If surrounding yourself with unread books inspires and creates a backdrop you love, then it isn’t clutter and absolutely serves you.
But if, instead, you are winding your way through boxes of unused, uncherished books, then it’s time to release and make room for what matters.
Check out Ep 244 on clearing your digital clutter.
Releasing Tasks that Don’t Serve You
So many times we have task lists that are incredibly long and demanding, because that’s life. But way too often what’s on those lists is actually sabotaging you. Ask yourself if the list you’re working from is serving you? How? It could be based on serving your goals with items that move the needle forward.
Your task list can serve you by making space for things you love to do or time with family, which is something you value. (So perhaps you need to watch how much you’ve volunteering or where you could delegate to others.) The tasks you list also need to match your energy on specific days and even match what you’re good at and love to do. I understand that as adults we often have to do things we don’t want to do, so I’m not talking about that.
But there are often many opportunities to make different choices. Ultimately, you need to assess if your tasks are helping you be busy or productive. The busy trap is easy to fall into, make sure your tasks align with what really matters.
Releasing Thoughts That Don’t Serve You
Every day we face the world with thoughts about ourselves and others swirling about in our heads creating a whole new level of mental clutter. Our thought patterns can be just as cluttering as physical items.Sometimes it’s a response to what others are saying to us, sometimes it’s our own view of what we’re hoping and dreaming.
We make up stories as to what someone’s silence means. We make up stories about what the outcome might be of a chance we take. We have the mental load of running our lives with an endless loop of todos that we haven’t even gotten on our task list (or considered if they belong). We overanalyze the tiniest changes and allow worry to seep into our lives readily.
While I’m not saying we shouldn’t give thought to what’s going on and make choices carefully and wisely, what I am saying is that you need to pay attention to those thoughts because they drive your action and inaction.
Consider what thoughts are holding you back. Do they have a place or is it time to release them?
Does This Serve Me
I realize when you ask yourself, “Does this serve me?”, it can bring up so many additional questions. Learning to ask yourself what you want and need may not be the norm for you. You may not stop to think about that or think you deserve it. It’s incredibly important to trust your intuition and the process. It takes curiosity and practice.
It’s a challenge to figure out and it takes time. That’s why it’s a big part of what I do as a coach. People are often surprised when I start with personal assessments as a productivity coach. They ask if we’re going to review calendars and planners and task lists. We do, but not first. To start, you need to know more about you and what makes you tick. Your tendencies and personality, strengths, and values, all feed into what you want out of life and how you can best reach those goals. When you are in alignment, life is more satisfying and more productive.
So, where can you start with all this? The Positively Productive Toolkit is a free collection of workbooks that guide you through self-discovery and self-awareness, helping you identify and assess different aspects of who you are. You’ll find a Core Values workbook to walk you through what you value, the Joy List workbook to help you discover what you truly love to do and to give you a way to create your own personalized guide to self-care and energy management. They take minutes and they’re fun! There is an Assessments Workbook as well which includes links to all the assessments I use in coaching. You can request it by going to the RESOURCES page of the Positively Productive website, or by typing www.positivelyproductive.com/toolkit.
Releasing what doesn’t serve you is not only essential for productivity, it creates space for what truly matters. By evaluating the people, things, tasks, and thoughts in your life, you can identify areas where clutter is not just a nuisance, but a block.m Releasing what doesn’t serve means releasing yourself from what holds you back. As you reflect on this, remember to approach it like a new habit. Start small, be patient with yourself, and celebrate every bit of progress you make. And I will be here, as always, cheering you on!
