Declutter Like You’ve Got A Gun To Your Head.
Clutter is the enemy of creative work.
You can’t focus when you’ve got a desk full of mess, an email inbox loaded with unread messages, 50 unread Slack messages, posted notes everywhere and a to-do list longer than a roll of toilet paper.
There’s a solution to the problem of clutter and the downstream effects that come with it.
The solution is to get serious about clutter. Act like you’ve got a gun to your head if it helps.
“Whatever you do, don’t see clutter as something minor; see clutter as something major”
How I declutter?
I never leave the office with stuff on my desk. There’s my laptop, keyboard and mouse — nothing else. Everything else is put away or put in my backpack to take home.
Any dirty dishes are washed before I leave the office. The same goes if I’m in my home office writing — dirty dishes are a distraction. Dirty dishes come with smells that remind you to declutter and put them where they belong.
I may sound like a control freak here, but by ending the day with no clutter, I can ensure I start tomorrow with a fresh outlook instead of being behind the eight-ball trying to fix up yesterday’s mess.
“Deal with today’s clutter today”
Someone else will do it.
That’s what causes clutter. At work, the kitchen is loaded with dirty dishes because the majority of people believe someone else will do them. It’s this lack of responsibility that causes the clutter in the first place.
If each person washed their one cup a day, then there would be no clutter.
The way to own the problem of clutter is to take responsibility.
Decluttering helps you think.
That’s what I do when I lack inspiration.
Just like taking a hot shower helps you to think, so does decluttering. Decluttering is like taking a walk in the park and getting away from the worries of the day.
Decluttering is a form of multitasking that’s acceptable.
Combine the act of thinking with decluttering and see what I mean.
Decluttering is an excellent break.
We’ve all read a 1001 blog posts telling us to take more breaks.
I used to think this advice was BS until my Osteopath told me about how messed up my spine is. Now I have to take regular breaks when doing my Saturday blogging.
The best way to move around is to put things away and stretch at the same time. Bend down to pick clothes up off the floor. Bend down to load the dishwasher.
Decluttering can be an escape from the art of flow.
I realized that by resetting my brain with decluttering breaks, I could go longer and write more.
Focus comes from blank space.
When there’s nothing but blank space around you, it’s much easier to focus.
That’s why I write on Medium because the user interface is full of blank space, so there’s nothing to distract me.
Creativity excels in blank space.
Thoughts multiply with blank space.
“Many of you want to know how to build a startup or gain traction on social media and often the answers are in the things you overlook”
What you’re seeking is in what you’re overlooking.
Like clutter…
The fact that I threw away more than 50% of my possessions in pursuit of blank space is how I do the work that’s mentally exhausting.
If you read another success guru blog post, you probably would never learn that. You’d think that success came from more traffic, or a better sales funnel or a new morning habit.
Success comes from the simple things you’re overlooking like clutter.
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