When we are surrounded by clutter, both physical and mental, it can reduce our productivity and deeply affect how we feel when we’re working.
It’s time to detox your business of all the things that aren’t working and instead free up some space so you can focus on exactly what will help you build momentum in your business.
YOUR PHYSICAL WORKSPACE
To start with let’s look at your physical workspace.
How can you make the space more inviting? Can you add flowers or a plant? Pictures?
Do you have papers that need filing away? Go through your drawers and throw away any old papers and documents that you no longer need.
If you don’t have an office, do you work in a clutter free area?
When I first started my business, I worked from our kitchen table and I would forever be surrounded by the kids crafts and toys and it used to really bother me. I would always feel like I should be tidying the house instead of working.
If you don’t have a designated work area, could you put a table somewhere as a desk for you? Alternatively find a coffee shop or hotel lobby where you can access wi-fi. Sometimes it helps to actually be out of the house and avoid ‘jobs’ that need doing at home.
YOUR DIGITAL WORKSPACE
Next look at your inbox – if you are receiving emails from people that you feel don’t align with your values and their emails don’t inspire you then unfollow them. A good app for this is unroll.me
Sort your inbox into folders so that you can easily find old emails and your inbox can easily be managed depending on priority.
What system are you using for online storage? Do you have folders that organise all your documents? I like to use Google Workspace, Dropbox and Evernote.
Think about social media – if you are following anyone who leaves you feeling anything less than inspired and motivated then stop following them.
CLEAR THE MENTAL CLUTTER
We’re mentally loaded with all of the things we have to do… and this isn’t helped by notification pings on our phones, being bombarded by social media with messages of things we ‘should’ be doing in our business and other distractions.
When your mind is this cluttered it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially when you start adding in all of the other things going on in your life
If you find your head spinning with all the things you have to do, want to do, should do, could do… your focus is going to be lost on all of them. You’ll start to procrastinate or even send yourself on a fast route to burnout.
It’s time to free up some brain space.
This is something I like to do when I am feeling particularly bogged down with a million things to do for my business, the kids and general family stuff, and know that I need to get it out of my head and onto paper.
Now I’ve always been someone who makes to-do lists, but this is different. This is a mega brain dump where you get EVERYTHING out onto paper and then you actually start to prioritise the list.
Follow these steps:
Grab a pen and paper.
Write down everything that is in your mental list of things that need to be done (business and personal). Even if it’s something months away, but it’s in there – write it down.
Go with it and try not to feel overwhelmed when you see the length of the list
Next it’s time to prioritise the list – this is key to feeling less overwhelmed and more in control.
Look at the tasks you feel need to get done in the next 90 days and highlight them. Everything else can be ‘parked’ for the time being and reviewed at a later date.
Now you should have a list of the key tasks to focus on in the next 90 days.
CANCEL SUBSCRIPTIONS
Take this opportunity to unsubscribe from any subscriptions that you no longer need.
Check any business apps and software that you are paying for and not using.
Sometimes these subscriptions can automatically renew, so check renewal dates and mark them in your calendar to cancel them before this happens.
This can make a significant difference to your outgoings and therefore the profit you are making in your business.
Even if you focus on just one of these areas it will make a big difference, so pick one and declutter what you can.
