Just 10 Minutes to Clear the Clutter

Okay, true confession: I live a cluttered life. While I would love to have a clutter free life space, I don’t.  The holidays seem to complicate things a bit more especially as I stash gifts and try to make room for guests. When I try to tackle large chunks, I fail miserably. So my tip for you in clearing the clutter is one that works for me (when I use it consistently):

-          10 Minute Tidy – Choose a room (or section depending on the amount of clutter) and set a timer for 10 minutes. During that time, focus only on clearing that space of the clutter. Repeat daily in various areas of your home/office until you’re clutter free.

-          As a bonus, start with the area that you dread working on first.

How do you maintain cleanliness around and through the holidays?

But Do I Love It? Questions for Choosing Your Work

Love is a driving factor for many things we do, even the bad choices we make. Those crimes of passion highlighted on dramatic television often include someone who at one point was in love. What would happen if we took that same love and poured it into our businesses and the work that we do day to day? We’ve all heard it before that if we do what we love the money will come. Well that’s true, sort of…

The truth is we must identify what we love and are passionate about then evaluate how it translates to others. What question does what we do answer for them? What problem does our solution solve for them? Once we have a strong understanding of that, we can then use our love to labor at it. Whether you’re in business for yourself, aspiring to be or content as an employee, I want you to love what you do. I want you to wake up daily prepared to fulfill your purpose for that day. I want you to love and own the space that you’re in so much that you can’t help but perform well in your efforts. As we become more consistent in putting our hands to work, our efforts compound yielding the financial rewards. That’s how it works. We work “it” [insert whatever your “it” is] until “it” works for us. Then we do it again and experience growth. After the novelty wears off, sometimes that working gets tiring. It gets mundane. It becomes less than likeable. But like a relationship, we have to determine if we really love it, or if we’re just infatuated. Once we know it’s love then we can continue working knowing that every day won’t be an easy likeable day, but every day is a love day worth working for. Here are some questions to ask in determining your love for “it”

1.       What gets me excited about it?

a.       Is the enthusiasm sustainable, a fad, or likely to turn into something that I hate or tires me out later?

2.       What don’t I like about it?

a.       Can I live with those things knowing that they’ll be a part of the process?

3.       If the money is slow to come, am I willing to be consistent and patient enough to see results?

4.       Is there longevity, stability and scalability in what I’m doing?

a.       Am I capable of the maintenance required?

5.       Does the work align with my core values and beliefs?

6.       Does the outcome of my effort help someone else?