MONDAY BYTES – February 4, 2013
Clutter: many of us are drowning in it! There’s the clutter of our closets, our desktops, our “to do” lists — as well as the clutter of our thinking.
During my recent home renovation project, I packed up all the books and paraphernalia from the living room, kitchen, and bath. This forced me to look at all that I had been holding on to for years.
When the work was done (it came out great—thank you, Colleen!), and I was rearranging the rooms, I realized there was quite a lot that I no longer needed or wanted. I was able to donate most of it to my local thrift store.
This felt great—to rid myself of the stuff that can get in the way of more streamlined thinking and a more inviting home.
It’s just as easy to get distracted by objects and possessions as it is with people and projects that get in the way of what’s important.
A distraction is anything that doesn’t end up contributing to a meaningful life. Over time, these distractions can lead to living a life focused on ephemera instead of what is truly important to us.
To help de-clutter our thinking and focus on what is of real value, here’s an exercise my friend and composer/bassoonist/arts consultant John Steinmetz offered recently (he was facilitating a fab session at our NETMCDO conference—thanks, John!):
He invited us to quiet our minds, take a deep breath, and close our eyes . . . and then consider what issue—if we had more time—would we most like to spend on thinking about.
The question is an antidote to clutter, as it first allows us the space to define what we want to focus on. Because the truth is, once we’ve named this, we CAN carve out time to think about what’s truly important.
This week: Identify one thing you’d especially want to invest time in thinking about. Then schedule yourself a 20 minute “thinking retreat” later this week—put it into your calendar.
Retreat guidelines: find a quiet place (no cell phone, internet, or people distractions), and focus on thinking about the issue or idea most important to you now. (If you have trouble choosing just one, then identify the one that—at least for this week—feels the most resonant.) You may want a piece of paper and a pen with you to capture your best thoughts on what action steps you want to take as a result. Keep it positive—this is the time for focusing on real possibilities and opportunities.
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