How to Tame Your Physical, Information & Schedule Clutter
As someone who likes structure, I’ve often heard, “Janice, you just need to learn how to go with the flow.”
About 15 years ago, I started hearing about the “flow state” as it applies to productivity. If you’re interested in finding out more, check out the video, How to enter “flow state” on command.
Although both of these concepts are helpful, they aren’t what I’m talking about.
I’m talking about something more basic: the flow of a river or stream. Sometimes there might be a trickle of water. Other times there might be a deluge. The water might move freely or it might get stopped and/or redirected due to nature, such as a beaver dam or fallen log. Humans may also impact the movement of water through building a dam.
If you sit by a creek, new water is always flowing by you.
Unfortunately, in our lives, we aren’t as good practicing flow. Well, we’re pretty good at stuff flowing into our lives: clothes, mail, tasks, digital files, towels, projects, books, etc. However, our stream of life tends to have a fallen tree blocking these items from leaving on a regular basis. This results in overflowing homes, offices, and calendars.
This is why it’s crucial to KNOW YOUR FLOW!
Knowing your flow means understanding how stuff, tasks, projects, and physical or electronic information come into your space or calendar — and how they leave. Because if stuff comes into your space and calendar each day, but nothing is getting deleted or crossed off, you’re going to end up with clutter. And clutter often leads to overwhelm which means stress.
Think about it, there is schedule clutter because you have more tasks, obligations, and activities than hours in the day. Physical clutter in your home and workplace is caused by bringing in more items than you have space for or than items that are leaving. There is information clutter due to the overabundance of websites, texts, news options, magazines, statements, etc.
What are strategies you can use to improve flow?
#1 Cultivate awareness. Whether you’re talking about possessions, email, or projects, there is the who, what, where, when, why, and how they get added or deleted from your life.
You’re in the grocery store and see your favorite spaghetti sauce on sale, yet it isn’t on your list.
Do you just put some in your cart? Do you consider how many you have at home? Do you know how frequently you eat spaghetti? Answering one or more of these questions will help you make a better decision about whether or not to buy the sauce as well as the quantity to purchase, if you decide to buy it.
You’re checking out a website related to a topic that interests you. There is a great resource available for free if you sign up for the mailing list.
Do you know how many digital newsletters you receive, as well as how many you read on a regular basis? What are the chances that you’ll review the resource and apply the strategies? What is the likelihood you’ll unsubscribe if you don’t find the emails helpful? It’s easy to think, “it’s just on my computer, so it’s not a problem.” Yet if the number of unread emails is stressful, then it is an issue.
A friend suggests meeting for dinner soon. Do you immediately open your calendar and find the first available spot? Will you check your schedule later and contact her with possible times? Do you ask her to text you with several options?
While a dinner invitation seems like an activity that’s easy to schedule, it’s best to consider other obligations in your calendar as well as location (to estimate drive and dining time). It’s easier to over-schedule when you’re simply looking for the first open slot.
#2 Practice deacquisition. When a river floods it creates lots of devastation. When your space, calendar, or brain (from too much information!) “flood” you’re more susceptible to stress, anxiety, lack of sleep, tasks slipping through the cracks, and more.
One way to minimize these impacts is to practice deacquisition – or the removal of elements. This can be accomplished in two ways: deleting or not acquiring in the first place.
This is how it might play out in the previous examples:
Grocery store: You eat spaghetti several times a month and it is an awesome sale. You buy two jars. When you get home, you count how many jars you already have and decide that you don’t need to buy more spaghetti sauce for four months. You also determine that you need to have spaghetti for dinner this week so that you can fit the new jars into the pantry.
Website: You have a history of signing up for free resources and not following through. You bookmark the website. You decide not to request the resource. And while you’re on a roll, you unsubscribe from three newsletters that you never read.
Dinner: Together you decide where to eat. Then you ask her to text you some dates starting several weeks out. This allows you to be more intentional when scheduling the date and time.
#3 Develop habits. You already have routines. However, they may or may not be serving you well. When you create habits for regular practices, it is easier to find and maintain your flow.
Here are useful patterns related to our examples:
Grocery store: Keep a paper or digital list which everyone in the household can add to when the last container of an item is opened. Check your refrigerator and pantry as you make your grocery list. Never go to the store when you’re hungry!
Website: Only visit websites that align with your goals and values. Declare a maximum of two newsletters per interest. If a new one catches your eye, unsubscribe from one of them. Delete any free resources that haven’t been opened in a year.
Dinner: Estimate and note travel time in your agenda along with pertinent details about an appointment. Always plan white space in your day. Look at your schedule for the week and month in addition to the open spots in your calendar.
Want other ideas for cultivating awareness and developing habits? Check out The Secret of Successful Habit Change.
Which kind of flow – physical, information, or schedule – is easiest for you? Why? Share your thoughts. Others may get motivated by your success!
