Conscious-Communication Skill-Builder
SWEET REWARDS: WHY IT MAKES SENSE TO SIMPLIFY AND DE-CLUTTER

Many of us feel our lives our too complicated. We rush from one destination to the next, and from one meeting to the next dinner party. We get frustrated. We forget how to talk to each other. We don’t remember what it’s like to spend quality, unscheduled time together. Trends in our society have been to achieve more, get more, do more. But when we don’t slow down, we end up having high levels of chronic stress, which throws your hormonal balance off and, if not brought back into balance, creates disease

We need to simplify and de-clutter our lives. We need to reorganize our life and routines to focus on the meaningful, and to minimize meaningless chaos. It can be challenging to simplify and to de-clutter, but the rewards can be great.

De-cluttering our physical space is one way to lessen the stress. When you enter a cluttered room, it just adds to feelings of stress and the lack of clarity you may feel. A simplified and clarified space helps to bring focus. We all need to spend time de-cluttering our physical space so that things are easier to find, clean, and maintain. Have you ever gone to your closet, and even though it is completely full, and said ‘I don’t have a thing to wear’? Or wondered, ‘Where did I leave my keys?’ or ‘Why are these books here?’

Getting rid of clutter means looking at your physical space and "pruning and weeding it" so that what’s left is what’s most useful and important. We waste a lot of time maintaining all the clutter that fills our lives. This month, just spend a weekend, or even an hour, getting rid of all the non-meaningful, non-essential clutter in your home or office. As your space clears, so will your mind.

Another tip to help you de-stress is to simplify your routines. Simplification may mean looking at your routines and seeing if there is a way to organize them or to get rid of them to allow more time for the people and things that are most important to you. Are you going to events and meetings that are not necessary? Are you ferrying your kids around to special classes every day resulting only in cranky, stressed and tired children?

We all want to make the most out of our time although this can sometimes lead us to over-program our weekly routine. We need to decide what is truly important. We need to stop the mad rush of doing and find spaces of time for "being." Being alone, being with the children, being with friends. This month, declutter your schedule by asking the question, "is this really important?"

Just these two tools of simplifying your schedule and of decluttering your space can have such a tremendous impact on the way you feel. The pressure will feel reduced. The hustle and mad frenzy will no longer control you. You will feel more in control. You will have time to think and breathe. Where are your opportunities to slow down and simplify this month?

Contributed By Special Ivy Sea Online Correspondent, Sheetal Shah, Personal Development Trainer and Motivational Coach. Sheetal is based in Nairobi, Kenya. To learn more about Sheetal and her work, visit her Ivy Sea Online Collaboration Network bio. Go there now...

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This material is protected by copyright, and is offered as food-for-thought rather than customized counsel. As always, the most effective strategy is one that's specifically tailored to your unique organizational culture, group personality, and individual needs. Have questions? We welcome your email inquiry.

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