Pareto Productivity

A new year and a clean slate. What a wonderful time of year, a time for new beginnings and second chances. A time to make a commitment to becoming more productive and dynamic.

So what is the best way to start a new year? Most people would say that setting goals and making resolutions is the place to start and I would agree but before I put pen to paper there is another activity which assists goal setting and mental agility and that is to clear out the cobwebs and clutter of 2008

We have all heard of “The Clean Sweep” “The Spring Clean” “The Clearout” but how can this help us with our productivity? To be productive and do the best possible thing you could be doing all at times, you must clear out all the clutter in your surroundings and set the framework for efficiency. One cannot be focused and organised if firstly you don’t know where things are nor can one be focused and organised with clutter and distraction.

So where do I start ?

Step 1: The Spring Clean

Plan some time to clear out your house, let everyone know what you are doing.

1. Go through your wardrobes and give away anything you haven’t worn in the last year.
2. Go through you cupboards and drawers and dump anything that doesn’t have a use.
3. Buy containers for storage.
4. Repeat this process in your bedroom, your bathroom, your garage, your car, your kitchen and any other location in your house that may be storing junk or unnecessary items.

Schedule some time in your calendar to clear out your office and/or home office

1. Go through your files and filing cabinets and throw out anything that you no longer need, ( if you already have a copy electronically or if you can easily get something again don’t hold onto it)
2. Go through your drawers and throw out anything you do not use on a regular basis. Get desk organisers, in trays and file stands for your desk.

After clearing out the physical clutter and getting your environment organised the next step is to clear out the clutter of the mind. Download everything out of your mind onto a piece of paper, no thought, plan or dream should remain untouched, all should end up on your paper. The reason for this is that all of these thoughts must do’s or like to do’s store physical space in your conscious mind, if we walk around with our mind overloaded, somewhat similar to your PC’s RAM it is inevitable that the overloaded system will crash in some manner or other . At a basic level we will forget or miss engagements, we will have dreams that are never realised because they were never planned or identified but worse still we can have suffer from stress and further on many stress related diseases.

Step 2:  The Mind download

Sit with a piece of paper or your laptop (notes in Outlook is a good place to write your mind sweep) and write everything you have to do, you should do, would like to do or even dreams or aspirations. Write as fast as you can, don’t worry about spelling or formatting just dump the thoughts onto the paper. The trick is to use what came out of your head and organise it into your system. Things that are date specific put them into your calendar so they are planned and not forgotten. Other items that you would like to do but don’t have a specific date to do them can be put into a task based system or a to do list. Outlook or Lotus Notes can be very useful or you can use a paper based personal organiser or notebook.

When you eliminate the clutter and distraction in your surroundings and mind you will free up inner and outer space to become more creative, and you will find yourself more inspired on a more regularly basis.

So start the New Year with a clutter free environment and mind leaving space to create goals and plan a fabulous year ahead.

Productivity