Life Tips Daily

After the encouraging you to declutter your desktop, I stumbled across the following article in a local paper: Conquer your clutter, improve your health. It’s not very long so if you have a moment, I strongly encourage you to read it.

I was shocked to discover that “decluttering guru”, Peter Walsh, who you may have seen on Oprah claims that if you have issues with clutter or hoarding, this problem likely shows up in your health too: if you have a lot of clutter in your life, you are likely fat.

I was alarmed to read this because guess what? I am drowning in clutter and I am overweight. I can’t resist a bargain, I hate paying full price for something and have been known to buy things I don’t need simply because the price was too low to resist and because I was sure that I would one day need the item. I always thought my propensity to buy things and save them for the right moment was a good point, something that spoke well of my thriftiness and the fact that I don’t waste money. I take pride in the fact that family members scour my room for gift ideas before going out to buy something.

But could it be the symptoms of a bigger problem?

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If you spend a lot of time on the computer, either at work or at home, you may find that you become stressed and disorganized when you can’t find files or documents that you’re looking for. The naming system you used made sense at the time, as did the location you saved it to, but now, for the life of you, you can’t recall what you were thinking (or what you were drinking!).

Here’s today’s tip to help you feel more in control of your clutter:

Clean both desktops
There is of course the physical desktop, where your computer keyboard and screen sit upon if you have a desktop computer. Some laptop owners sit at a desk at least occasionally, though that is perhaps not the general rule. Either way, make sure the surface on which your computer rests is clean: no post it notes mocking you with things you have to remember, no empty drink bottles, food plates, no stray pens and pencils everywhere. You may have to bring out some surface cleaner to clean your newly discovered (and likely dusty) surface.

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If, like me, you have a feeling that this year is going to be the best year of your life, try this exercise with me and review the past month. By reviewing the first month of the year, you may be able to see where your good intentions (also known as New Year’s resolutions) didn’t quite hold and how you can adjust them so that they will work better. What am I talking about? Well try the following and see if it helps you feel more in control of the new year.

Review your goals
If you made resolutions for the entire year, but find that nothing you did in January really contributed toward those goals, perhaps it’s time to consider making two lists: one of your overall goals for the year, and one that includes a breakdown of what you will do each month to work towards the greater goal. A good example is weight loss: if your goal is to lose 40 pounds by the end of the year, you may feel like it’s ok that you didn’t have much success in the first month because you have 11 more months to get on track. However, you may also discover that if you don’t give yourself a monthly goal related to weight loss, by the time November comes around, you will still have 40 pounds to lose! Instead, set monthly goals that are baby steps towards the big goal. For the weight loss example, this could involve walking 30 minutes a day, or planning to lose four pounds every month.

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