Out of Clutter, Find Simplicity

One of the first and foremost important things in success: Focus. Before we BEGIN to think of article writing, posting backlinks or anything else, we must focus. In order to do that, we must make sure that we won't get distracted, consciously or unconsciously. Even though you may not consciously be thinking about the laundry that needs to be done or the kitchen that needs cleaning, but these things drag your mind down. And when clutter adds up...

Out of Clutter, Find Simplicity

Out of Clutter, Find Simplicity
© 2000 by Kathy Paauw, OrgCoach.net

Albert Einstein once said, "Out of clutter, find
simplicity." This article will help you simplify your own life
by helping you to eliminate some unwanted clutter.

Clutter: Anything you own, possess, or do that does not
enhance your life on a regular basis.

If you accept my definition of clutter, then you acknowledge
that clutter goes far beyond your physical environment.
Clutter can be activities, or even people, in your present
life -- something to think about! The statistics below refer
to physical clutter, although you could probably come up
with some pretty startling statistics if you were to broaden
this definition beyond your environment.

1. Clutter costs us time, which is priceless, because it can
never be replaced.

* 80 percent of papers that are filed are never referenced
again.

* According to the American Demographic Society, Americans
waste more than nine million hours each day looking for lost
and misplaced articles.

* Office World News reported that the average executive
wastes 150 hours per year looking for lost and misplaced
documents.

2. Clutter costs us energy. It makes our jobs harder.

* Getting rid of excess clutter eliminates 40 percent of the
housework in an average home.

* 80 percent of the clutter in most homes is a result of
disorganization, not lack of space.

3. Clutter costs us financially. Not only do we pay for the
initial purchase, but also for the upkeep and maintenance.

* Before looking for more storage space, clear out the items
you no longer need or use. Recycle them or donate them to a
good cause.

* Make the most of the space you have available. Evaluate
your need for better storage containers and organizing
tools.

* An Ernst & Young study revealed that it costs $2,100 a
year to maintain a filing cabinet. An average of three
percent of documents are lost or misfiled, and have to be
recovered at an alarming cost of $120 per document.

4. Clutter costs us peace of mind. It's hard to relax when
we are on sensory overload with piles of magazines we've
been meaning to read, etc.

* Evaluate the number of subscriptions (magazines, journals,
newspapers) you have mailed to your home or office. Can you
realistically read them all? If not, reduce your guilt and
cancel them! You can purchase specific issues of interest
from the newsstand or go to the public library.

* We gain peace of mind knowing that we will be able to find
what we need when we need it.

The following clutter categories made me chuckle -- and nod
my head a few times. They are taken from "The Organization
Map" by Pam McClellan. Although this book is no longer in
print, you may be able to find it in your local library. It
has some excellent tips for home organization and clutter
reduction.

==> Categorize Your Clutter

Born Clutter: Anything that was born to take up space and
collect dust (souvenirs).

"I'm taking it with me" Clutter: Anything that has served a
purpose and no longer works for you (unidentified keys,
clothes that don't fit).

Impostor Clutter: Clutter posing as a bargain (garage sale
"deals").

Heirloom Clutter: Some clutter is inherited (Grandpa's old
78s).

Bestowed Clutter: Some clutter is given to us as a gift.

Rabbit Clutter: Collections and collectibles that multiply
fast.

Masquerade Clutter: Clutter masquerading as good stuff --
unused kitchen appliances, musical instruments you never
play (things in good condition but never used).

Atmosphere Clutter: Pretending to be a decoration --
anything used to decorate that is overdone or requires too
much work to maintain.

Someday Clutter: Anything you aren't currently using, but
you intend to fix, finish, or get to someday.

Bob Hope Clutter: "Thanks for the Memories" clutter we are
emotionally tied to (love letters, high school memorabilia).

Snob Clutter: Crystal candy dishes, silver platters (things
that collect dust or get in your way -- usually expensive
things meant to impress someone).

Now that you've identified your clutter, GET RID OF IT!

Learning to eliminate clutter at its source deals with the
problem at the root level, before it gets out of hand. Here
are some suggestions to help you de-clutter your life:

* Go through your mail when you receive it and throw away
whatever you can -- before it becomes a pile on your desk or
part of a junk drawer.

* Rather than creating a "to do" pile of papers that are
unrelated to each other, create an action or tickler file
for anything you cannot act on immediately. For more
information about how to set this up, see my article on how
to Trim the FAT at http://www.orgcoach.net According to
veteran organizer Barbara Hemphill, there are three things
you can do with paper: File, Act, Toss.

NOTE: The number one reason I have found that people "pile"
is because they are afraid they will never find it again if
they file it away, or they are afraid they will forget to
act on it. For a solution to this problem, see my Web page
on "Find Anything in 5 Seconds or Less."

* Ask yourself what activities and people are most important
to you. Look at incoming mail with this in mind. Remember
that when you say "yes" to someone or something, you are
saying "no" to someone or something else. As you decide
whether or not to act on something or file it away for
future reference, be mindful of the "Someday Clutter" --
something you might get to someday. Does this fit within
what is most important to you?

Teaching yourself to eliminate clutter is an important life
skill to develop, especially in the information age we live
in today. Many of us are in the habit of saving magazines,
books, catalogs, old records and documents, even though they
are outdated. We keep many things around because we're
afraid we just might need them someday. Papers become
obsolete so quickly, and we have the benefit of the World
Wide Web to search for the most up-to-date information on
any subject we can imagine (and some we haven't even
imagined yet!). So use the Web to your advantage and free
yourself from clutter and piles. A set of questions I ask
myself before throwing something away:

* What is the worst possible thing that could happen if I
threw this away today and discovered I needed it in the
future?

* Could I replace it?

* Would it be obsolete by the time I might need it?

Creating space makes you feel better physically and
emotionally. If you don't believe me, stop right now and
look around you. Is there an area that needs to be de-
cluttered? How long have you been meaning to clean it up?
Notice what happens to you physically and mentally when you
focus on that space. If you're like most people, you've
probably been meaning to get to that clutter for awhile and
the combination of negative self-talk and visual mess zaps
your energy. When you finally get around to cleaning it up,
you'll feel much more energized and motivated.

------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy Paauw, President of Paauwerfully Organized,
specializes in helping busy executives, professionals, and
entrepreneurs declutter their schedules, spaces and minds.
She is a certified business/personal coach and professional
organizer. Contact her at mailto:orgcoach@gte.net or visit
her website at http://www.orgcoach.net and learn how you can
Find ANYTHING in 5 Seconds -- Guaranteed!

"Apathy is the Devil"

I spent a great deal of my youth feeling lethargic and wanting nothing more than to watch TV, play on forums or do anything else that wasn't productive. I finally came to a point where I realized I wasn't accomplishing anything, simply because I didn't force myself to do anything I didn't feel like doing. That's when I said to myself, "Apathy is the devil." Apathy can lead to procrastination, which would halt any business in its tracks.

Overcoming procrastination is no easy task, but it can be done. Sooner, the better. Let's face it, there's always something we'd rather do than work (including TV!). The good news, though, is that the TV will still be there after you've completed your daily tasks. Here are 10 tips to overcoming procrastination:

Ten Tips To Help You Overcome Procrastination
© 2000 by Kathy Paauw, OrgCoach.net

Select one idea from the list below and make a commitment to
yourself to create a new habit by making it a part of your
daily routine.

1. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! Break
   larger projects into manageable "bites" and create a
   timeline for yourself to accomplish these smaller tasks.
2. Remember that each project expands to the time allotted
   to it, so set a limit for yourself: "I am going to return
   all my phone calls in one hour." "I will file papers for 30
   minutes." "I will spend 15 minutes picking up around the
   house." Set a timer. You will be amazed how much you can get
   done when you focus your time.
3. Check your self-talk. Do you frequently say, "I
   gotta...," "I should...," or "I have to..."? Replace this
   self-talk with "I choose to..." and recognize that you are
   at choice about what you do. If you don't choose to do it,
   don't do it!
4. Eat a live toad first thing in the morning, and nothing
   worse will happen to you the rest of the day. Tackle that
   "toad" -- the task you have been putting off, the one that
   is hanging over your head -- because it will lift an
   immense load and you will feel much more productive.
5. Train yourself to trim the F.A.T. When papers come into
   your office or home, give yourself these three choices:
   File, Act, Toss. (Note that "I'll just put it here for now"
   is not one of the choices.)
6. Relieve yourself of the stress caused by all of the
   clutter in your home and office by setting up some systems
   to manage the paper in your life. A good filing system and a
   tickler file system are essential elements. For instructions
   on setting up an effective tickler system, visit
   http://www.orgcoach.net/trimthefat.html.
7. Make a weekly appointment with yourself to plan your
   coming week. During your planning session, schedule
   important activities and tasks so you have a concrete plan
   for following through with your intentions.
8. When planning your time, include both urgent (time-
   sensitive) and non-urgent but important activities in your
   plan. An example of an urgent activity might be a meeting or
   a project with an upcoming deadline. A non-urgent activity
   might be exercise or relationship-building -- something
   important but not time-sensitive or deadline-driven.
9. Make appointments with yourself to get administrative
   work done, such as paying bills or catching up with your
   reading. Treat this time as you would an appointment with
   someone else
10. Take 15 minutes at the end of each day to put things
    away and look at the calendar for the next day. Gather what
    you need ahead of time so you will be prepared for tomorrow.

OTHER ACTION IDEAS

Start a Worry Log and check it monthly. What percent of your
fears actually come true?

When you are aware that fear is holding you back, follow the
four-step FEAR process (available on my website at
http://www.orgcoach.net/newsletter/v3issue3.html to help
get you unstuck.

------------------------------------------------------------
Kathy Paauw, President of Paauwerfully Organized,
specializes in helping busy executives, professionals, and
entrepreneurs declutter their schedules, spaces and minds.
She is a certified business/personal coach and professional
organizer. Contact her at mailto:orgcoach@gte.net or visit
her website at http://www.orgcoach.net and learn how you can
Find ANYTHING in 5 Seconds - Guaranteed!

Welcome to Ninja Safelist: Mastery of Success

Welcome to Ninja Safelist: Mastery of Success.

If you've been looking for that one secret, that one missing ingredient to making money online, this is it. Mastery of Success will teach you how to succeed in the hectic world that is Internet Marketing. This is no ordinary success blog - here you won't find anything that has to do with building your list, split-testing your PPC campaigns, promoting affiliate programs or anything of that sort. Those things are all details that make a small piece of the Big Picture.

The secret to making money online is this: the strength of your MIND.

This is the step that most people skip, and perhaps the most fatal mistake. There's no such thing as "easy money". Entrepreneurship requires discipline, organization, self-esteem, confidence, willpower, strength, action and perseverance. These things don't just sprout up overnight. Perhaps you've been in a situation like these:

• Your head is filled with so many Internet Marketing concepts - blogging, affiliate marketing, private label rights marketing, traffic exchanges, etc. - that you don't know where to start.
• You hate to think of the money you've spent on products you don't use.
• You download free report after free report, but never make the time to read them.
• You start a project, but dump it once you find it's not making money quickly enough.
• You come up with an idea, but you are constantly second-guessing it because you don't think anybody else will find it to be of value.
• Your friends and family tell you that you're wasting your time, and you're starting to believe them.
  

If any of these statements apply to you, you're not alone. This is what we will be focusing on:

1. Discipline - the ability to create an idea and stick to it
2. Organization - focus your energy into productivity
3. Self-esteem - recognize your self-worth and the value you hold
   
4. Confidence - knowledge that you can do what you set your mind to
5. Willpower - the desire and drive
6. Strength - endure the hardships you encounter along the way
7. Action - taking the time to get up and do it
   
8. Perseverance - continuing on in the face of failure

If you're not yet convinced, successful entrepreneurship requires 90% of Mind Power and only 10% technical abilities. You may be an expert at Twitter marketing, but what good is it if you don't have full faith that your idea will even work?

It's not an easy road. This will require an open mind to new ideas and a shift in your comfort zone. Some journeys will be shorter or longer than others. This is the learning process to success. Welcome to Mastery of Success.