Be Free! 3 Areas to Declutter for Greater Freedom

Are you feeling stuck, trapped or in need of a change?

Increase your freedom by removing restraints. Remove the clutter, starve the distractions and feed your focus. Clutter and distractions create hidden hindrances.

• Declutter your mind – What are you filling your mind with? You get out what you put in. Dr. Amen says, we are besieged by ANT’s or automatic, negative thoughts crawling all over us unless we intentionally exterminate them. Fumigate the ANT’s and stop letting them into your mind. What noise can you tune out? The brain is meant to process information not to store it. Is there an external system (like a journal or planner) you can use that will enable you to stop holding on to so much and increase your brain’s processing efficiency?

• Declutter your life –   Review your daily habits and decide what is working for you and what is not. Aim for simplicity and calm in your habits and your surroundings. Less is more, and studies show that people with clean houses are healthier and less likely to experience anxiety. Your body craves order and rhythm, so providing that through your routines and for the space you live in (and many are now working remotely from) helps everything to work better in sync.

• Declutter your leadership – your words and actions matter. What you say and what you do, inspires and motivates your team to respond. Think of all the key leadership practices like communication, decision making, problem solving, delegation and encouragement. What behaviors are you still practicing that no longer serve you? For example, many leaders were rewarded early in their careers for knowing the answers and being right. They take that behavior into their leadership practice and demoralize their team. What mindsets can you eliminate that clutter your leadership?

Once you’ve tackled the clutter, it’s time to consider distractions. Interruptions are external, distractions come from the inside and prevent you from giving your full attention. Have you paused to consider what distracts you? Next week we’ll tackle some distraction-busting practices.