I have my good days and bad days. There is always a relentless pace to work. In equal measure, there are so many demands on my attention that distract.
When I can’t get my mind clear or I feel the weight of the world, I look for things to throw away. It may sound counterintuitive, however, there is a psychic liberation that occurs with every item I can purge myself of. Here are some things that I look around at to throw away:
- Email. I speak about this in ZeroInbox articles and talks. It is where I work from and I try to unsubscribe from as much as possible. Keep it at zero. It helps you to be ready.
- Social Media. If you are subscribed to services you are not committed to, delete the accounts. For instance, I got rid of LinkedIn. The payoff was not worth the mindshare. Commit to the few you are subscribed to.
- Desk. Get rid of anything that doesn’t help you. I like to keep a clean workspace.
- Desktop. I keep my computer desktop clean. It is a temporary place where I keep working, transient files. As I complete jobs, I delete them.
- Project tasks. I have several project systems loaded with tasks and deadlines for me and my team. I go through periodically and update them for relevance. I redistribute tasks as needed. It is great for getting control across the work.
- Relationships. Any deals in the pipeline that don’t matter, I close them. I try to keep the real relationships front and center to focus any next steps and touchpoints.
- Access points. I am accessible via Google+ and Twitter to collaborate. There are other layers. I try to keep minimum access unless my team needs me. To serve my clients, I try to bring continuing value with content and social media reach.
- Paper. I am paperless. When things enter in that are physical, I try and move them to Google Drive as a scanned document. I can access them from anywhere and every device I own.
- Stuff. What can you sell or give away? Everything you own has a way of owning you over time.
Clearing the decks frees my mind. I feel ready for anything and able to work from anywhere, anytime. It is freedom.
What else can you throw away to get clear?
