Are you having difficulties getting started on a project or a new goal because of a cluttered desk for journaling or a piled up “floordrobe” for yoga? Decluttering your personal space, whether at home or the office, has many benefits. Keep reading to find out why and how to get started.
Chi is the living force that allows you to get up in the morning, come up with witty headlines and offer helpful advice to a friend in need. When your Chi is balanced, you perform at your peak and vice versa when it’s not.
Having a good work life balance is extremely important for a PR pro like you. Online publication PR Moment interviewed several high-level PR professionals on how they manage work-life balance. It turns out, uniformly they are choosing recreations that harness and balance their Chi.
One professional chooses to be an urban gardener in her spare time. She says growing vegetables allows her to be creative in a small space and helps her reduce waste in her life. Another professional chooses to attend yoga classes regularly. She noticed when she really gets into the routine of doing yoga, her thoughts are clearer and her PR strategies become more creative.
Although these activities seem pretty different at first glance, they are both activities that encourage organization and patterns in your life.
Your living condition is scientifically proven to affect your Chi. A student publication at Pennsylvania State University discussed the potential danger of an untidy environment to the mind. When your room is cluttered it adds stress to your mind. Over time, it can decrease productivity and even lead to depression. Balance or unbalanced Chi aside, it’s important to take good care of your body.
Psychologists also found that your living condition is a physical representation of your mental state. When you begin to tidy up your room, you are also tidying up your thoughts.
I recently cleaned my room and here are five things that have helped me stay tidy.
Are you saving that one pair of jeans you thought you’d wear again someday but haven’t in months? Aside from a supply of clothes for an emergency, it’s time to let go of old clothes you haven’t worn in a long time.
Sometimes our personal space clutters up because we have too many of the same things. What you can do is try only to have one of everything. Find the biggest box you have laying around and start collecting duplicate items. Label the box and set a reminder for 30 days. If you forgot about it, then you probably won’t be too sad giving it away.
Sometimes the hardest things to throw away are sentimental—family portraits, handwritten letters and cute drawings. Consider scanning them and organize them in a hard drive.
Just as I mentioned before, don’t give everything you ever owned to the Salvation Army right away. You don’t have to minimize everything in your life all at once. Pick a goal. Maybe start with clothes this month and digitized family portraits the next. You could even just assign an anti-cluttering area in your apartment if you wish.
Professional organizer Vicki Winterton says being organized brings many health benefits. One of them is having more “self-care time…” When your personal space is neat, you ease your rowdy mind. She says “my clients gain about an hour a day after I helped them organize their home or work-at-home office.”
A word of Caution
Decluttering is a process where you begin to harness and balance your Chi. So don’t give everything you’ve ever owned to the Salvation Army just yet. In time, you’ll become the Yip Man of your goals and dreams.
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Felice An is a third-year public relations student at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo Utah. She’s been working in the College of Science at her university to create diversity in student enrollment through creative and traditional strategies. After graduating BYU she wishes to pursue a career in digital content marketing. Connect with Felice on LinkedIn.