My life has become cluttered and overwhelming. As a solopreneur, I often struggle to keep any semblance of balance in my days, and just when I think it can’t get worse, I find myself going down the ever-present rabbit holes, sucking all my energy and time for little or no reward.
Regaining control of my life
A few weeks ago, I took some time to reflect on what my days looked like, why I was losing ground, and what the areas causing the majority of my distress.
Stuff was consuming my life. Not household clutter, although that in itself concerns me. No, I am referring to the chaos of life. Schedules, emails, commitments, loyalty cards, frequent flyer points, bills, the list goes on and on. We are bombarded with so much stuff wanting our attention. I knew I needed to make a change.
Order is the sanity of the mind, the health of the body, the peace of the city, the security of the state. As the beams to a house, as the bones to the microcosm of man, so is order to all things. — Robert Southey
My energy and days were rapidly disappearing, and I had to take action. I came up with five steps to help me regain control of my days and successfully chase my dreams.
Step 1: Decluttering the mind
Each new year brings a resurgence to make the year better than the last. Often these resolutions require changing habits, instilling new disciplines, and facing our fears of what may or may not happen if we continue on the same path.
As a novice writer, I believed everyone who said they had the “secret sauce” to building a profitable writing career. And perhaps they do. But I don’t have time to read every article or book available on the subject.
Additionally, I became overwhelmed by the different ways a writer can make a living. Copywriting, ghostwriting, ebooks, magazine articles, books, it’s an endless stream of options. At first, I was excited by all the possibilities, but soon, I became lost in it all and lost my identity and what I enjoyed doing. It became exhausting.
I soon realized I needed to take a step back, reevaluate my goals, and make them real priorities. This meant creating a mental block on all the sparkly things that sought my attention. If it isn’t valuable and relates directly to my goals, it has no place in my life. I had to get in the driver’s seat and control what I allowed to come into my mind.
Step 2: Decluttering my day
My day had lost all structure and discipline. I needed to reclaim my time and organize how I spent it. As a caregiver, along with my husband, I needed his cooperation in creating a schedule that worked for the entire household.
Together we came up with a plan allowing me more time and energy to devote to my career. If you would like to read about it, check out 6 Simple Steps Your Partner Needs to Take to Help YOU Reclaim Your Life
Step 3: Decluttering my computer
The next dreaded task I had to face was my computer. I have multiple avenues for my writing and a small part-time job for a previous employer, and all this plus personal stuff means various documents, folders, and programs littered across the screen.
Whenever I need to find something, I have to strain my eyes, look in miscellaneous folders and search high and low to find a particular document. Enough is enough.
Valuable hours spent now cleaning my computer and organizing my mess means less time searching and more time working. It is a work in progress that requires continuous discipline to put things where they belong in the first place. Oh, and having a sound labeling system is priceless.
Step 4: Decluttering my mail
I prefer to pay my bills online and strive to save as many trees as possible while simultaneously putting mail delivery out of service. I am setting up as many revolving payments as possible to be paid automatically. Once a month, I review all worthless pieces of mail, such as catalogs and junk mail, and do my best to locate a contact where I can opt-out of future mailings.
Next is my email. This is a biggie. Before tackling this, I had almost 20,000 emails; the worst part is I have been trying to reduce it before now. But this time, I mean business. After my realization #1, I knew I had subscribed to way too many email lists. Each time, I believed I would read the email and gain whatever glimmer of knowledge they held for me.
I went line by line, searching for each sender, and began ruthlessly unsubscribing from any content I had not opened in at least the past month. This took many hours to complete, and I admit sometimes it was hard to say goodbye, yet other times, it felt liberating.
Quite a few of those emails contain valuable information, but often it becomes redundant and not specific to my needs. I used to dread opening my email or searching for a particular communication. Now I make it a point to read and delete or file my email daily.
And the best part? It feels fabulous!
#5 Decluttering my schedule
Our lives are so much more than work and sleep. Our hours include meetings, kids’ sports, church services, fundraisers, family events, holidays, book clubs, etc.
While outside activities benefit our well-being, there is something to be said about going overboard, and sometimes we need to say “No.”
I decided to examine my commitments and see where I could say no. I looked for activities that no longer bring me joy or take up too much of my time.
Sometimes my saying “no” will hurt others. I need to weigh the pros and cons and decide how best to move forward. Ask your partner or another family member to help out can make life easier.
You only have so many hours in a day. Make them count.
Why it is essential to use my time wisely
Time is precious, and we are only given an allotted amount. What we do with it is up to us. We can spend our days chasing down every new idea, climbing every mountain we see, or we can focus our energy on what brings joy to our lives.
If your passion is writing, then study writing and write.
If your passion is cooking, learn techniques and cook.
Use your time wisely. Whatever your passion, spend your energy on that and create a clear path to your goals. Be laser-focused on your efforts. Your heart and your mind will thank you.
My efforts now have meaning and impact. The rabbit holes are avoided, and I now have a clear path to reaching my goals. My heart and mind are much happier.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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