Your Workspace

This week I'm going to ask you to not only clean up and organize, but to make sure you have what you need to be effective and efficient. Probably the number one priority is a door on your office. This is for pets as well as humans.

The state of your environment will equal the state of your mind. Clutter, distraction, disorganization and chaos all serve to undermine your efforts. Probably to a greater extent than you realize. Making changes in these areas can powerfully affect your focus, productivity, and happiness.

This is a difficult area to recognize the importance of and make a priority. Most of the time the annoyances are small and the ever-presentness of them becomes "just the way you do life." Making do with out-dated or broken stuff, that "r" key on the keyboard that sticks, or shifting piles from one spot to another is so engrained you barely notice.

Humor me here that you'll make the time and experience the difference.

Many of you have brand new businesses and are probably working out of the same old space.

◦ Is that space functional for what you're currently doing?

◦ Do you need to change the mood of the room via new paint or decor?

◦ Do you need more or different storage?

◦ Do you need to make a dump run with half of what's in there?

◦ Does everything have a home?

◦ Are you happy working in there?

◦ What do you need to change?

I encourage you to get on Pinterest and look at home offices and organization for inspiration. Sometimes we need a good strong visual of what's possible vs where you are. This will accommodate all budgets. They'll have the million dollar offices you can aspire to along with projects from recycled materials.

What you need depends on what you do, but I'm betting you need a great chair. You probably also need a desk, good lighting, and a decent sized trash can that is right at your work station. Some things you might consider are a larger computer monitor, and a file cabinet. However, if in your lifestyle vision, you plan on jetting all over the place and running your business via laptop, you need all your files to be digital. You might consider cloud storage back ups as well, just in case. If you are going to be mobile, what do you need that can be your constant? What will say "instant office, time for work?" It will probably be more ritual related than "stuff" related.

Nothing is worse (in my mind) than crappy pens. Having a cup full of things that you scribble around first before they will write is one of those undermining annoyances.

You might also consider getting a cheap MP3 player and dock, loading it full of worship music, and keeping it on repeat 24/7 in there. Low volume is fine.

You might also consider an aromatherapy diffuser for stimulating, focus enhancing essential oils like lemon, mint and rosemary. Of course Focus and M&M flower essences are great too.

You're probably going to spend significant time in your space. Make it nice for yourself. There's also something to be said for starting to take yourself seriously by making sure you have a real place to work. I did this for the first time when I was a teenager. It was very makeshift, but comfortable and most importantly, everybody else stayed out. I tacked up on the wall everything that validated what I was doing. First check from free-lance writing, awards, positive feedback from important people, magazine cover with my name on it etc. It's not a pride thing, it's a "yes, I can" thing when nobody else was saying it.

These days I want to post people's flower essence reviews and testimonies. Again, not a pride thing, but a "this is why I persevere" thing. What things do you need to keep in front of your face to keep you moving?

I have a zillion little notes on a zillion little pieces of paper that are organized by project on color coded clipboards. How can you set up for optimum efficiency?

Make a routine of doing a 5 minute pick up and desk clearing at the end of your work day. If you are properly set up, that is the most time it will take you to wrap up for the night. The only thing you should leave out is the one thing you're currently working on.

Your space doesn't exactly end with your office. I have learned that I do not have time to let the rest of the house go. This issue doesn't make sense to someone who is not naturally organized, but it really is easier to maintain than it is to recover. Yes, I sound like your mom. If you are not born organized, I invite you to sign up with flylady. I have been off and on with her for probably 10-12 years. It's free, you don't have to buy her stuff but that is how she covers expenses for what she does, you do get a ton of emails, and when you're starting, you need the ton of emails. (Only true if you do not have that housekeeping gene.) Once you get a system that works for you down, you can unsubscribe. I just transfer the stuff over to recurring tasks on my todoist. (Do you seriously not have todoist yet?)

Essential Homework:

Adjust your work space to give yourself every advantage, from being physically comfortable, to feeling "all in" mentally and emotionally. Work through the questions above. (Pasted below) Extra credit for posting before and after photos.

◦ Is that space functional for what you're currently doing?

◦ Do you need to change the mood of the room via new paint or decor?

◦ Do you need more or different storage?

◦ Do you need to make a dump run with half of what's in there?

◦ Does everything have a home?

◦ Are you happy working in there?

◦ What do you need to change?

◦ What things do you need to keep in front of your face to keep you moving?

◦ How can you set up for optimum efficiency?

Optional Homework:

If you are challenged in the housekeeping area, get flylady.