Don Roulo is the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer) of Life Quest. He is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.

By DON ROULO

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about what some call the 21st Century Death-stress. When I mentioned ‘clutter’ as a contributing factor to stress a couple of weeks ago I said it can conversely help alleviate stress if we deal with clutter. I want to focus on clutter and how it affects our lives, careers and businesses.

As a matter of full disclosure, I can have a tendency to let things get cluttered myself. I think this is why it has been on my mind lately. Clutter affects our lives in so many ways. It has a direct impact on your productivity, finances and state of mind.

Where can clutter be in your life? I am sure you can add to the list, but here are several just to get you started. Clutter can be in or on your – desk, car, dresser, dining room table, coffee table, toolbox, purse and mind. Did you find one that fits you yet?

Do you waste time looking for important papers, car keys, socks, books, pens, pencils, files and meeting notes? One of the keys to a successful life, career and business is time management. Time management is simply getting as much done as possible in the least amount of time and effort. Time management is directly related to productivity.

How much time have you spent looking for a file in the filing cabinet, or on your computer? We all of had the moment when someone asked for a paper and we said, ‘It was right here on my desk yesterday … give me a few minutes to find it.’ These few minutes add up throughout your day, week and month. Time management (productivity) is only one area affected by clutter.

The old saying, ‘Time is money,’ is true. If you have a life full of clutter, you are wasting time looking for things and it absolutely affects your finances. I recently was looking for some light bulbs I know I have stored. The problem is, I could not find them. I needed them right away, so I ended up at the hardware store to buy more. About a week or so later, I found the ones I was looking for in the first place. I spent money I did not need to spend due to some clutter.

Where else can you have clutter, even if you are a neat freak and everything has a place? Your mind can be full of clutter. In today’s high tech gadget world having a cluttered mind is even more of a problem. We receive input from our phones, emails, texts, Twitter, Facebook, computers, bosses, family and friends.

There is so much information coming into our brains each day, our minds are bound to get cluttered. When our minds get overloaded with clutter, we forget appointments, or to pay bills or, heaven help us, we forgot to pick up our children from practice on time.

How do we overcome clutter? To be honest, there is no special secret. It is simply doing what we were told when we were children and what we tell our own children. See if any of these sentences sound familiar to you?

• Put things away when you are done using them.
• If you take 10 minutes a day to clean up your bedroom each day it won’t look like a tornado came through.
• If you were the last one to use it, you put it away.
• If you see something which needs to be put away, don’t wait to be told to do it – do it now.

Is clutter affecting your life? Do you need to clean your desk, car, purse, toolbox, or dresser? Do you need to clean out your mind by putting your ‘to do’ list and ideas on paper?

About the Author

Don Roulo is a life, career and business coach as well as a Certified 48 Days Workshop Facilitator. He travels nationally and internationally to conduct business and career training as well as marriage and family workshops.

As a business consultant, he has written business plans and worked to market products or services as well as organizing financial statements for investors. Because of his success in the sales and business arena, Don has been blessed with the opportunity to train, motivate and inspire others. His passion is to motivate and equip people to find their passion and achieve their goals and God given destiny.