Your Housekeeping and Hard-Work Habits Are Telling Your Story

November 4, 2016 | Posted in Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully | By

All work and no play make Americans sick according to a study of 632 people by Oxford Health Plans that found 1 in 5 workers can’t use up annual vacation time because their jobs are so demanding. 33% never leave their offices once they arrive at work and that same number work and eat their lunch simultaneously and the pace of work is so relentless that 34% say they never have downtime. Taking a vacation for creative renewal is essential to staying healthy and productive, although the US gives the least vacation time among the industrial nations. (US – 13 days vs. Italy – 42 days).

Your work space may be telling on you.  An IOGEAR survey found that 73% of respondents said their impressions of colleagues were influenced by the way their desks were organized and 70% said a messy desk was perceived as less career driven.

Although I advocate some executive toys and stress-busting items, there needs to be appropriate balance to alleviate the perception that you may not be a team player.  On the other hand, a desk strewn with fast food wrappers and old coffee cups may denote an unbalanced workaholic. Visit these sites or stores for great organizing ideas for your home or office:

The Container Store

Pier 1 Imports

Target

www.holdeverything.com

www.cabinetstorage.com

www.stacksandstacks.com

www.organizedhome.com

www.closetmaid.com

www.thecontainerstore.com

Other tips from the world of Feng Shui to help improve your space and your energy:

  • Tired of being tired – sweep away eyesores to release energy. Every messy pile has a negative force field around it that draws energy and deleting the clutter releases the energy.
  • Down in the dumps – lift items off the floor to feel happier since low-lying items attract low, sad energy. Find a higher space to store things to elevate your mood.
  • Slim down with less stuff – subconsciously we may be holding onto stuff the same as we are holding onto our extra weight – to protect ourselves and feel less emotionally vulnerable. Try shedding some outdated sentimental items that were once treasured and are now clutter.

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Backspace: Are Your Back Spaces (Attic, Garage, File Cabinet) Holding You Back?

October 23, 2014 | Posted in Living Hartfully | By

Is the thought of sorting and purging these areas draining your energy?  Tackle one section at a time and reward yourself for getting rid of unused items and make space for new things in your life. Better yet, don’t replace this stuff and celebrate a more simplified lifestyle. Start a desk drawer amnesty program at work where colleagues clean out their work stations and donate the stuff to a shelter or other needy cause or given to the break room. Coordinate this activity to coincide with national Clean Out Your Desk Day.

Double your good feelings at home when you donate your stuff to charity or sell it at a consignment shop or on E-bay, and then you don’t have to clean around it. Excessive stuff drains your energy and clutters your mind with how to manage it.

Extra stuff also costs extra money to store. (U-Store-It facilities, garden shed, larger home, filled garage, bulging cubicle, more credenzas) Think of the cost of renting a storage locker or pod and multiply the monthly rate by how many years you plan to keep renting it instead of making a decision to toss your stuff or sell it. There is cash in your closets and back spaces – it just takes a little time, effort, energy, and focus to reap a huge payoff of stored up energy that has been leaking into the depths of the dark spaces.

Simplify your life to boost your spirits and get rid of all those responsibilities, excesses, and unnecessary things that drain on your brain. Allowing only the things that you can comfortably handle into your life helps decrease the stress of thinking that bigger is better.

The American capitalistic system is set up to forever strive and not arrive. Rethink how much you really need to be happy, then listen to your inner-voice and not the advertisements or your neighbors. If you don’t need much, own much, or owe much, you don’t have to work as much; which allows more time for family and friends. What obligations, excesses, or other time-wasters can you cut out of your life? Are your back spaces clutter-free or are you closing doors on them in hopes nobody will notice? Are your back spaces representing a picture of you that you would like to present to the world, or are you living in fear that you will have unexpected visitors? Hopefully you aren’t primed to be a guest star on the TV show Hoarders: Buried Alive. Honestly….what are people thinking…..

 

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