In the basis I’m an organized person. I work tidy and efficient, clean everything what I make dirty almost at the same time. My challenge is that I collect and buy new, for example cloths and decoration materials, but barely throw anything away. You don’t realize it that much, your work around the cluttering and make space to keep all the materials you possess.
Till we got a session at work from a women that had a Marie Kondo training. I was inspired what she explained and wanted to go home immediately to organize my house!! I must admit the whole Marie Kondo hype is going too far for me. I haven’t read her book and haven’t seen her Netflix, but I created my own Mirja Kondo way. Next to this I see it as a boarder way of living; that is what you call nowadays Life Editing. Life Editing means that when you have a Tidy Life you will have a Tidy Mind. And I literally say I to myself; “It’s too busy in my head”, and then I know I have to organize my life a bit more both at work and home. You can work on several topics to organize your way of living. See below my 10 tips to create a Tidy Mind:
1. Empty your Inbox
And this definitely works for me. My inbox is always up to date; I can’t stand unread messages, make folders and categorize to easily find information. Delete the ones you can delete. Give priority to emails and I respond quite fast so that is another item off the To Do list!
Tip: Unsubscribe from the companies or other spam you barely read, saves time and less information in your inbox and head.
2. Manage your Agenda
I use different kind of colors for different kind of agenda items: different work action colors, private appointments and sports. This give an easy overview of your week ahead. Decide what is important and if you can add more ME time in your agenda.
Tip: See my blog on Work Life Balance, on how to create more time for yourself.
3. Edit your Possessions
Marie Kondo works to go through you items in the following order: Clothes, Books, Paper, Other and at last Sentimental. For me I preferred to work by room. The items are focused in rooms as well and in the basis I could follow the above order. According to Marie Kondo you have to check if the item gives you joy or not. The ones that provides you joy, keep. For me that went too far, I did more like: I’m I still fitting the cloths, how many times did I wore it this year, how is the quality and do I still like it (….gives me joy). For me it is not all about the feeling but ratio as well. But went through my house like this and ended up with a couple of empty shelves!! That was a great feeling, more space for the items I still wanted to keep and in a more organized way. Now my summer and winter cloths change is half the work as before!!
4. Give Away
The shifting through my belongings gave me a great feeling, discovered items I hadn’t seen for a while but also the feeling I could help others by giving away. I asked a couple of my girlfriends to go through my items to see I they could use some. That created a good feeling to make somebody else happy! The other possessions I donated to the recycle shop (kringloop in Dutch). People in need could pick up these items, which are valuable for them and not for me anymore. So keep that in mind when you are going through your items, you will help others at the same time!!
5. Make a List
You can call it a To Do list, but that puts a lot of pressure on the list. You can also call it a Wish List or Can Do List. Call it whatever you want and what name gives you the right feeling of the list. I normally put it on the list when something pops up in my mind. Bike repair, buy a spare lamp, clean balcony, fresh plants, buy present for friend and so on. You can prioritize if you want. I go thought that list now and then and when one is done I strike the action. Striking the action feels great, clearer in my head. I trust my list and don’t think of all the items in my head all the time!
6. Organize your Financial Matters
I’m working in finance and for work we have to make a lot of calculation and presentations. I do this for my personal administration as well. I made a spreadsheet with my income and spending and another with a balance with assets and debts. This way you see where your money is going and you know how much you can spent on a monthly basis. A lot of banks are offering apps that will help you to managing your finance as well. Earmark your spending in different categories: House & Garden, Living, Transport, Shopping & Cloths, Food & Drinks, Free Time, Health and Beauty and Others. This can help you to see where your money is spent and to see if you need to change your behavior in certain categories. This helps to manage your financial situation and would give you a clear mind eventually!
7. Social Life
I think this could be an age thing. When I was younger the topic of fear of missing out was very important. But now I can easily say NO to; events, friends and meetings which don’t bring me any added value or don’t bring me the joy and happiness I want to get out of it. You have to be open and honest about your decision to make this work. Feel comfortable in your mind to say NO; with the same enthusiasm as you would say YES. This creates more strength and decisiveness in your mind.
8. Mindful Living
A couple of years ago I followed a mindful course. I already practiced some of the items of the course, but I would recommend everybody to follow a course and pick some elements which you can use in your daily life. I don’t follow everything every day, but I’m very aware of the surroundings, smells and energies. I don’t meditate every day, but do some Yoga where the meditation is incorporated.
Tip: When I have difficulties to fall asleep, I use the Body Scan that was used in my mindful course. This helps me to relax and will fall asleep straight afterwards.
9. Sport
Like already described at bullet 2. Agenda, I really plan my sports during the week. If I see this sport or running in my agenda it motivates to go. It almost makes me guilty to move the agenda item or even delete it… Sport is perfect to keep your mind clear and feel better about yourself. In the weekends I run on the beach and across the dunes, for me this is almost meditating and try to do this as mindful as possible. See my blog on weight lifting to see the advantages!
10. Eating
For me this is the most challenging one. I’m an emotional eater, I will start to eat more sugar when stressed and unbalanced. This is frustrating me, but in my option everybody has a weak spot. For me it is very important to have a balance in all the items as described above, this will help to manage my eating too!! See my food blogs for nice recipes to keep your balance…..
Results: If you put these 10 practices in place you will notice; less stress, more rest, save money (buy less), more decisive, more creative, embrace minimalism, create more sense and live in a more harmonious way with a Tidy Life and a Tidy Mind!!
