Tag: lenten clutter challenge

Time Clutter Has Got To Go!

Week Six in the Lenten Organizing Challenge.  This week we look at the Spirituality of Time Clutter.  Remember, Clutter Is anything we don’t need, use or love.  And that means time clutter, too.  How we use our time can be a very spiritual choice.  Our time is the only thing we truly own, and it is important that we use it well and wisely. 

I read a book a few years ago called “There Must Be More Than This” by Judith Wright.  In this book, Wright talks about how small, minor habits that we have every day can actually cause us a lot of harm.  She defines these habits as “Soft Addictions”, “habitual activities or moods that numb our feelings, sap our life force, and lock us into a limbo of muted experience”.  These addictions keep us from feeling deeply and experiencing fulfillment.  We “guide our lives by old, unconscious, unexamined, limiting beliefs”.  These addictions are broken down into 4 sub-headings: 

  1. Activities –  media – TV and movies, email / social media, buying / shopping , personal maintenance, physical mannerisms, sexual, risk taking, social diversions
  2. Moods / Ways of Being:  being sarcastic, being cranky or irritable, always on, jokester, perfectionist, fanaticism, moping, acting cool, blaming others
  3. Avoidances:  procrastinating, playing dumb, playing the victim, acting helpless, being too busy, over-sleeping or napping, being late
  4. Things – edible and consumable, overeating or excessive drinking, having too much or too many of any thing

There are more specific lists of these 4 types in her book and on her website, http://judithwright.com/ .  I would recommend reading this book, check it out at your local library, or you can borrow my copy!

Whenever I review this book, I challenge myself to look at how I spend my time.  I have good habits most days, but like many of us, my good habits and intentions slip, so I need reminders and re-commitment regularly.  To improve my life, there are things I can pare down, eliminate or replace with good habits:  watching TV, obsessively checking my email or Facebbok, late night snacking and thinking crabby thoughts are the first things that come to mind, and that was in 10 seconds, I’m sure I could think of more!

My major weaknesses are in Moods / Ways of Being.  I need to break free of perfectionism some days, and my inner voice needs to be less cranky and judgmental.  Spending more time being positive and loving would certainly help me live better (and those around me!!).  The Moods / Ways of Being category is tough, though, since negative moods can slide into our behaviors without notice.  So this week, I am noticing!!   

I also need to cut back on my TV consumption.  I have quite a backlog of recorded shows on my DVR from our week on vacation, and looking at the list, I realized there were shows I really don’t need to watch at all.  I have a very busy week this week, and I am choosing to not spend my hours sitting on my couch watching TV.  The shows don’t seem worth the hour I would need to spend to watch them.  So I deleted them, and will choose more meaningful endeavors like time with my family, reading, or prayer and ministry for Holy Week. 

My challenge to you is to take a long look at how you spend your time.  If you kept a diary for a week, what would it look like?  Ask yourself what behaviors or habits that you have that hold you back from leading a better life.  What are some soft addictions you could pare down or part with, now and forever?  Purge Time Clutter this week and live better. 

End the Email Clutter

     Our recurring theme is the Spirituality of Clutter.  Clutter is anything we don’t need, use or love.  It gets in the way, and clogs up our life.  Even information like email can become clutter and has a spiritual side, as well.  Why?

  1. Email represents opportunities or information we want in the future; or nagging lists of To-Do’s, should do’s or buy’s, etc. 
  2. In the hectic pace of our lives, we don’t make or take time for maintenance.
  3. We don’t have or don’t trust our system for sorting or storing information.  We keep emails for reference, but we don’t know what to do past that.

 Delete old emails, and receive fewer new ones:

  • Asked three clients, and they reported in-boxes with 1090, 9386 and approx 250,000 (yes, 250,000) emails.
  • This should go without saying, but sort your in-box in reverse chronological order, listing most recent emails first.
  • Turf emails older than 3 months to a folder called “Opened Email, 2011 and before” or something like that.  If you don’t have any folders right now, that is a great first folder.
  • Spend 5-10 minutes a day tossing emails older than 3 years, then 2 years, then 1 year, then 6 months, etc.  Make it a habit, at least until you’ve whittled down your number.  I can’t give you a target number, but when opening your email becomes less of a stressful chore, you are getting close! 
  • Don’t worry about losing public information, you can always look up directions or a phone number again.
  • If you belong to listservs, set up to receive daily Digest emails, instead of all individually. 
  • Writing this article has inspired me to unsubscribe from unnecessary mailing lists. 

 Take care of new email better:

  1. Signing up for catalogs, newsletters and blogs online cuts my paper waste, but fills up my email!  One client mentioned feeling “harassed” by emails, and I concur!
  2. Delete easy stuff immediately, like retailer emails unless you are actively shopping there.  More will always come.  Or go to the main website and bookmark it to keep the information, then delete or unsubscribe. 
  3. Set up filters or folders for important stuff.  If you have a paper filing system you like, name your email folders similarly.  Or, name folders based on projects, topics, actions to take, etc. 
  4. A friend mentioned that Gmail can filter emails of a particular type into a folder, to collect for future review.  Awesome!
  5. Turn emails into actions:
    • The emails in my in-box need my attention.  Once I complete an action on an email, I file it in a folder or delete it.
    • Today, I actually listed the actions required on my to-do list, and attached them to times this week to act on them.  This is something new to me, but I know it will help!  And once the action is complete, the email goes to its folder.  Gmail has a to-do list function, too, for turning your emails into action.

 Be a better sender.

  1. Review an email you received, and your response before you send it.  Answer the questions asked, or the email will continue.
  2. Consider others and their time.  Take yourself and others off Copy, if you can, and don’t click Reply To All unless you need to. 
  3. Never list more than a dozen emails in the To: line.  Use BCC, blind copy, to eliminate that irritating 6 inches of addresses before the actual message.  This respects privacy, too, by not sharing addresses. 
  4. Create groups or mailing lists in your address book to save time. 
  5. If you have to forward something, including jokes, DELETE everything but the content before sending.
  6. Just heard these items on a class I took recently with Callahan Solutions, Inc.:
    1. Start with your conclusion, Bottom Line On Top (BLOT statement), so your reader knows immediately if they need to continue reading.
    2. List your Action items at the top of email, too, so make them easy to see
    3. Make long emails easier on your reader’s eyes, adding white space, bullet points and outlines.
  7. Use NRR (No Response Required) in your subject line if you are sending it purely for information.  And if you receive an email that doesn’t need a response, fight the urge to send a “great” or “ok”. Let it end with you.
  8. Use an “if- then” qualifier (who gave me this idea? RY?).  For example, “If we can expect your regular Tuesday delivery, then there is no need to respond”.
  9. The more we send out the more we receive.  And sometimes a phone call is just quicker.

Email is a great form of communication.  Put a little time and effort into your email system, and it will get even better!  Now, email me a response to let me know what you think….