Did you know there’s a direct link between procrastination and clutter in a person’s life?  Procrastination is a natural, voluntary, human characteristic; something that is self applied — in other words — nobody can make you procrastinate.  Clutter, in any form, is a sign of stress or one of the causes of it.  If we allow it, it can sidetrack us from the journey ahead.  It’s just a matter of organizing and prioritizing things in  your life.

As a child, in our house, my parents had quite a few rules that applied to us no matter what age we were.  Many of them have an indelible impression on me.  The one that has been on repeat, in my head lately, is “put your stuff away before you trip over it!”  I came to realize that this was not just an early lesson in being organized and responsible.  It has become a way of life for me.  

Have you ever tripped over your life?  I’ll be honest, I have; now let me tell you how I got back on track.  It’s a real simple trick.  I stop for a moment and think about where I am at that particular moment in my life.  Many times we can be so focused on accomplishing all of our goals that we leave little time to recognize where we are and how far we’ve come.    To that I say, celebrate your small victories along the way.

As adults, the clutter that we allow to fill our lives changes from the clutter we had as children but it’s still the same none-the-less.  It is no longer the belongings that were strewn about in our bedroom or the weight of passing a final exam.  It’s what we regularly negotiate our time, our thoughts or even our efforts for.  What can be even more unsettling is that some may not notice the clutter in their lives until, well, they have a cluttered mess.  Now I must say that, especially in today’s climate, we sometimes need a trusted friend to help us with putting things in our lives in perspective.

Once you’ve decluttered your life, the next thing you can do is stay dedicated to living a clutter-free life and the best way to do that is to do a frequent audit or assessment on what or who’s taking up space in your life and balance things out.  Prioritize what’s important to you and dedicate some time to what you’re passionate about — just make sure it’s something productive — and don’t over whelm yourself with the process.  It’s the small steps that lead to big results just like it’s the decluttering of the clutter that will have you not tripping over yourself.  Go and be great today!