Larger Closets Collect More Junk
What can you get rid of this year? All of us, including myself, are so good at making lists of things that we will never do. In making these lists of things that we will never do, we don’t do the things that we need to do. If I gave you a sheet of paper and told you to fill the lines with items of things that you need to do, in the time necessary to fill it out, you would do it. I believe that the whole principle of getting things done requires us to get rid of the things that we will never do. Throw away the list. Or at least put away those things that don’t have immediate value. Get un-cluttered, so to speak.
If you are going to make a New Years Resolution, realize that resolutions create failure. One resolution would be to get un-cluttered this year. It is a natural tendency with all the planning tools that we can acquire, download, or manipulate in our pocket PC’s or pocket planners to make lists of things that just fill in those lines that cry out to be filled in. We clutter our lives with things that have no destination value.
Years ago my dad shared with me that larger closets only collect larger amounts of junk. Let’s get small, simple, and un-cluttered. If you are going to make a list, remember that the creativity that you bring to it is directly related to the number of lines that you are afforded to write on. Don’t use a big sheet of paper, use a small card.
Always think of something that you need to do with an end in site. Don’t just read another book because you said you are reading one book a week. Would it be better to read 52 books a year or to read 12 books that will make a difference in your life? Is it better to meet 365 people a year or to meet 52 people that you want to know the rest of your life? Is it better to tell me how many things you got done this week or how many things you got done that are part of your overall plan for success? Is it important to tell me how many boards you serve on and how many committees you chair than to tell me one project you created that changed the lives of people?
Let’s get un-cluttered. Let’s look at the opportunities of emptying the closet or even getting rid of the closet all together. The key term for me this year is to size-down and quality-enhance. Don’t eat food, eat better food. Don’t read books, read better books. Don’t send cards, give them more value by writing notes inside of them. Don’t just turn on the television, watch a show that has something to do with something important in your life. Don’t take the kids to a movie, pick out a project you can do together. Don’t make lists each week of things that give you a feeling of just getting things done because the frustration will still be there. Pick out the one thing this week that would give you 80% of the satisfaction of all the things that were on your list to get done. Put that one thing on your planning page, or you pocket PC, or your pocket planner.
Thomas J. Winninger, CSP, CPAE, and member of the Speaker Hall of Fame is the president of Winninger Institute for Brand Strategy. Over 70 major companies in North America depend on him to assist them in maintaining their market dominance. The new millennium has seen the release of his newest book “Full Price!”. He is also the best selling author of “Price Wars” and “Sell Easy”. Contact the Winninger Institute at (612) 896-1900. E-mail: thomas@winninger.com; or visit our website!
