The
Power of Simplicity!
By Patty
Kreamer, CPO
Remember
Leave it to Beaver? The day would start with June
and Ward having breakfast with the children, Ward
would go to work, Wally and The Beav would go to school,
and Mom would stay home and tend to the house. Later,
they all come home, have a family dinner, spend the
evening together doing homework and talking about
their day, and then they were off to bed. Life was
so simple then.
Wouldn’t it be great if life were this simple again?
If this
describes your life, I would like to say congratulations.
If you would like this to describe your life, the
good news is, it can.
As a
professional organizer, I have been paying close attention
to the lack of simplicity in the lives of people around
me for the past several years. Here are a few things
that I hear all the time.
1. I
am so busy.
2. I
never have any time for myself.
3. I
am always running late.
4. I
never make dinner…I make reservations.
5. I
don’t have a chance to…
6. I
am so tired
7. I
never stop running all day but I get so little done.
8. I
wish I had time to…
We are living in a whirlwind society and, believe
it or not, that is by choice. You can make changes
by choosing to tame that tornado. It may not be easy,
but it is possible.
HOW DO YOU MAKE LIFE SIMPLER?
It didn’t
take you a day to complicate your life so it won’t
be able to be simplified in one day either. You have
to work at it a little.
• To
make changes, you must first recognize your desire
for change.
• Know your purpose.
Why are you here? What is it all about? What matters
most? Family, career, money? There are no wrong answers
here.
• When you know your
purpose, that the time to write your goals---know
what you want and go after it. Only allow things into
your life that will contribute to your goals.
• Look at need vs.
want. Before you bring anything into your life—physically,
mentally, or spiritually—ask yourself if you
need it or want it. If you need it, ok. If you want
it, try to wait a week to make your final decision.
Most times you will forget the impulse.
• One
great way to implement the above tactics is to always
STOP – THINK DEEPLY – THEN ACT. This will
help you to make thoughtful decisions, not impulsive
decisions.
• Take control of your
technology and time. If the phone rings, do you HAVE
to answer it? The second you get an email, do you
HAVE to open it? When someone else says they need
something done, do you assume it has to be done NOW?
By using some of
these techniques, you can be on your way to simplicity
in no time. All it takes is some desire, commitment,
and short-term sacrifice. The choice is yours. THE
POWER OF SIMPLICITY is within you!
Here's
to simplifying your life!
Patty Kreamer, CPO, owner of Kreamer
Connect, Inc., is a Certified Professional Organizer, speaker,
and author of “…But I Might Need It Someday!”
and “The Power of Simplicity” available at
www.ByeByeClutter.com.
