Have you seen the big new show on Netflix right now?
It's called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. The format is simple. She turns up at people's houses and, er, helps them tidy up. Yeah, there's a specific strategy to it and a load of crying and stuff too. But essentially that's it.
It's quite compelling. And despite the excellent DC Titans show demanding my viewing time, I've watched a couple of episodes of Tidying Up.
This morning I was thinking about why it makes you feel so good when you have a thorough clear out. While I was staring at the evil clutter corner of my office...
Every time I clear out my office, or declutter my desk, I feel GREAT.
And I think it's because your environment sets your context. It directly affects how you feel and think.
It's why a refurbishment in a shop typically leads to an immediate boost in sales.
It's why some people believe a broken window that doesn't get fixed, can ultimately lead to the building being burned down (known as broken windows theory).
It also explains why if you tolerate one person being late for work twice a week, every week, eventually that will spread to more of your staff.
Context is everything. So if your environment sets your context, here's a challenge for you.
Have a look round your working environment right now. What kind of context is it setting for you?
- Is there clutter everywhere? Piles of old computers waiting for who knows what?
- Could it do with a deep clean?
- Would it benefit from a lick of paint?
Another way of looking at it - what could you do in just 30 minutes at the end of work today or tomorrow, that could make a dramatic difference to your working environment?
Removing the physical clutter from our environment helps us to tackle the mental clutter. With less stuff clogging our minds, we can operate with greater clarity and ultimately get more done.
Right. Sleeves up time. I'm off to tackle the evil clutter corner...
