Tidying up Your Life

This morning I reached for my little French press and small coffee grinder from my cabinet shelf, as is my morning ritual. First as I pulled them out, and later when I put them back, I was highly aware of the small space they were squished into (even though I use them almost every morning). As I looked at the shelf, I realized that most of the stuff there takes up a lot of space yet rarely gets used.

Then I looked at my pantry and saw the same thing, and my closet, and my garage. Yes, I’ve read the Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and I once spent hours deciding which sweaters magnified good energy for me and which I could give away. It is really powerful to declutter and lean into those things that bring us joy and not just squish them between all the other stuff that we feel like we might want/need someday. And I see it takes an ongoing practice 🙂

Narrow Your Target Audience

As I then went on with my day, which involved teaching an entrepreneurial workshop, I had this thought – one of the hardest ideas for entrepreneurs to internalize is that our chances of success for a new business are many times greater if we start with a clear, easily delineated, narrow customer group. Yes, maybe our new bubble gum could be loved by everyone, but not really. There will be super users squished within the masses of all of us and those are the ones we need to find and develop relationships with and say thank you too. Those are the people, like my little coffee pot, that deserve far more kindness and space and focus than all the other stuff that gathers dust around them.

And then my brain began asking even deeper questions like “why do I allow the people, things and activities I love most to get squished in between all the other events, activities, and to-dos that aren’t nearly as dear or important to me? How can I do the same decluttering of my daily to-do list as I do for my closet when there is a change of season. How can I better make the space for what’s most important?

Ask Yourself What You Want?

And then another voice inside said, “so, what is most important?” and I realized that what is most important besides my family, is my love for this country and the virtues and principles of integrity and character I grew up believing in. So, I’m thinking that in addition to plugging away at Six Minutes Daily, I want to go to Michigan, my home state (and a much more important state in our 2020 election than Wyoming) and help get out the vote to shift from our current leader. Last fall, Julie and I began this Six Minutes Daily journey in Las Vegas, where we canvassed for women who flipped the ticket in Nevada. Maybe you will join us next year.

What a helpful and interesting thread of thoughts that all began with a tucked away small coffee pot.

What do you want to declutter from work/life? What shines in front of you, patiently waiting for your attention to remind you why you’re here?