I love the start of a New Year. Even the simplest things like putting a new folder on my computer for the articles for the year. The promise of fresh beginnings, hope and commitment to a new direction in our lives. You still have the holiday afterglow (or fatigue depending on how you spent it). You probably have a few days left before life, work, school runs and proper traffic return to normal. Your resolutions are still fresh in mind or on paper. Last week I wrote about the things to do just before the New Year. I think it’s just as important to start the year right so you don’t lose the momentum. Many times you fall back, get into your normal way of being and before you know it, the year has ended. I don’t know about you but I can’t forge ahead with new plans when the old stuff is lingering on and hoping for a comeback. That’s why I think it is important to declutter. In essence get rid of the old so that you can make space for the new.
Progress does not happen in disorder. Let’s start with your physical space. Clean up your desk, office, house, wardrobe, store etc. You know the places in your lives that just seem to block you mentally. You walk in there and you can feel the heaviness. I know this may not seem very important in the midst of getting kids ready for school and going back to work but it is. This is going to be a creative year for you where you get to come up with new things for you to read and learn. Your office doesn’t feel at all creative at the moment. There are things and papers lying around that you don’t need and just will not help you get into a creative space. You may want to have a new look or style this year. It won’t happen if clothes are falling from your closet and you can’t even see what you have. You may want to be more efficient with time. Not with that disorganized filing system. You take more time to find files on your computer or trace the email than to do the actual work.
The next and most important decluttering process takes place in the mind. The digital world has many benefits. The one disadvantage is that it clutters our minds. Reading everybody’s comments, blogs, opinions and even the jokes they send is tiring. Too much for our minds to incorporate. Call me old fashioned but I still think the saddest thing is seeing people having a meal physically together but mentally with their phones. Firstly, get rid of groups or people who you know to clutter your head. Last year I took a real break. I was physically away and next to the ocean which is my favorite place on earth, but I also did not look at my phone for that week. I came back extremely mentally re-energized and realized that the world did not fall apart because I didn’t reply or contribute to WhatsApp messages. Afterward, I set boundaries with my device. You should too. Health experts advise that you should not look at your phone an hour before sleeping and an hour after waking up. You shouldn’t watch TV either (I’m personally still working on that). It disrupts your sleep and is unhealthy for your mind. The first thing you do when you wake up should not be to fill yourself with other people’s opinions.
Decluttering your money will be an ongoing subject so stay tuned. However, to kick us off remember Wealth does not happen in disorder so your financial affairs cannot be all over the place. Before you earn your next income know where your money goes. In fact, proactively allocate where you do want it to go. It’s called Budgeting. A process most of us know but fail to do. It doesn’t matter how much you earn; you cannot create wealth without this. You will be able to tell where the leaks are. Next, know what you actually have. Your assets and your liabilities (or debt). We tend to have a lot of financial clutter. Too many accounts, policies that you signed up for but don’t really work, shares of some company, Chamas etc. Just list them down so you can start finding out what is worth keeping or not or what may be worth investing more in. Also, come face to face with how much you actually owe and to whom. Running away from it doesn’t solve the problem. The money that you are frivolous with can go a long way in paying down your debt.
Do you run a business and are feeling cluttered? Next week we will talk about what decluttering looks like for entrepreneurs this year.
Waceke runs programs on Entrepreneurship and Personal Finance Management. Registration is currently open and ongoing through our website centonomy.com For more information get in touch with her through waceken@centonomy.com /Facebook-Waceke Nduati /Tweet @cekenduati