I’ve created a handy workbook that will help you look at the ways you can declutter to maximize the resources you have, specifically time, paper, electronics, people, and space.

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Regarding your resource of time, I want to focus on three aspects for you to consider:
> Do you schedule downtime for yourself? If you aren’t practicing self-care, you will not be at your best for anyone else.
> What is your most productive time of day? Focus on getting your harder tasks done during that time frame.
> What are your biggest three time wasters? (Hint = consider the Electronics section below!)

> How can you reduce the paper you bring into your space? Figure out ways to not add to the piles!
> How can you efficiently store the paper you need to keep? Figure out what you actually do need and what’s the best way to store it.
> How can you reduce the paper that you create? Figure out if there is another way to save the information – PDF file, Excel spreadsheet, a subfolder in your Inbox. Imagine the environmental impact too!

Cell phones, FitBits, laptops, smart TVs, desktops, tablets, and the list goes on. How much time to we spend staring at these electronic screens? Is your life such that you could build in some electronic-free time? Even just 30 minutes in an afternoon to take a walk and listen to the birds or color a picture with actual pen and paper. Just the sheer volume of emails in our Inbox can be enough to overwhelm us. Try unsubscribing to ones you never read and see what that little step can do to declutter one tiny area. (For more tips about managing your Inbox, sign up for your mini ebook and check out 10 Ways to Declutter Your Email)

This is a difficult area – “decluttering” people. It’s really not meant to sound harsh. People can be both a giving and a taking resource. But interpersonal interactions can sometimes demand time or emotional resources that we don’t have to give. It is important to make sure that these interactions add meaning and well-being to our lives without the unnecessary stress or strain or drama that depletes our resource bank. And we should also be aware of how we add meaning and well-being to others.

In the workbook, the ‘space’ flowchart asks, do I really need to keep this item? But the bigger question might be, does it need to live in “daily space”? I have become increasingly focused on my “daily space”. The parts of my home that I look at all the time. That is the clutter that needs to be addressed first. Before looking at the hidden depths and unseen recesses, our daily space affects our daily well-being. In order to maximize our daily space areas, we should make sure that the items that occupy that space are the ones that need to live there.