Eliminate

Step One: Eliminate

I’m sitting at my cluttered desk in front of a Mac that crashed a while ago. All my files, emails, music, photographs – everything – were lost. I had backups for some of it (like family photos and business documents, thank goodness), but not all. For example, when I inserted the backup disc called “Writing”-- a file that held everything I’ve ever written in 15 years -- the computer message said, “You’ve just inserted a blank disc. What would you like to do with it?”

I haven’t cried that hard and that dramatically since my teen years.

Now, I’m feeling a little more Zen. I can breathe again and do not feel like the world, the Universe and the Gods are all against me.  I see that I partly had really bad luck, and partly had a hand in this drama. So now I have a much better backup system. After all, this is my business, and my life. And more importantly, I don’t want to create dramas – honestly, I don’t. I want to save my energies for the things I truly care about, like having fun with my family and friends, and creating great work, and maybe volunteering.

So I am taking steps to minimize drama. One of them is called One Year to an Organized Life by Regina Leeds, a/k/a the Zen Organizer, according to the book jacket. I am committing, as she insists we do if we are to truly realize the fruits of our own unique talents, to an organized life. Once you do that, and create a Dream Board to help you visualize where you want to be, you follow the book’s steps to organize your entire life – home, finances, kitchen, office, photos, everything – in one year. Each month focuses on a different area of life.

If you’re interested, I’ll post here…so come along! You might just glean some golden nugget that will be a catalyst for your own life out of this journey.

I believe in starting at the beginning, so here’s what the introduction says, in a nutshell. A disorganized life is usually the symptom of patterns/behaviors/identities/issues that began early in your life. Identify those to help solve the root problems. Meanwhile, learn her tips and tricks in each chapter, which all center around three basic organizing steps: Step 1: Eliminate. Step 2: Categorize. Step 3: Organize.

I have to laugh. Step 1 is Eliminate? Check, check, and double check. I guess my computer life, at least, is well on its way to being organized.