I’ve been decluttering and organizing. I just brought a pile of stuff to my local thrift shop. And it was just stuff: nothing with sentimental value or that would cost much to replace.
And you know what? When I got rid of the stuff that was cluttering up the surface, I gained access to the more important things that were being blocked. In some cases, I donated the clutter. Plastic drawers that were on top of a box of memorabilia? Gone. And I pulled out my high school year book that was in the memorabilia box and had a nice laugh at my junior year perm-and-retainer combo. In some cases, just rearranging according to my priorities made all the difference. My guitar is no longer blocked behind golf clubs where it was just too much work to pull it out: now it is accessible and I’m already planning to sit on the deck and play.
So what does this have to do with freelancing? Surprisingly (to me), a lot. I have lots of clutter in my freelance life. Busy work I give myself, email newsletters to read, online groups and blogs and forums that end up being just more stuff in my life, blocking my access–my time and energy–for the things I really want and need to do. Here’s my plan: I’m going to declutter my freelance life so that I can put the important parts front and center.
How do you keep stuff from blocking your path to the freelance life you want?