For those who know me well, you will understand that I don’t do “tidy”. I am the girl whose boyfriend would clean her university room when he came to visit! Now that two kids have been thrown into the mix, clutter is everywhere. Even with my conscious minimalistic lifestyle and constant boot sales and charity donations, stuff seems to multiply!
Until l I discovered the Konmari method. For those that haven’t heard about this yet, you can get an insight in the book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying” by Marie Kondo. In short, the main principles are:
- People don’t have a storage issue; they just have too much stuff
- Visualise your end result: why you want to live this way?
- You should only keep those things that bring you joy; that is its value
- Discard one category at a time (not room by room) before you store anything
If you follow me on Instagram you will have noticed piles of clothes, then imagery of the “other side”. Jumpers neatly stored away and swirls of socks. Going through this process has made me consider how the Konmari principles can be applied in life: in particular that you should only keep things that bring you joy.
How many people are carrying emotional clutter? Expectations, issues and roles that don’t bring them joy? Have you ever taken the time to really reflect on how your job and its culture makes you feel?
Ask yourself:
Does this role make me happy?
Do I generally look forward to my work day?
How does it excite me?
What value does it give me?
What do I have too much of?
What do I never use?
What would you get rid of?
What would I discard?
Don’t let your head take over; the practicalities or expectations of others. Feel your emotional reaction to these questions. I find I carry emotion in my torso, I have “gut” feelings about things that are uncomfortable and butterflies if I am excited.*
What are you discovering when you answer these questions? Are you finding that joy and happiness never occurs at work?
If so, then answer this humdinger of a question:
What elements of your role would you keep that would bring you happiness and joy?
The answer to this final question is what you should be doing with your career.
So what will you do now to make that happen?
* (If you want to find out more about the link between the “gut” and the brain, this is an interesting article!)
Clara Wilcox is a straight talking, practical and experienced coach helping clients navigate the tricky waters of returning to work, career changes and professional development. The Balance Collective is a social enterprise focused on improving the lives of parents, by working together to build inner confidence and promote a healthy work/life balance.
