"Your Energy, Your Environment"

Your Energy,Your Environment
Joann Javons
Copyright 2001

A recent Oprah show stopped me in my tracks. I glanced up from my reading and there, right on that show, I saw what could have been my own office! Piles of papers, files, notes, books all neatly stacked in rows. But it was all a visual eyesore.

With cameras, crew, and a professional organizer in tow, Oprah visited other officers as well as people's homes. I was amazed to see that every person had one area in an otherwise well-organized office or home that sorely needed attention. Without exception, every person had one area that both drained energy and wasted their time.

Each of those disorganized areas represented some obstacle to the owners, some challenge they had yet to get through. And some block to their energy.

Here was the key for me: I really hadn't looked at my total office. It was as if I had mentally "blocked out" part of it. My desk faces a window that looks upon the beauty of trees, flowers, an ever-blue sky, all of which inspire me every day. And that's all I really looked at!

But what about the other side of my office, where all the stuff was piled in neat stacks? I was so accustomed to those piled stacks of files, magazines, notes on the left side of my office that I didn't even look at it. But, of course I knew it was there. In fact, I was simply tolerating its existence, as if it had to be that way. But those things you simply tolerate drain your energy.

Look around: what are you tolerating in your office or home?

You deserve to have an office environment that you treasure! I wanted my total office to give me a sense of serenity, beauty, and joy, just like the beautiful view from my office window.

Put yourself in control of your environment! Your energy will be released when you work in an environment that is totally pleasing to your eye plus, you'll be able to find things faster! Here are 3 techniques I learned and applied:

1. Get Tall

I had an extra desk in my office, left over from the days when I had time to make crafts. But now, that wide desk was being used to stack magazines, papers, files, and other things that I needed to organize or toss. The extra desk also took up needed floor space in my office.

Out went the old desk and in came a new 6 feet high pine sweet-smelling bookcase. The tall bookcase both opened up office space and forced me to file or toss items.

2. Get containers in the SAME type and size. Preferably, with lids on them. Label the front of your containers.

Most people put items in containers of different sizes, shapes, colors. That approach creates a sense of disorder, disrupts the flow, and you end up with a different kind of cluttered look!

When you file papers, folders, stationary and other items in containers that are the same TYPE (color, texture, design and even size), you create a sense of order and serenity. The labels tell you at a glance what's inside. The lids hide what is inside because you don't really need to look at it, until you're ready.:-)

3. "When was the last time you used this?" That's the question to ask as you are deciding what to keep, what to toss.

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Joann Javons has a passion for creating opportunities to help others release their creative potential. She is the owner of http://www.peoplepoems.com and http://private-practice-marketing.com.
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