Less is More

I'm currently delivering an 11 week course on Time Management and Productivity.  Each time I create a new course there's tons of research that has to happen every week.  The research and creation of this course has been so helpful to me and my business - I'm so much more focused and am saving hours a week... which I can use to do the stuff I love like hiking along the shoreline or spending time with a friend.

I've also come to some conclusions.  We are a society of hoarders!!!!  We have storage units to hold the stuff we hoard.   We have walk-in closets to hold the clothes and accessories we hoard.  We have google docs, dropbox, evernote, etc to store the documents we hoard.  We have bigger and bigger email storage to save the emails we hoard.  We have app after app on our phone for instant access to information and entertainment we are hoarding.  Overwhelm and an overabundance of stimuli has become our norm.  So much so that when we actually aren't busy, sit still, or are simply quiet with our thoughts something seems wrong.  It's like we're missing something...we become guilty about not being busy...we suffer from FOMO - what are we "fraid of missing out" on?  We feel guilty because we should be "doing" something.

 LESS IS MORE

• getting rid of old stuff clears clutter in your life and in your head
• having stuff around you all the time, including on your computer, keeps you scattered and lacking focus
• our body has a visceral response the overwhelm around us
• constant sound and noise has a negative affect on our health
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• silence let's our brain "reboot"... it releases tension from our brain and our body
• we're more creative and more productive with less going on around us
• "less" of everything... stuff, information, sound, stimuli... reduces stress and increases calm and joy
• the research is clear... people who take time to be quiet, be in nature, meditate, thinking time... are happier, healthier AND more productive.

Do yourself a favour and get rid of some stuff - stop wearing "busy" like a badge of honour - disconnect - take time to think, breathe and reconnect with yourself.  Remember...we're human "beings", not human "doings".