When I train a leadership team, they go on a three to four-month journey with me where we review all their work habits.
And the first session we do is called “Declutter your Space”.
10 years ago, “Declutter your Space” was all about papers. We would actually go to their desks and check all the papers one by one and do a big purge – a big declutter.
Today it is different but not that different. While we’ve gone paperless, the mess is still there. And that mess is what I call a ‘soft mess’. What we do now is declutter their soft files, their email folders, their Slack, their Teams, and any other team software or program they’re using.
The day for decluttering is actually quite a fun day.
Why am I sharing this with you?
In this short video, I want to share with you one simple process that can both save you time and increase your focus.
Quite often, people come to me before we start decluttering and say:
“Cyril, why is that important? I think we should go straightaway into ‘How do I prioritise? What are my priorities? How do I organise my calendar?'”
And I say:
“We will discuss soon priorities and calendar management but trust me, let’s start making sure the foundations are right.’
You would be surprised how many people have shared how happy they felt after the Declutter session. It’s really cathartic, decluttering.
Now, I have two goals when I help my clients declutter:
#1. To save time
Because of the clutter, we spend far too much time looking for things we could easily find.
#2. To increase their focus
Quite often, people say to me, “I didn’t realise that I had a cluttered desk or I had a cluttered desktop. And I had a cluttered mind as a result”.
But there’s one place that has creeped in – your mobile phone.
I suggest you do a big declutter of your mobile phone as well.
How?
I want you to think about all the apps that you have on your mobile phone. Then, I want you to think about three categories they can fall into: No, Occasionally, Daily.
#1. The ‘No’
This is for the apps that you haven’t used for so long or you know you will never use again. And for the apps that fall into this category, just get rid of them.
You can always redownload them when you need them. That’s okay. But don’t clutter your iPhone with so many apps that you don’t need.
#2. The ‘Occasionally’
Archive the apps you don’t use often. On the iPhone, what you do is you press and hold on the app until the menu comes up. Then, just tap on ‘Remove’. Don’t delete the app.
‘Remove’ from the home screen means the app will be in the background. And if you search for it on your phone, it will still appear. It’s still downloaded on your phone, but it won’t appear on your home screen.
#3. The ‘Daily’
Think about the few apps you really, really need to use on a daily basis. Put them on your first screen, while the rest of the apps go on the following three. That way, the apps you see first are only those you really need and use on a regular basis.
As for me, I have a very clear first screen.
By decluttering your iPhone, you’ll get three benefits:
First, you won’t be distracted by apps that you don’t need.
Second, it’s going to make your search much easier and quicker.
Third, you actually might bump into an app that you had downloaded a while ago and you’re not actually using and say, “That’s good and it’s really useful. I need to use this.”
This is this week’s Work Smarter: Live Better tip. And now, my question to you: ss spending a little bit of time – around 15 minutes – doing a purge of your iPhone worth it?
You have a lovely day and a good declutter.
A bientôt,
Cyril
