Short useful messages from Respect Yourself, the guidance site for young people to help make good decisions in life.
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis helps you understand what works: for your problem, name all the things that are contributing to the failure, ask how often it occurs, list the actions you’ve taken to ensure it does not recur, then analyse which solutions worked.
The Pareto Principle shows that 80% of your results come from 20% of your causes. If you record why you’re late somewhere, 20% of your reasons cause 80% of the times you are late. Focusing on fixing these “vital few” causes means you’ll arrive on time 4 times out of 5.
Ask yourself, do I want to pack and unpack this item when we move? This will stop you simply moving clutter from one place to another.
If you’re holding onto a possession purely because it’s expensive, and you no longer need or want it, you can use specialist websites to sell it, to recoup as much of your money as possible.
When decluttering, ask yourself when was the last time you used or needed the item. For example you could put your freshly-cleaned clothes on the right-hand-side of your wardrobe, meaning the ones which migrate to the left over 6 months are the ones you no longer need.
It’s not always easy to donate or dispose of an item, but having a list of questions to ask yourself about it can help simplify the process, whether you’re moving house or just trying to clean up the junk.
When decluttering, you can get rid of your items by donating them to charity, selling them as second-hand online, or simply by binning them if they’re not worth anything. This will reduce the distractions the items can bring, and reduces the mental clutter.
Some possessions carry emotional meaning or memories. If they’re not good memories, or you’re not so attached to them that you’d want to box them up to take if you’re moving house, consider getting rid of them when decluttering.
If your workspace is untidy, all the clutter is visual noise. When you keep seeing it, you’re reminded of unfinished tasks, which could add unnecessary stress and stop you focusing on what you’re currently trying to do.
People working in an organised environment are able to be more productive and focused than someone working in a disorganised setting: you can concentrate better if your space is tidy and organised.