Have you ever had one of those moments in your life where you felt like you were wearing rain covered glasses? You can see, sort of, but you don’t really know where you are going or what you are doing. Clarity in work and life is important to be successful, but sometimes it feels just out of reach. It’s difficult to make meaningful decisions when you don’t have the clarity to make them in an informed way.
The hurdles to clarity
Often times there are hurdles that we have put in place that we fail to see. They typically fall into one of three categories.
- Disorganization
- Distraction
- Confusion
That’s not to say that a hurdle isn’t a mix of more than one category. For example, When my desk or desktop on the computer becomes disorganized, I also become distracted and can’t focus on the task at hand. For others, it may be that you have some confusion in what’s being said because you are being distracted. Here are some ways to help you minimize those three items that hinder your clarity.
- Get a full nights rest. It gives your mind and body a rest to let things go and restart itself.
- Clean up! Keep your desk, home and computer clean of the clutter. One of the most surprising things that people learn when they take my time management class is how much clutter in areas like email, pull on them mentally and provide a silent stressor.
- Get in a routine. My ability to be a forward thinker is at it’s best when I’m in a routine. It frees my mind up to think about larger picture items and plan for the future, both near and far.
- Seek help. Listen and share with those you trust that are close to you that share your same interests.
- Lean into your faith. If you are a spiritual person then a great place to seek clarity is in your faith walk.
Close the open enders.
Our brain has a tendency to latch on to things that linger around us more than the things that we have completed. (I need to do the laundry.) As these build up, make a list to knock these out and clean up your to-do list. Scheduling time in your day to knock out misc. items is also a helpful way to close your open-ended items. (I need to do laundry). Another trick I teach people who take my time management class is to use a whiteboard to throw these types of items on. It frees the mind, gives you visually that it needs to be done and lets you move on throughout your day. I need to do laundry.
Did my recurring reminder of needing to do laundry distract you? That’s exactly what your brain is doing constantly if you don’t give it an outlet and get these small things done in a timely manner.
Take care of the lingering items that distract you, erase confusion and stay organized to gain that clarity back in your life.
Make a better tomorrow.
-ZH
