verb \ˈshed·ding\
transitive verb
1. Dismissing elements that have no inherent value to your daily operations

Shedding can have a great impact on your time creation management and day-to-day functions. Items in your inbox, on your computer’s hard drive, and in your paper files are acting like an anchor, keeping you from forward motion. When you begin to eliminate unnecessary things, you provide room for more growth that acts like a propeller to your success.

Consider these organizing and time management statistics:

• We never use 80% of papers and information that we keep
• Each week, the average American will spend one year searching through desk clutter looking for misplaced objects and 727 minutes waiting for dates and business associates to show up for meetings

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

Decide what you need to keep and what is best to let go of. Things that you have accumulated for years may have no inherent value in your life. Those blogs you want to review or emails you want to go back to, the notes from the seminars you attended, the voice memos you saved on your phone, those various sheets of paper – all are taking up mental RAM. You know you’ll need those ideas sometime, but without a strategy to review or find, they are taking up space on your phone or computer. The sooner you create a strategy for going through them or simply let go of them, you will find more room (literally and figuratively) for new opportunities.

There is an analogy that is referenced in The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma. The master pours a cup of tea for his student but doesn’t stop pouring as the cup begins to fill. He continues to pour and the tea overflows the cup onto the saucer and then eventually onto the floor. The master highlights to the student that you can keep pouring to try and fill up, but when your cup is full, you can’t find room for anything new. Each day, choose to make room in your email, computer, your phone’s memory, basically anywhere you can to make room for new opportunities. That way, you are allowing for room (literally and figuratively) for life to show you new opportunities. By shedding, you are employing time creation and emptying the cup to make room to receive new things instead of pouring all your hard work into overflowing a full cup.

It is typical to hold onto paperwork, emails, and folders “just in case.” However, this can limit your growth after a certain length of time. Success is stifled when you hold onto the old things acquired over time. How many folders do you have of things that you haven’t looked at in months, let alone years? How many times do you ever really use this information? How many old emails are you holding onto? What type of clutter is on your desk? If it is something you use on an ongoing basis, create a folder for it where commonly used items are found. Take the time to make room for the new.

Habit to Shedding

Create a time creation strategy on how you will save the digital or physical items. Spend time cleaning up the digital or physical items you have accumulated. You may have reached a tipping point because you can’t fit anything more in your phone or you may have physically experienced the limits of not being able to find anymore closet space in your house. Spend an afternoon on a Friday getting rid of files accumulated over the years. You will discover 1 of 2 things:

1. the items you are keeping have a sentimental value and you want to keep it or
2. they are taking up space and there is no value in keeping them.

After a few days, you will find you feel lighter when you toss, recycle, donate or shed and you will feel more efficient and make progress in an area where you were previously stuck.

Start Time Creation Soon

Spend time putting everything in three piles: one to toss/recycle, one to keep, and one to give to others/donate. Use Post-it® notes to divide them up so you don’t get confused.

Start Now

If you want to hear more about my own experiences with shedding, please read Zip Lining, Shedding, and the Art of Letting Go. I also encourage you to call (888) 881-7650 today to listen to a brief recorded message on the top 3 mistakes you are making that costs you time every day.

I encourage you to enjoy life daily.

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