What Are the Secrets to De-Junking Your Life?

One of the keys to staying positive, especially during times of crisis, is to keep your life de-junked.

That means getting rid of the stuff you don't need and learning to organize (have a place for and actually putting it there) the stuff that you really do need. Below are my top recommendations for de-stressing, de-junking and un-complicating your life.

1. Learn to use the time you have to your advantage. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. No amount of wishful thinking is going to change that. The most pressing questions you can answer are,

"Is this the best use of my time at the moment?"

"Do I really need to know this at this moment?"

2. Seek out the most concisely presented information and present your own information in the shortest packages possible. Doesn't it seem that everyone is suffering from information overload? We no longer live in the information age. We live in the meaningful presentation of information age. Specifically, we don't want 20,000 steps or 200 options. We want the 10 best, most concise steps that we can use right now and see some kind of measurable outcome.

Give yourself a deadline for researching your options. Go to trusted sources that compile the latest research for you or do the ugly work of separating the good from the lousy.

Also, to avoid getting lost in a sea of information, ask these questions:

"How does this information affect me?"

"Do I really need to attend a meeting or can they live without me?"

"Do I even need to schedule a meeting or can the information or updates or status of the project be conveyed in other, less time-consuming ways?"

" What's the likelihood that I'm going to act on this information within the next 3 days?"

"Can I store this information in an easy to remember place on my computer electronically rather than having to print it out?"

3. Lack of focus will crush the best intentions. While we are expected to juggle multiple priorities at work and at home, we can only focus on a few of those priorities at a time. When you invest yourself into a project, put 100% of yourself into it. If the focus is on giving a presentation, make it the best presentation you've ever given. If the focus in on sharing time with your spouse or partner, pour yourself into being there for them by focusing on them - not your cell phone, your email or the news program on the TV screen in the background. Questions to help you focus:

"Am I putting everything I have to being present in this moment?"

"What outside distractions typically divert my attention from what I'm doing, and what can I do to eliminate them from stealing my focus in the future?"

"If this was the last time I ever had to spend time with my loved one would they be able to say I listened to them, engaged them and completely enjoyed my alone time with them?"

4. Your emotional baggage will leave you tired and alone. Leave the past in the past. If you can't leave it in the past, learn to at least leave it at the door. Emotional baggage will cause you to age faster, destroy your health and cause people to flee from you.

Everyone goes through crisis. Crisis inevitably prepares for other challenges and makes us hardier, more resilient and better and empathizing with others. But your crisis wasn't meant to be worn as a badge of honor.

You were cheated on. You were betrayed. You old boss was a jerk. You survived an accident or disease. Your heart was broken. Welcome to life! You have to move on and stop carrying the pain and sorrow or anger and distrust with you. Stop projecting other people's shortcomings onto anyone who reminds you of them. Stop bringing the past up. Stop whining and insteand, focus on the work or relationship at hand.

If you find yourself in a funk at the moment, I recommend that you get my book "Escape Life Sucks Syndrome" available on Amazon.com.

5. Give away the stuff you don't need or use or things that have outgrown their practical usefulness. With the advent of eBay and Craigslist, it's easier than ever to rid yourself of clothes that don't fit, furniture and nick knacks you don't use, and stuff that just adds to the clutter in your life.

If selling stuff sounds like too much work. Call the Salvation Army or Goodwill and they will often pick up the stuff you don't need. Even part with items with sentimental value. It's just stuff! If you can't do it hire a professional organizer or de-clutterer to do it for you. Get out of the house and let them do what you refuse to.

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