Five things that are bound to clutter up your day

  1. Oversleeping. Waking up just 10 minutes late has the ability to throw your entire day off schedule. Use a timer for a week and determine how long it actually takes you to get ready in the morning, commute to your office, and start working on valuable action items. Are you waking up early enough to get everything done?
  2. Getting involved in office gossip and/or office politics. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again — these negative behaviors are pure clutter.
  3. Tossing junk mail somewhere other than the trash or into a shredder. Don’t let junk mail accumulate on your dining table, desk, or anywhere else it doesn’t belong. Immediately process your mail the first time you touch it.
  4. Losing your charge. How many times have you been on a cell phone call when your phone has died? How many times have you needed a flashlight during a blackout, only to find one that is out of batteries? Create a charging station for all of your portable electronic devices that is in a place you will use it. When doing spring and fall cleaning chores, include battery tests for all items you might need in an emergency. (Go ahead and check the charge on your fire extinguisher, too.)
  5. Throwing your dirty clothes on the floor. Get ready for bed before you are tired so you have enough energy to put your clothes in the hamper or put them up on a hanger. If you throw your clothes on the floor, you’re just creating more work for yourself in the future and a possible hazard in case you need to get up in the middle of the night.

What stumbling blocks have you found that are guaranteed to clutter up your day? Add to the comments any problems you’ve encountered and the solutions you’ve discovered.

Posted by Erin on Apr 26, 2010 | Comments

46 comments posted

  1. Posted by Kari - 04/26/2010

    It took me a really long time to learn that I am a (really, really) slow mover in the morning and I MUST give myself a lot of time to get moving and out of the house (or to my desk on the days I work from home) or else I feel frazzled and late the whole day. What this means for me is that I need two hours from waking to walking out the door and it si worth getting up earlier than I might otherwise to have a peaceful morning.

  2. Posted by Erin - 04/26/2010

    Thank you for this post! So far today I nearly overslept (#1), barely avoided getting sucked into office politics (#2) and realized my phone is nearly dead (#4). Not an ideal day, but I think having the knowledge will make tomorrow flow much better.

  3. Posted by Sara - 04/26/2010

    Dishes in the sink. If I don’t unload/reload the dishwasher before bed the few dishes in the sink somehow mutate into a full sink (or two!) plus full counter tops by morning. And not just dishes – paperwork, sunglasses and other random tidbits that we feel comfortable leaving on the counters because they aren’t clear and clean. Creates more work at the start of the day, not to mention irritation. If I take care of it before bed, everyone seems to “respect” the space a bit better.

  4. Posted by Rue - 04/26/2010

    RE: #5. Make it easy on yourself – leave your laundry hamper wherever you undress. I get dressed/undressed in my closet so I leave the laundry basket in the closet. Bonus is that I can close the closet door to hide it if I want!

  5. Posted by Ashley - 04/26/2010

    This is a great list. #1 was my stumbling block for YEARS. The only thing that’s cured it is having a 5-month-old with a schedule and agenda of his own. :) It has forced me to break a terrible habit of hitting the snooze button; otherwise, I’m guaranteed to leave the house in a terrible mood because I haven’t allowed enough time to get myself ready before he wakes up.

    To solve #4, I’ve gotten in the habit of checking the charge on my electronics items before I go to bed. I plug them in overnight, and voila, they’re ready to go the next morning and I never have to worry about running out of charge. I learned this lesson the hard way when I drained the battery on my breast pump and didn’t have a charger with me … yikes!

    While having my son has added many loads of laundry and new household chores to my to-do list, he’s also helped me break some bad habits that held me back. :)

  6. Posted by David - 04/26/2010

    My father has a saying about buying fuel: “Get gas when it is convenient so you don’t have to get gas when it is inconvenient”. His point is, get it on the way home from work so you don’t have to stop when you are running late the next morning…when it might be raining.

    This logic applies to charging your cell phone, sorting mail, and many other areas of life. I think it goes hand-in-hand with un-cluttering.

  7. Posted by Loren - 04/26/2010

    I’ve learned about myself there’s a very specific time period I can allow myself to get ready in the morning. If I give myself more than 30 minutes or so to shower and dress I am ALWAYS late because I think I have ‘extra time’ and check my email, or change outfits 3 times, or to do the dishes and then I am just as late as I would have been if I hit the snooze.

  8. Posted by Christine Simiriglia - 04/26/2010

    Answering the phone. My office phone rings constantly, and a lot of it really isn’t important. If I stop what I’m doing to answer it, I lose my train of thought — so I don’t answer. I schedule times during the day to listen to messages. Only about 40% of the callers actually leave messages so I only need to spend time calling back the folks that require a call back.

  9. Posted by Dorothy - 04/26/2010

    My phone’s charge sometimes doesn’t last a full day. So I have a car charger that lives in my car. And when I had an office I kept a charger there, too. That way I had a charger available most of the places I may need one. When I travel, the car charger comes with me.

    I buy the cheap chargers, not the OEM ones. I can usually get a car or AC charger for under $10. Never had a problem with them.

  10. Posted by Sarah - 04/26/2010

    Other than underestimating the amount of time it takes to actually get out of the door in the mornings, neglecting to put away my keys, coat, phone, and bag is the one thing guaranteed to mess with my day. My mind is cluttered enough without having to remember a new resting place each day, so putting them away every time I walk in the door has become a ritual.

  11. Posted by George - 04/26/2010

    I have to agree with all of these points – although working in a nice place the gossip is all harmless and jolly. During the easter hols I got up at 6am with my husband. I got tons of stuff done ands then realised it was only 8am. I was so shocked I went back to bed lol.

  12. Posted by Ruth Hansell - 04/26/2010

    Spending time the evening before putting together lunch, deciding what to wear and making sure it’s clean/ironed, printing what I need to print, setting out pet supplies for the morning – the list goes on.

    I don’t do the above routine every day, as my schedule varies from not having to leave the house to leaving the house at 6:15 am and not getting home till after 4.

    Whatever I can set up the night before that will shave even a few seconds off time in the morning is so worth it. It allows me to stay focused on the day ahead of me, and not on madly grabbing what I need as I leave, which makes for a calm and energizing morning.

    Ruth

  13. Posted by Marinda - 04/26/2010

    I have a one stop hang it up unit on the wall, by the back door which has keys, purse, rain stuff, glasses (sun and reading) and baseball caps for hubby. It gets there when I walk in and is there when I need it. Walk in, walk out with it ready to go.

  14. Posted by Kathleen - 04/26/2010

    To avoid cluttering the house with my large work bag, I leave it in the car every night (unless, of couse, I have to work from home). I walk into the house holding only my car key and iPhone, both of which have their own special holding place. It sounds like a little silly solution, but I love not having the clutter of a large bag in the hall or closet or kitchen — and in the morning, I never have to search frantically for the bag or its contents!

  15. Posted by Mletta - 04/26/2010

    for some of use, the biggest time-waster is second-guessing our choices and decisions. If we’ve taken the time to make a thoughtful, conscious decision, there’s no point in rehashing it over and over, regardless of the outcome.

    Sometimes we all need to set a limit on the time we take to “think something over.” There’s thinking and then there’s the inaction that comes from excessive rumination as it were.

    We make any decision in any given moment with whatever information is available. Sometimes there is no more information and we just have to decide.

    Researching purchases, for example is important, to a point. But I’ve seen people spend hours to save $10 on an airline ticket. That is NOT a good use of their time as it’s probably worth a lot more than $10.

    Over-thinking is a big roadblock for me. And spending time focusing on past actions, mistakes, etc. is also wasteful. Figure out what you learned and move on.

  16. Posted by Rachel - 04/26/2010

    One thing that clutters up my day is allowing the trash can or recycling bin to get too full. It is so frustrating to try to stuff “just one more thing” into the trash, and dealing with trash that has overflowed or fallen out is disgusting and a waste of time. I try to pay attention to the trash can and take note when it is nearing full. Then I can pull it out and toss it in the garbage the next time I’m on my way out of the house.

  17. Posted by auntie - 04/26/2010

    I’d say AMEN to all of these, but especially #1 (for me). It just occurred to me as I was reading the comments…is there such a thing as an alarm clock with no snooze button?

  18. Posted by April in Big D - 04/26/2010

    @auntie, when I was in junior high until my first year of college, I had a wind-up alarm clock (gift from my grandmother). No battery, no electricity, no snooze. If I didn’t get up when the alarm went off, I was in big trouble. I was so excited when it broke and I finally got a clock radio … but over the years I have gotten into worse & worse snooze habits, to the point where it takes me 2 hours from the time the alarm goes off until I actually get out of bed some days. Maybe I need to go buy myself a wind-up model!!

  19. Posted by Beverly D - 04/26/2010

    Great list Erin. As for #2, I give myself 15 minutes to find out the “news”, not necessarily negative but just enough to stay part of the team, then get busy with the day. I’ve made it part of my role to keep a positive atmosphere going, so my response to gossip and politics reflects that. I am so bad about letting the phone go dead though. I have extra chargers wherever I am.

  20. Posted by Moe - 04/26/2010

    “Throwing your dirty clothes on the floor” Hey! I’ll have you know that this helps me when my marble tiled floors are so cold in the morning. It keeps my feet warm until I reach for my sandals (which are somewhere in between those clothes! :)

    On a serious note. These are some great tips. It really is hard to go to sleep before you are tired. that would have me going to bed around 7pm (father of two).

  21. Posted by Justine - 04/26/2010

    um, Facebook? ugh, I need help with this. why can’t I stop looking? commenting. having fear of missing something. I loathe it, yet I let it suck up my time. I know I am not alone… we invented FB, how do we allow ourselves to let it go, especially since it has become so integrated into our communications systems?

  22. Posted by Carolyn - 04/26/2010

    Thanks for posting this. I’m currently trying my hardest to become more organised – not easy! I’m finding that having a young child is a good reason to become more organised. Here are some of the little changes I’ve made lately:

    * keep a mail sorter by the front door to collect anything that arrives in our letterbox.
    * I also keep a small trunk near the front door, to collect junk mail, envelopes, any paper junk that is set for the recycling bin. I take it out just before our large bins go out for collection on garbage day.
    *Next to my mail sorter, I have a large bowl to collect spare change, keys, sunglasses. Basically anything that would get dumped on our dining room table goes here.

  23. Posted by Sandra Lee - 04/26/2010

    It’s amazing how exercising mindfulness in small steps like these can make such a big difference. Thanks for this short and sweet list.

  24. Posted by Jo - 04/26/2010

    Reading – newspapers or on the net. I find it so hard to skip anything, so I spend much more time reading stuff than I should.

  25. Posted by Sara - 04/26/2010

    @ Justine
    I finally deleted my FB account a few months ago and it has been so freeing. I just did it cold turkey. I spent so much time reading the witty status updates of “friends” and at times feeling inadequate when I compared their life adventures to mine. How fruitless! I kept the e-mail addresses of “long-lost” friends so we could stay in touch and that was that. I haven’t missed it since. Uncluttering my mind and my time in one fell swoop. It doesn’t get much better than that!

  26. Posted by Another Deb - 04/27/2010

    Declutter your mind before bedtime or when freshly awake by listing what you need to get/do/or remember for that day. I will walk into the grocery store and immediately forget 4 out of 5 things I went in for if I don’t have the list. Or I will pass by the gas station and the office supply store several times and then remember when I get home that I HAVE to get gas the next busy morning.

    Re dirty clothes. My washer is central to most of the house, so I usualy drop in things during the day that can make a load in a few more days. Already sorted and loaded.

    Since I carpool with my husband sometimes, I leave my work keys and badge on TOP of the hood of the car (inside the garage). That way I see them no matter which vehicle I ride in the next day. Nothing is worse for me than driving the 15 miles and then not having the keys to classroom, bathroom and storage areas all day.

  27. Posted by Adventure-Some Matthew - 04/27/2010

    @Auntie An alarm without a snooze button? That is an ingenious concept! I’d have to get used to it over the weekends, however.

    If you’re serious about the idea, you might want to try using your cell phone. Mine has the option to turn snooze on or not. It also has 5 alarms, so I have three set every morning – “Wake up” (snooze 5x), “Really wake up” (snooze 1x), and “Go to work” (no snooze).

    I might have to re-set my morning habits over the weekend and get rid of my snooze button!

  28. Posted by Cat - 04/27/2010

    For me the biggest time-clutterer is online discussion boards. There is a very active local one full of smart & interesting people, and it’s easy to get sucked into it. But a lot of the conversation is still just clutter. I’m trying really hard to break away from it, because it is just a time sink and doesn’t add anything to my day.

    I agree 100% with getting up early enough! I get up at 5:25 and out the door at 7:15 – and believe it or not it’s hard to get out by then. I need a LOT of time with coffee & snuggling with my cat in the morning. I can only do it if I do all of the following the night before: make lunches, set up the coffee pot (it has a timer), put out my clothes & accessories / jewelry for the next morning / touch up with the iron if necessary etc. Once I dislodge myself from my cat & coffee I just wash, eat breakfast, and leave. I’ve found that your tip of getting ready for bed early also helps a lot as my room is tidy in the morning – no clothes on the floor to take care of, etc.

  29. Posted by Marilyn - 04/27/2010

    My big morning mistake is checking my email as soon as I get out of bed. I really believe that time speeds up when you are in front of a computer.

  30. Posted by Natalie - 04/27/2010

    I do as much as possible the night before – pack my lunch, pack my gym back, clear out the sink, and at least take a glance at what I might wear the next day.

    Some days I have a really hard time with #1 – but I’m slowly getting better!

  31. Posted by Ceanne - 04/27/2010

    I try to be as organized as I can, but I do still have difficulties with #1–I find it so hard to get out of my cozy bed in the morning!!

    Here’s a couple of my tips:

    1). I live in a two-storey house with a basement so I have a basket at the bottom of the stairs going upstairs and a basket at the top of the stairs going to the basement. If there’s something in either basket when I’m heading up or down I take it with me–this only works if I actually put the thing away where it actually belongs eg. tools in the tool box and paperwork filed, etc.

    2) I have a small indoor recycling bin under a small counter by my back door. When I go through my mail, for example, I can just toss the recycling in there. I empty this into the larger outside bin on the morning of recycling day–otherwise I’d be opening my back door multiple times a day just for recycling.

    Thanks for the tips, everyone–I especially loved the one about getting things done (putting dishes away, getting lunch and clothes ready) the night before, I used to do that and will start that again!

  32. Posted by WilliamB - 04/27/2010

    My variation on #1 is not original: the more I can do the night before the better off I am. Not just because there’s less to do in the morning, but also because I’m more awake at 9 pm and so am more efficient and forget fewer items.

    #3 and #5 are variants of “touch once” philosophy. I carry it further by cleaning up when I’m done with a project. Don’t let the dregs of completed projects hang around and be clutter. Clutter is a herd animal. If a member of herd is out, other members will come to join it.

  33. Posted by auntie - 04/27/2010

    @Adventure-Some Matthew: I looked all over online yesterday for a snooze-less alarm clock and couldn’t find anything. Apparently, there’s a hole in the alarm clock market! I don’t think my phone has the option to disable the snooze but I’ll check again…right now I’m setting my regular alarm clock AND my phone every morning and I hit the snooze on both of them!! Awful.

    This morning my incentive for getting right out of bed was the dream I had right before my alarm went off – that I woke up 2 hours late for work!!

  34. Posted by Todd Eddy - 04/27/2010

    Related to your last point. Get as much stuff ready the night before. For example I have the clothes I’m going to wear already picked and on my dresser, including socks and shoes. Granted for a guy choosing something to wear is about as complicated as pulling a shirt and pair of pants from the closet. Could be more of a time saver for women that have several outfits that clash with each other. Also my laptop for work is always in the same place and is ready to go. The less I have to do in the morning, the better.

  35. Posted by Kat - 04/27/2010

    I, too, have always struggled with the alarm clock issue and found that the double alarm worked very well for me – especially when my son was a toddler and a very early riser. First I set my clock radio for wake-to-music so I could hear the news and school closings (when they were still on the radio). The second alarm was a traditional battery powered circular bell-ringing clock in the bathroom. After the first alarm I was aware that I had 10 minutes to relax and listen – but I also knew I had to get to the bathroom to disable the other alarm BEFORE it went off so as not to wake my son (who would wake up wanting to play hide-and-seek immediately – ugh). Once in the bathroom I might as well start the day and treasure the few precious minutes I had to myself. And sometimes that second alarm was a life-saver that kept me from oversleeping (and snooze-pushing) by the three hours I felt I deserved!

  36. Posted by Justine - 04/27/2010

    @Sara – thank you :-) I am getting closer to deleting… lots of emotions tied up in there and also, all my closest friends now using it as one stop hub for photos, which it does make sense for. OY! I will let you know how it goes.

  37. Posted by Lauren - 04/27/2010

    For those of you trying to delete Facebook and other time-wasting websites, try an add-on on Firefox called Leechblock. It lets you limit the amount of time you spend on certain websites each day, and you can vary it by the day. I’m a student, so I limit my Facebook usage completely during the week and to 15 minutes a day on weekends. That’s usually enough time to respond to any messages, look through my friend’s new pictures, etc.

    I also have a category for wedding websites and blogs (which I could spend HOURS browsing, but limit so as to not get too carried away with myself) and other blogs I enjoy reading (this one included). There’s even a little timer at the bottom of the screen so you know how much time is left!

  38. Posted by Tina M - 04/28/2010

    I’d have to agree with those above and say Facebook. As much as I love it, it can be a real time waster. I have to really monitor myself or I can get lost in Facebook for an hour.

  39. Posted by Carolyn - 04/28/2010

    On the subject of facebook, I (FINALLY!) deleted my account last Sunday. I had disabled my account previously, but this time it’s for good. I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it is to not have the urge to ‘just check my facebook page for a couple of minutes’. Of course my two minute browsing, turned in to an hour or more. Here’s what made me decide to get rid of my account:

    *I have email. Anyone who is REALLY my friend, will email. I send friends email, and sometimes attach photos of what’s happening here (14 month old daughters antics etc..)

    *I had 130 or so “friends” and only really had meaningful, enduring friendships with 5-10 of them.

    *Facebook is a lazy way of communicating. Convenient, but lazy. Very easy to look at friends photos, status updates and not actually engage properly with them.

    *Posting a status update is fun, but really, does everyone need to know that I have lots of laundry to do, or that I’m really tired?

    *Facebook is voyeurism. I never felt comfortable posting photos to share with friends, when my acquaintances (or anyone else) could also see what I was up to. I know that there are security settings, but I don’t trust them 100%.

    Anyway, this comment is loooong enough! hope these points are helpful to anyone else with a facebook problem :)

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  41. Posted by s - 04/29/2010

    About snoozing. I read an article fairly recently about training yourself not to snooze. Basically, lay down (even go as far as getting in pjs, etc.) for 5 min at random times when you’re regularly awake. Set the alarm. As soon as it goes off, just jump up, get dressed, go about your day. Don’t snooze. I haven’t mastered it, but I do realize that hitting snooze (once or for 2 hours) just leaves me more tired. I may as well wake up early and just stay awake. Or set the alarm for a reasonable time, without snooze time built in. =)

  42. Posted by s - 04/30/2010

    Does anyone nap before work? I can get a good sleep for 6 or 8 hours; wake up and surf the net and play with the cat for an hour; and still go right back to bed and have a hard time waking up before I have to get ready for work. Clearly, I’ve got plenty of time, if I can nap, but that’s supposed to be gym time. When I do go to the gym, I do feel better and more energized all day, but the bed just calls my name!

  43. Posted by daniel howard - 05/01/2010

    If you want your sweetheart to stop leaving dirty clothes on the floor at night, best to just engage them positively and honestly and share your feelings that this is important to you, rather than posting your dirty laundry on your blog. Good luck!

    Sincerely,
    -danny

  44. Posted by Tim - 05/12/2010

    Not doing things at the right time.

    There are some points in the day when | know I won’t get interrupted and my energy levels are half-decent. Usually this is early to mid morning.

    I have a system that means I have a finite list of things to do on any given day – my only issue is choosing what to do when. If I do the big rocks when I’m good and it’s quiet, my day is probably going to go well.

    If not, trying to do things that are hard or boring is almost impossible, but they still need to be done sometime.

  45. Posted by Friday Finds « green april - 05/14/2010

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  46. Posted by LJ - 05/16/2010

    One thing that clutters up my day is not being ready the night before. I am not a morning person. So if I don’t pick out my clothes, pack my purse, put together lunches as far as possible and set up the coffee pot, my morning starts with frantic scrambling. It’s an awful way to start the day.

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