My summer mantra was PURGE. I had a mission this summer to get rid of anything that no longer served me. We donated A LOT of goods to various charities. We threw away useless items that were taking up space. We de-cluttered and cleaned.
In my personal space, I wanted to clear out my energy. I wanted to get rid of the noise that bombards us 24 hours a day, which we often unknowingly/unconsciously bring into our worlds. We don’t realize how this noise impacts our ability to focus, innovate, create, and connect with others. It makes us tired, scattered, and weary. Our phones are constantly beeping, buzzing and ringing with countless notifications. The noise is one steady stream of disruptions!
Here are the things I did this summer to reclaim my mental space:
- I purged 7,000 emails from my inbox.
- I unsubscribed to more than 300 subscriptions which are no longer relevant, and used to simply delete. Now they don’t even come into my inbox.
- I changed my search engine default page to http://www.positivelypositive.com/. THIS WAS HUGE!! Now when I log on to search, I get a beautiful page with great messaging.
- I’ve cut back on all of my social media. I’ve removed all of the apps from my phone for all of the social media platforms except LinkedIn.
Every morning, I wake up to a clean inbox…and uncluttered mental space. My messages are relevant to what is happening in my life right now, from the people that matter the most. I’m able to be more responsive, more present, and more productive.
In the morning, how long do you wait before picking up the phone to check your messages, get a news report, or scroll the Facebook feed? How quickly do you jump from the presence of the real world into the online world? When you do jump in, how much of the noise, messaging, and content is truly relevant to what’s happening in your life right now?
You have the power to control your inputs. Are you using it wisely?
Please let me know if you implement any of these strategies, and how they work for you. Have a great week!
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About Successful Culture
We work with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams that want to achieve their greatest personal & organizational potential. Through coaching, strategic consulting, retreat facilitation, and workshops, we equip leaders & emerging leaders with the mindset, tools, strategies, and processes they need to excel.
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Connect with me on Instragram, Facebook, and Twitter. Engage with me during my morning Periscope sessions as well (@marissalevin).
Please check out my Inc. Magazine columns on my Author Page too.
– In my latest Inc, article, I share The Essential Guide to Avoiding Workplace Text, Email, & Social Media Disasters.
– Learn about the 9 Leadership Behaviors that Lose Employee Trust & Respect here.
~Marissa Levin
CEO, Successful Culture
“Taking Leaders from Triage to Transformation.”
