As we've discussed, "freedom" and "organization" may seem to be opposing concepts. But not only can they go hand in hand, getting organized can deliver many different types of freedom. Check out this list and see if any—or all—of these don't strike you as more rewarding than "the freedom to just put stuff anywhere."
5. Freeing up physical space Having room to walk around your workspace—to work in your workspace, even—can be a revelation for someone whose space has gotten out of control.
4. Freeing up electronic space Is your hard drive getting a little crowded? How about your email Inbox? What kind of system resources are being used to store unnecessary bytes?
3. Freeing up financial resources If you're using offsite physical storage or purchasing external hard drives rather than getting organized, is that really the best use of your funds?
2. Freeing up time Whenever you have to look for stuff, not only does it take time to find it, you have to interrupt your flow state, then try to get back into it. A 20-minute search could wind up costing you an hour of creative time.
1. Freeing up mental space All of the things I've listed above take a toll on your peace of mind as well as your space, time, etc. If you're trying to remember where you put something all the time, that's taking up vital energy and effort.
My client Gail discovered the rewards of freeing up mental space when we cleaned out her late husband's old office and remade it into a space she could use as her own home office. As she told me, "I have never been this organized nor have I felt the sense of freedom that comes with knowing that I will no longer have to spend hours searching for essential papers."
I could even see the change in her attitude as the office changed from the room on the left to the room on the right. When we started, she didn't want to go into the room at all; the sheer volume of papers was intimidating, and she had no idea where to start. But as we progressed, a weight seemed to lift from her, as she reclaimed this space as her own. She was definitely feeling more free.
What about you? Have you experienced other kinds of freedom when you got organized? Let me know in the comments! g968bri3yf
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