We are well into Spring now and it’s at this time of year that people begin the traditional spring clean. While this typically involves cleaning the home, it can also involve other aspects of your life. As we finally recover from the holiday season and begin to feel the benefits of the warmer weather, there is no better time to have a good look at your life and get everything in good shape for the rest of the year. Below are the six key areas I intend to look at in my own life. What about you?
- Personal life
Re-evaluate your goals. If you havn’t already worked out a vertical map or mission statement then now is the time to do it. Even if you already have one, it’s an ideal time to really dig deep and think about what you have on it, what your wants and needs are now and whether your choices are still relevant to you. Once this is planned out it gives you clarity for other areas of your life, making the spring clean much more effective (there is no need to spring clean areas of your life that aren’t important to you, for instance). - Productivity
Likewise, look at your GTD implementation, or indeed whatever productivity system you use. No approach is ever perfect so it is good practise to re-evaluate yours, see where is it lacking and how it can be improved to satisfy your current lifestyle. For example if you worked at a low pressure job and found using contexts unnecessary, but are now working for a big company, you might feel using contexts would be beneficial. Read the story of my own productivity system for some ideas. - Social life
People change. Their expectations and personality evolve and sometimes this can mean you grow apart, your attitudes clash or it just becomes too much effort to socialize with the individual anymore. The company we keep has a huge influence on us. Yet too many of us put their efforts into the wrong people, people who belittle and take advantage. While it can be hard to view our friendships as something that needs to be spring cleaned, it’s important that both parties put in equal effort. If someone claims to be your best friend yet it is always you who has to chase after them and arrange to see them, you need to consider whether you really want this person to play such a big role in your life. - Career
Like your social life, your work environment and your feelings towards it can change. Because we spend so much of our time working and our experiences at the workplace have so much influence on our lives it is important to do something you enjoy in an environment that motivates you. If you have your vertical map planned out then you should have defined clearly where you are on the career ladder and what the next steps are to move upwards and get towards where you really want to be. - Home
This is traditionally what the spring clean is all about and involves having a major tidy and de-clutter of your home. I’m not going to go into how to dust your skirting boards and clean your windows, I hope you can manage tasks like that without any help. However I want to emphasize the importance of de-cluttering. Besides being able to find whatever you need, it provides a greater clarity of mind when you aren’t surrounded by so many distractions. I have a major series of posts called Clutter 101 so read that for an expansive guide on de-cluttering. - Health
If you haven’t already taken measures to eat more healthily or get exercise then now is the time. The key is not to jump in at the deep end but take on as much as you feel comfortable with and let it become a natural part of your life so you don’t think twice about doing it. One of the first steps I took was to simply start eating healthy choices for breakfast rather than trying to change my entire diet in one go.
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