For many of us, the past year has been a year of reflection and reevaluation. We have spent more time in our homes, more time with our stuff, and more time with our thoughts. With an unprecedented lack of access to the busyness that filled our lives pre-pandemic, we’ve all been presented with an opportunity to look deeply into what makes us feel fulfilled.
For many of us, it has become apparent that we’ve allowed too much of certain things into our lives. In some cases, the too much has also caused us to have not enough of what we truly want. This month, make a point to evaluate what you can let go of to make room for the joy and fulfillment you desire.
Physical Spaces & Stuff
Having spent a great deal of this past year in your home, you’ve probably noticed more than ever before how your physical spaces and the items in them make you feel. The home has become the hub for far more than just family time; we are now living, working, and teaming all from the same space. As we have added activity in the home, more stuff has probably come in with it.
As you look around your spaces, do you feel joyful and motivated? Cramped and anxious? The remote world is here to stay, so now is the time to reevaluate whether the items you are keeping in your spaces support you, your family, and your goals. Are the things around you still useful in your day-to-day life? Do they still bring back fond memories? Do they encourage you or play a role in your interests and hobbies?
Inevitably, there are things in our spaces we have forgotten about and will likely never use again. These could be books we now realize we will never read (or re-read), sewing needles and yarn that we at some point thought would be our new hobby but have not touched since buying them, or old and outdated files.
If allowed to stay in our spaces, the things that no longer serve us get in the way and distract us from what we really want. Letting go of these things and clearing out our physical spaces makes room for new opportunities and greater fulfillment.
Projects & Taking Action
In addition to hanging onto extra physical stuff, we also postpone taking action on projects. If you look around your spaces and see five different unfinished projects, it will likely feel overwhelming. You may opt to not tackle any of them. But if you can let go of the projects that do not have as much meaning, you can then put your energy into the ones that matter most.
These days, we live and work in the same spaces, full-time. This is a massive change; most of us have lived two separate lives forever: one at the office (managing goals, budgets and a team), and one at home (managing household maintenance, partners, parents, and children). Now, everything has been dumped into one big bucket.
If you’re still struggling to adjust to the remote world, firstly know that you’re not alone. Rest assured it doesn’t have to feel daunting, overwhelming, or impossible. You just need the right systems to support you and the grace to allow yourself let go (if only temporarily) of those things that are less pressing.
To help clear your mind and your spaces, intentionally make time to prioritize, both personally and professionally. What projects your work teams must tackle today? This week? This month? Budget specific time for those tasks, and embrace delegating where appropriate.
The same approach can be taken in the household and personal side of your life. What are the things that have to get done around the home now, and what can wait? Time blocking can be a powerful tool personally, not just at work, to accomplish what is most important. And if you live with others, you may even be able to talk with them about ways they can contribute to help lighten the load.
Self-Reflection & Personal Growth
Beyond your spaces and your time and energy, one final place where you may consider making room by letting go is within yourself. Thanks to the past year of reflection, you may be discovering you are not quite the person you used to be. Or you may have greater clarity around the person you now want to become. For instance, you may have always thought of yourself as a writer and had big plans to pen a novel. But despite the unusual amount of free time you had in the past year, you never felt motivated to sit down and write. Instead, you found yourself more drawn to learning about graphic design. If you reflect back and realize the novel was never written because it simply doesn’t interest you the way it once did, the kindest thing you can do may be to let the old desire go and give yourself space to pursue your new interest instead. This is an excellent way to let go of mental clutter and open yourself up to the wonderful things on their way to you right now.
Is it time to clean your closets? Let go of old projects or ideas? Clear out your headspace to refocus on what you want? Whatever it is that is no longer serving you, let it go. Doing so will inspire you to make the changes that align with your best life.
What is one thing you will let go of to make room for what you most want from your next season of life? I’d love to know. Comment below!