5 Areas for Spring Cleaning
Spring Cleaning might just be the most important task in your business that you aren’t doing.
Cleaning and decluttering seems like drudgery, like avoiding the “real” priorities that create traction and not being “productive”. Isn’t it more productive to be doing something?
But when we are clogged with the detritus of old - physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially - we have no space for moving forward.
For possibility.
For creation.
For focus.
For listening.
And spring is the perfect time to clean out the last vestiges of winter to create space in your mind and for new creation to bloom.
But it's important here not to focus on perfection and letting that stand in the way of inner trust and grounding.
This isn't a call for more willpower, or force, or getting to inbox zero.
For being the perfect clean home or financial budget.
For being the perfect leader, or having the perfect Insta grid.
This is simply about finding or creating a margin of space and being intentional with our choices.
Where do we focus on Spring Cleaning?
Our Physical Environment
Clearing out physical debris and what doesn’t spark joy in your physical life allows space to breathe and focus. We spend less time managing the clutter when we’ve simply removed what no longer serves us in our physical and digital space. How annoying is it to have thousands of files you "might need" and never be able to find anything? This is a time to do a good deep clean, removing the physical and electronic dust before we open the windows wide.
Our Mindset and Habits
What are the stories we habitually tell ourselves? Which of those are still useful and which of those no longer serve us? What habits do we have, like constantly checking our phones or social media, that are distracting us from the deep work we’re meant to do here?
Our Finances
Spring is a great time to look at your personal and professional finances. What recurring subscriptions do you have that you can eliminate? Is your pricing set for you to be profitable? With a quarter under your belt, what financial and operational moves can you make to ensure resiliency this year?
Our Relationships
Look at the relationships you have (or don’t have). Do the people you spend time with make your life joyful? Are there intentional relationships you’d like to cultivate or strengthen? Are there relationships you want to pare back from? How can we surround ourselves with diverse, inclusive communities of care? This includes your teams if you're a leader; it's an opportunity to tend to your rhythms for communication and development conversations.
Our Goals, Tasks and Meetings
Take a look at the goals you set in the winter. Does the vision of your life and business still hold? Do the underlying action steps you’ve outlined still align with the most leverage to your business goals? Finally, are there a bunch of old and outdated projects, tasks, and meetings just cluttering up your priorities list and your calendar? It's time to stop juggling tasks you'll never do on your task list. Spring clean, be ruthless about what deserves to be worked on, and reclaim your mental focus.