New Year new you – right? 

We are already so far into the year that you’ve either moved forward in a new direction, or slipped back into old habits, hopefully the former!

If you’ve already found your stride, are you ready to sparkle and shine?

A new year is an opportunity to learn and grow, new adventures and new horizons.

But first, you need to let go of what no longer serves you and that starts with your immediate environment, by assessing what creates the biggest impact that keeps you moving forward or is holding you back.

Time to actively declutter your life!  Overnight, decluttering turned from fringe fad into today’s biggest, most surprising trend.  Unless you have just arrived back from holidaying in a remote destination with no access to technology, you will have been inundated with media reports about simplifying your life the “KonMari Way”.

Marie Kondo, who teaches the Japanese art of decluttering, has inspired a whole heap of new followers, who hasn’t seen our newsfeeds flooded on Instagram and other social media with posts attempting to declutter and  ‘find joy’ in deciding on items to retain!

Whilst I personally haven’t been following her tips closely, I regularly spring clean or repurpose items that have not been used in the past 12 months.  It not only frees up space but helps me to think more clearly. 

My recent major decluttering exercise started mid-winter with a massive wardrobe detox which was so liberating, progressing to a 12 hour marathon on my home office in mid-January.  

It paved the way to new habits -  no more piles of paperwork sitting at the end of my desk distracting me, I now work on one project at a time, one strategy which is way more productive and results driven.

Following are my Top 5 Tips to simplify your life, create space and let abundance flow:

1.    Home office or workplace – clear everything off your desk, keep it minimalist and only work on one project at a time. Clear out your drawers of items that are no longer used and get rid of files and programs on your computer that you don’t need.

2.    Home – make it your first pledge not to be a hoarder.  Go through each room systematically and relegate items to a keep pile, gift to charity or throw away.  Take a minimalist approach to creating balance and calm.

3.    Friends – this is a tough one, you have heard the saying ‘surround yourself with people who lift you higher’, on the flip side, distance yourself from people who are negative, bring you down or who no longer support your dreams and goals.

4.    Nutrition – review your diet, are you feeling energised and ready to power your day?  If you are not feeling in optimum health, consider adding more raw foods to your diet to create good gut health and boost your immune system.

5.    Mindset  – be more present, allocate electronic free times at either end of the day to exercise, practice yoga or meditate.

Ok no more procrastinating, it’s time to attack those odd jobs you’ve been putting off for months or even years.  Clear out the cobwebs and make room for new experiences to flow your way.

The key to being successful in business and in your career is to know what is critical and what distractions are. It’s also about creating sustainable balance that works for you so as not to experience burnout and to ensure you stay alert and relevant to what is happening around you.

To your success….

PS Have you checked out the culinary events on my Queen of Foodiness page? HERE is the link for further details!