Every woman knows that getting rid of junk always feels good after the fact–that is, after the work has been done. It’s not always easy to set the time aside to clear out unnecessary items from your home or office, but these 5 reasons might give you career-development incentives to take the time to declutter, especially if you have been procrastinating in doing it:

1. Increases energy.  Any new change or improvement requires your energy, time and focus while launching new ideas or projects require your creative input to plan without forgetting any missing pieces.  Whenever you walk past that pile of unattended papers or sort through clothes in your wardrobe that don’t fit or are too tired looking, your brain tires. You can’t afford that drain when you’re looking to progress. Set aside a weekend morning or two evenings to plow through and discard as needed. It’s true it takes an initial output of energy, but your accomplished feeling will increase your energy when it’s done much like exercising initally is somewhat tiring, but then gives you an added boost of energy. 

2. Boosts confidence.  Piles of unfinished work are constant reminders of your stopping and starting, yet not finishing. When you’re trying to make a change, you need all the confidence votes you can muster to remind you of your ability to follow through and complete your objective.  The Fly Lady has a 15-minute at a time, step-by-step method to help you get started.  The Unclutterer also offers you a method to purge stuff.  If it’s clothing or other personal items you’ve not used in more than a year, think of those less fortunate who can use them more and donate them. 

3. Lightens your workload, minimizes distractions.  Don’t fool yourself by straightening and organizing piles, creating new email folders in your inbox to dump emails you think you’ll read later, or spreading out reading materials in different rooms so they don’t feel so overwhelming.  This creates twice the work because you haven’t distinguished de-cluttering from organizing and you’re revisiting information more often than you should.  Give books or magazines to your library.  Make one rule never to add a possession to your wardrobe or even your abode without discarding one item in it’s place.  Make a second rule to go through mail, newspapers and magazines a maximum of twice.  You will save time and alleviate distraction from your bigger goals.

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Daylight Saving Time (or summertime as it is called in some countries) is a way of getting more light out of the day. To make it easier to remember which way the clock goes, we’ve learned to keep in mind the little expression, “Spring forward, Fall behind.” But the daylight isn’t all we’re trying to squeeze more out of.

We often view Spring as a time of cleaning, sorting, new openings; Summer as open-armed, vacations and care-free expression; Fall (Autumn) as a time to wrap up business deals and batten down the hatches for colder weather, but also for quieter, reflective time and the family engagements of Winter. Fall signals our year is fast coming to a close and we scurry to gather in the projects and ideas for the balance of the year and bring them to a comfortable resolution so we don’t feel as if WE’RE falling behind.

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My clients have come to me in all stages of career development and transition, discovering that these 5 mistakes have undermined early career change efforts or they’ve sought coaching assistance in time to course correct.  Here’s hoping these tips keep you ahead of the job candidate pool!

1.  Not Knowing What You Bring to the Party.  A common error in a new career or job search is pulling out the old resume and dusting it off simply by adding in your most recent job(s).  Before re-writing that resume and cover letter, take time to reassess how your career knowledge and experiences have blossomed.  Review what you have learned since you last wrote it and what specific benefits you added to the work you’ve done up till now.  Know your personal growth attributes as well and consider how you’ll include those in the information you pass on to your prospective employer or client.  There are many free assessments online, take a few different ones to uncover the infomation you need to know most about yourself, or consider paying for a Myers-Briggs or DiSC assessment.

2.  Not Knowning What the Party Will Bring to You.  If you haven’t researched the career offering or job, even if it was recommended by someone you know and trust, you can’t know if it will be a fit for you.  Investigate the client or company first, how long they’ve been in business, what their policies and practices are, the kind of people who work there and how long they’ve been there, what the education and background is of those you’d be working with and any information on a supervisor.  Then find out as much as you can about the work you’d be doing.  Besides reading about all this, form questions to ask when you’re called for an initial phone consultation or interview.  This knowledge demonstrates your interest, but also saves you lots of time in not pursuing something that’s not a match.

3.  Staying Within Your Comfort Zone.   Be willing to consider job possibilities that aren’t linear.  You may come upon a job that isn’t exactly what you had in mind, but uses many of the skills you’d hope to use and it is also a good fit.  Talk up your interests and work experiences with others and not just the title of the job you seek.  If you’ve done some research, you can even tell your associates a few different industries or jobs that you know use your skills.   Ask if they can refer you to someone who already does this kind of work, then conduct interviews with these individuals to learn more that will expand your options.

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To prevent social networking overload, you first have to know why you’re engaging in it at all and what it can do for you.  Secondly, you have to avail yourself of the top ones out there and narrow them down to actively participate in the two to three sites you’ll create a profile on, that best suit your needs.  Since this is both a life balance issue and a career and business development choice, I’m writing on this to share a few things I’ve learned:

1.  If you’re wondering if it’s worth it, it depends on your need to be in touch with others and build a “network” or community, make the right connections, and be productive with your time.  A recent article in Computer World said that “more than half of all adult Internet users in the United States either visit or maintain a profile on at least one social networking site.”  

2.  What kind of site should you join?  First, decide if you want to connect with others for personal or business needs.  If you want pure “social” networking – that is, an online community for fun and enjoyment then I’d advise that you look into sites like MySpace and Facebook.  MySpace tends to attract a creative crowd and often a younger crowd.  Facebook is both for pleasure and business by a wide-range of users.  For sheer fun it has lots of applications, games, etc. you can play with your friends there as well as upload favorite photos to share, a good way to stay in touch with computer savvy family and friends.  

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I recently read in the LA Times that thirty-three years after being classified as an endangered species, the El Segundo blue butterfly, long since having left its disrupted habitat, is now back.  It’s population is growing, despite noise and pollution, in the sandy dunes next to the Los Angeles airport.  Perhaps it learned something about

Interruptions and Adaptability—

I was recently considered for coaching work in a consulting firm. The firm’s clients were all attorneys and I had some early experience working for and later coaching attorneys.  After a a new Nordstrom suit purchased for my interview, a preliminary interview, and three weeks of deliberation, the firm decided to consider two attorney candidates who also coach.  Perhaps a better fit for their needs, yet if their job role definition had been clear in the beginning, I would not have pursued this offer.  Despite this annoyance, I drew on my familiarity with

Interruptions and Adaptability—

There are times like these when your normal course of action is interrupted to pursue an opportunity, only to come out the other end realizing that it simply isn’t going to happen or, in my case, the direction I was pursuing wasn’t going to take me where I wanted to go anyway.  Of course it’s easier if you can figure this out in advance of taking unnecessary steps, but it’s not always easy to do that.

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