 The April 1, 2001 edition of The Seattle Times ran an article about an interior designer, Clodagh. She sounds like an interesting person, and she and I have a few things in common. According to the article, she's "a witty New Yorker." I'm told I'm fairly witty myself, and was also born in New York. We're both Pisces. Also, we share a common philosophy and approach when dealing with our clients' physical space. Specifically, here's what she calls the four C's - steps that precede the physical portion of design work:
- "Contemplate your current space."
How does it make you feel and how do you function in it?
- "Cleanse your life of unwanted and unused things."
It's harder to unload possessions than it is to acquire them, but emptiness lets a room grow and allows you to grow in it.
- "Clarify your goals, needs and desires."
This is the mental counterpart to clearing away physical clutter. How can you refine your thinking about the kinds of rooms and objects that will truly enhance your life?
- "Create."
Once you've worked through these stages, you'll have a far better sense of what you want from your home - and how to get it.
Is interior design your passion? If you're interested in learning more about Clodagh's design philosophy, you can order her book, "Total Design" through Amazon.com. |
As an organizing consultant and clutter specialist, I find that these four C's work well for my clients, too. In my household clutter workshops I always suggest that my students take a "clutter tour" of their homes and pay close attention to how the space makes them feel. Then I suggest they journal how they might use the space once it's clear of clutter.
 Since the topic of May's newsletter is goals and how they affect the way our lives turn out, let's concentrate on the third C: "Clarify your goals, needs and desires."
My work brings me in contact with lots of successful people. Most of these individuals have at least one thing in common: they are clear about their personal goals, needs, and values. This is one of the key pieces of information I ask for when I begin working with a new client. Once I know where my client wants to go, it's fairly obvious to me where I fit in and how I can help them get there.
How do you develop well-thought-out goals that truly reflect your values and priorities? Here's one approach - start with a few blank sheets of notebook paper, pick a goal you want to refine, then answer these questions:
- Why do I want to achieve this goal?
- Is this truly my goal or someone else's idea of what my goal should be?
- Is the achievement of this goal in alignment with my personal needs and values?
- Is this goal in alignment with my current abilities and training? If not, am I willing to undergo additional training to get up to speed?
- How will my life be different when I achieve this goal?
- What step am I ready to take today to help bring me closer to achieving my goal?
- Is there a sub-goal that's perhaps more important and currently more feasible to undertake?
- Who is on my "success team"? (i.e. Who will help me stay on track and hold me accountable for what I say I want to accomplish?)
If you wrote out your goals at the beginning of this year and you don't seem to be making any headway towards accomplishing even small segments of your overall goal, you may want to revisit your original goal using the above as a guide. If you have never written out a goal statement, it's not too late to begin the process for 2001. Become goal-specific - starting today!
All the best,
|
