Category: Boot Camp for Creators & Dreamers

Ever feel like you’re drowning in a sea of “stuff”? Too many places to go, things to do, people to see? If we’re to find the time, energy and resources necessary to pursue our dreams and accomplish our goals, then we need to live efficiently and manage our time wisely. The first step, as we previously discussed, is to get organized — your home, your kitchen, your office, your desk or creative space.

But your organization shouldn’t be confined to physical spaces. For instance: organize your finances, and you’ll spend less time wondering which bills are due when, and whether or not you’ve already paid them. Result: less stress, no surprises, more time and energy to pursue goals. “…God is not the author of confusion, but of peace….” (1 Corinthians 14: 33 KJV)

Just as organization is key to good time-management, there are several actions we can take that are essential to getting organized. One of the most important is to eliminate anything that’s cluttering our desks, our homes, our lives. Because clutter can impede the ability to think clearly and work efficiently. 

Clutter is a huge problem for just about everyone. And the first step to solving any problem is to identify where and what that problem is. Clutter can be defined as an excessive amount of “any thing” — but especially of unneeded “stuff” or stuff that’s not unnecessary for a given task — which is present in a crowded or untidy fashion, or located in an inappropriate place. For example, a mechanic’s tools, although extremely useful and certainly not a problem when properly arranged and stored in a tool chest, become clutter when spread haphazardly around the garage.

To further identify the problem of clutter, we’ll list four categories. These groupings aren’t intended to be definitive. (They tend to overlap; and you may be able to identify other areas of clutter.) However, simply for the purpose of illustration … and organization … we created these categories:

1. Physical Clutter;  2. Temporal Clutter;  3. Social Clutter;  and 4. Emotional Clutter.

1. Physical Clutter should be obvious: an excessive number of objects littering your surroundings: a mess of a desk; an overstuffed office; a house that’s a horror, etc.

You can accomplish more in less time, IF you’re not continually shuffling through drawers, files, stacks of papers; looking for whatever it is you need in order to get something done. Think about a cook in a disorganized kitchen, where the drawers are a jumbled mess, dishes are piled on the counter, etc. In the course of trying to prepare a meal, the poor cook will be digging for the right utensils, pushing pots out of the way to free up work space, and running back and forth while accomplishing very little.

2. Temporal Clutter is trying to do too much with too little time: too many goals, too many errands, too many trips — too many pastimes (ouch).

• Simplify your schedule (and life): chances are, you have too many activities planned for too little time. Come on, do you really think you can do everything? You can only accomplish so much in a day, a year, a life. Decide what’s most important — like achieving your goals — and limit your other activities. No, don’t become obsessed, but realize your time and energy are precious, and cut the clutter from these other areas:

• Reduce your recreations: Sports, hobbies, TV, video games, interests, etc. If you go jogging everyday, followed by a few rounds of golf or a game of tennis with a friend, you’ll have far less time and energy to accomplish your goals. Leisure time and light distractions are good for our mental health, and hobbies are fun, but we need to limit how many pastimes we have and how often we indulge in them, if we intend to get anything else done. For instance, TV and theatrical movies are entertaining, but trying to keep up with over a dozen weekly shows and take in every new movie could be the death of your dreams.

• Order your objectives: Do you want to be a jack of all trades but the master of none? We may have oodles of interests, gobs of goals, and dozens of dreams. However, we need to choose a few and shelve the rest (at least for the time being). No one can be in two places at once, and few of us can attain greatness in more than one arena. So decide which is it going to be: the next great singer, actor, writer, artist, inventor, entrepreneur, teacher, missionary, pastor … (just fill in the blank) … or: the dude with the best physique; the gal with the most Tupperware prizes; the lady who throws the most elaborate parties; the guy with the coolest shot glass collection. Don’t allow trivial pursuits and asinine ambitions to clutter the path to what you want to achieve most in life — and to what’s most important. (We’ll discuss this more, in “Stay Focused”)

3. Social Clutter. Uh, let’s be clear: we love to socialize! And we NEED fellowship! Ahem. But too much socializing can clutter your life to the point where you’ll never accomplish your goals. Too much of a good thing is … well, too much! Too many get-togethers, too many phone chats, too many … friends. (Allow us to explain.)

Relationships are vital, but you can actually have too many “friends”! King Solomon writes in Proverbs, “A man of too many friends comes to ruin.” (Pr 18:24 NAS) This may sound sacrilegious, but all meaningful relationships require time, energy, and commitment. “A friend in need is a friend indeed,” so lots of friends eventually equates to lots of needs. After all, friends need time to get together, socialize, catch up, and vent. But how many hours are there in a week — AFTER you subtract work and family responsibilities? Not enough, right?

Limit your friends to a few and you’ll also reduce your number of social obligations. Now, this doesn’t mean you can stop being friendly! Jesus Christ is our example. When He walked the earth He was friendly to everyone — but He had only a handful of close “friends.”

Limiting your social connections will free you from having to attend too many social events, which cuts the temporal clutter. (As we stated, these categories do tend to overlap.)

Social clutter, by the way, can also apply to social media. You can have too many friends and followers on Facebook, Twitter, and other websites intended to keep you connected. Viewing endless pet photos and goofy videos posted by dozens of people, or pausing throughout the day to read what these “twits” ate for lunch or saw on TV, is distracting and time-consuming.

Conversely, if you’re spending hours posting your own junk on the Internet, you may want to consider cutting this clutter from your day. Computers are indeed time-machines, but they can’t transport you to that unfulfilled dream waiting in your future.

4. Emotional Clutter.

Do you have hurts, fears, and disappointments cluttering your thoughts? If so, cut the clutter! We actually discussed eliminating these negative and toxic emotions in the lessons on “Manage Your Mind.” But as a reminder, we once again point out that your thought life should be ordered by the Lord: “Oh, the joys of those who … delight in the [Word] of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. …And they prosper in all they do.” (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT)

Damaged emotions and toxic thoughts will distract you from more important, and Godly, matters. So, cut the emotional clutter by forgiving those who have hurt and wronged you. Dump your toxic feelings toward these people and move forward. Your mind (and heart) should be preoccupied with positive, can-do thoughts that facilitate your creative efforts and bring you closer to your goals. You never want to have to sift through your emotional clutter to find (remember) your hopes and dreams.

In summary: Want to accomplish more? Then manage your time wisely, by getting organized. One key to organization is to cut the clutter — from your schedule, finances, hobbies and interests, as well as your relationships. Too much “stuff,” too many “friends,” too many interests, too many directions — can leave you confused and dazed, with no time or energy for your dreams and creative pursuits.

“…Martha was distracted with all her preparations; …But the Lord … said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary….” (Luke 10:40-42 NASB)

As previously discussed, good time-management skills are essential to creators, dreamers, and anyone pursuing a goal.

The best way to manage your time wisely is to live and work efficiently: to achieve maximum productivity with minimum wasted time, effort, energy, or expense. To be efficient is to get the most bang for your buck (or day). And to live and work efficiently, one must do so in a competent and organized manner.

Let’s discuss organization: an orderly, systematic approach to any given task, unhampered by needless clutter, confusion, and chaos.

All those devil-may-care individuals who enjoy flying by the seat of their pants, please say Ouch! Uh, we weren’t able to hear everyone’s response; next time, let’s be organized, and take turns speaking.

Organization is one of the greatest tools for good time management. We should all know this — instinctively — because the writing has been on the wall — er, cosmos — since the beginning of time. After all, when God created the universe, He did so in an efficient, orderly, and systematic manner:

When God began creating the heavens and the earth, the earth was a shapeless, chaotic mass…. Then God said, “Let there be light.” And light appeared. And God was pleased with it and divided the light from the darkness. He called the light “daytime,” and the darkness “nighttime.” Together they formed the first day. And God said, “Let the vapors separate to form the sky above and the oceans below.” …This all happened on the second day. Then God said, “Let the water beneath the sky be gathered into oceans so that the dry land will emerge.”  …Then God named the dry land “earth,” and the water “seas.” (Genesis 1:1-10 TLB)

From the beginning, the Master Creator demonstrated that He’s systematic in His dealings: for instance, He assigned different tasks to different days; He also prioritized His work, taking care of first things first — imagine the chaos that would have ensued had God created land mammals before He separated the seas from the dry land!

Note also, God works in an orderly fashion. On the fourth day of Creation He took steps “to identify the day and the night” by organizing the functions of the Sun and moon. He did this in order to “mark the days and years” and “bring about the seasons.” Yes, God essentially devised a schedule for all lifeforms — which He faithfully keeps. And before the fourth day was over, He had arranged the stars in the night sky. (Genesis 1:14-19 TLB)

You know the rest. On the fifth day of Creation God filled the earth with plants, birds, fish, and animals. (Genesis 1:20-25) On the following day, after laying all the groundwork (pun intended), God fulfilled His great dream through His ultimate creation: humankind. (Genesis 1:26)

But is God an efficient creator? Of course, because He “…Looked over all that He had made, and it was excellent in every way. This ended the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:31 TLB) That’s quite an accomplishment for six short days. God was organized and put His time to optimum use. He literally got the most bang for His proverbial buck.

Efficiency, organization, and proper time-management go hand in hand. But regarding good organization skill, here’s a vital truth for all dreamers and creators: God actually expects you to be organized, because HE is organized.

“God is not one who likes things to be disorderly and upset.” (1 Corinthians 14:33 TLB) In fact, our Heavenly Father is described in several translations of this verse as “a God of order.” And since we are created in His image ( ) we have His spiritual DNA. So it’s only “natural” that we should follow His example in this. That’s why the Apostle Paul admonishes us to “be sure that everything is done properly in a good and orderly way.” (1 Corinthians 14:40 TLB)

Nothing wastes time like being disorganized: having to look for the car keys or find your phone every time you’re about to leave the house; wandering through the grocery aisles as you try to remember all the things you need buy — because you never made a list, or because you forgot where you put it; having to make several trips into town, because you forgot an item, or because you forgot about an errand you had to run — while you were out previously.

Being disorganized can cause you to lose time and be late — or to even miss an appointment or an opportunity. It can also cause you needless frustration, anxiety, and stress. These emotions, and the situations which caused them, are counterproductive; they can steal your peace, joy, and creativity, and thereby sap you of your energy.

If you want to make the most of your limited and precious time, then you simply must be organized. There is no way around this truth. And you have to be organized in every area of your life; remember, the Apostle Paul stated that “everything must be done decently and in order.” (1 Corinthians 14:40 HCSB) Is your garage “decent”? How about the kitchen cabinets and the bedroom closets?

Our environment, and in particular the home (and how we choose to live within its four walls), has a direct affect on our state of mind. It can affect our attitude and disposition, and even our outlook on life. Our state of mind will in turn affect our emotions, actions, and decisions. As we previously discussed, attitude is everything — especially a can-do attitude. But a messy house, a disorganized office, and a life generally besieged by “clutter” can be aggravating, depressing, overwhelming, and even mind-numbing. Such things can also KILL our creativity!

Regarding creativity, is your “creative space” well organized?

A creative space is any designated area in your home where you can escape, to think, dream, and pursue creative projects. It might be the desk in the den or library, a sewing nook in the upstairs spare room, or a workbench in the corner of the garage. But wherever you choose to study, work, and dream, it’s important to keep your creative space organized and free of clutter.

Believe it or not, clutter can impede the ability to think clearly. And from a practical standpoint, you can accomplish more in less time, if you’re not continually shuffling through drawers, files, stacks of paper — trying to unearth whatever it is you need in order to get something done. So, do you want to work efficiently? Want to make the most of your time? Want to accomplish your goals sooner than later? Cut the clutter and get organized.

Easy? Not always, because if you are disorganized, and if your house or creative space is messy, your messiness and disorganization are no doubt the products of bad habits. But hey, as Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen state in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living Your Dreams, about ninety percent of all behavior is habitual. These authors advise us to identify any unproductive habits and then work to replace them with good, productive, and beneficial habits — such as getting your house (and life) in order.

Worthwhile? Always! But remember, it takes 21 days to develop and form a habit; that’s three weeks of sticking with it. Give yourself time and don’t give up.

“I have the freedom to do anything, but not everything is helpful. I have the freedom to do anything, but I won’t be controlled by anything.” (1 Corinthians 6:12 CEB)

Next: How to “Cut the Clutter.”