A Month Full to Streamline Your Life

As March beckons, here is an observation a day to streamline your life and have a greater sense of breathing space:

March 1: Routinely pare down your files. Often they can be merged, purged, or reassigned.  

March 2: To prehistoric man, life was a spear. On the frontier, life was a rifle. Today life is a desk. To manage your life better, learn to manage your desk. 

March 3: Having to deal with too many pieces of paper is most hazardous to your sense of breathing space. 

March 4: Stop opening and reading all the mail you receive each day. Much of it can be recycled immediately. 

March 5: Constantly identify what you have achieved no matter if it is big or small, at home or at work. You might be surprised at how far you have come.  

March 6: Do not allow problems from work to become problems in your personal life.   

March 7: If you have second thoughts about chucking a certain item, review it on five separate days. Allow yourself to get rid of it any time during the five day period. Thereafter feel free to keep it.
 
March 8: Stretch several times a day near or at your desk to relieve tension and help your circulation. 

March 9: When you are angry, frustrated, or depressed, simply recognizing your feelings will allow you to gain more control. 

March 10: Forget about what you no longer have and cherish what you do have so that you won't miss the present and all the magic it holds. 

March 11: Be aware of labels and packaging messages that lure you into buying products that you don't need. 

March 12: If you read the Sunday paper because you believe that you have to keep up or that it is the thing to do, STOP. Only buy a copy when you choose to read it. 

March 13: Anyone who has been helpful or productive in any way deserves recognition. Apply that principle to yourself as well as to others. 

March 14: When you engage in any task, go more than half-way before taking a major break, so that you're faced with less than half way when you resume. 

March 15: When a task is completed, acknowledge yourself. "I did a good job on this and it's rewarding to have it done." Then move on. 


March 16: Allow the time spent with family or friends to be free of emotional strain, anxiety, or disappointment.  

March 17: The present is the only moment in which you can take action.  

March 18: Revamp your files and get your desk in order at the end of the day so that tomorrow you'll be ready to start fresh. 

March 19: Taking deep breaths gives you a moment to collect your thoughts before tackling the next problem. Breathe deeply whenever you need to regroup. 

March 20: Live with the acknowledgment that constant change is likely.  

March 21: Don't let piles pile up.  

March 22: If you are concerned with the initial extra time needed to organize your environment, think about what disorganization may cost you. 

March 23: Remember all that glitters is not gold. This is especially relevant in this age of marketing glitz.  

March 24: When you buy items, put them in their end destination, not on the living room sofa or dining room punch bowl. 

March 25: Invest in yourself.  

March 26: Find books you no longer have an interest in and joyously give them away to charities. 

March 27: Keep a roll of dimes and quarters and a list of important phone numbers stored unobtrusively in your car for emergency situations.  

March 28: When facing a big project, divide and conquer. 

March 29: Keeping the flat surfaces of your life clear, such as the dining room table or your office desk, increases your ability to manage your life.   

March 30: Observe the most efficient people in your office. How did they get that way? Can you apply any of their techniques to your life?   

March 31: Revise your goals as old ones are accomplished. Make sure they remain in line with your life's priorities.