Be an Apprentice for 5 Months

If the following four items apply to you, then you might appreciate this post, which is about a special coaching program. Otherwise, if you don’t qualify for all four, there’s no need to read the rest.

You’d rather be self-employed than work for someone else.You recognize that you could significantly increase your income by improving your focus and efficiency.You care about following your path with a heart, so it’s important that you earn your money through meaningful, purpose-driven work that has a positive impact on people’s lives.You’re ready to invest in coaching from an experienced business coach for the next five months to achieve your goals faster, and you’re willing and able to pay a fair price for that help.

Again, if you don’t match all four of these, there’s no need to keep reading.

Since I’ve been teaching the “create and share value” approach for many years, I’ve heard from hundreds, if not thousands, of readers who’ve quit doing soulless work and started pursuing their paths with a heart. These ripples have now reached the point where I suspect that most of my readers don’t have corporate jobs anymore.

Consequently, most of the people I hear from today seem to be self-employed in some fashion, OR they’ve managed to find jobs they really like. I see the happy-with-my-job situation most often in the tech sector, where people find jobs at fast-moving, innovative companies and enjoy the ride.

The key is that people are saying no to mind-numbing jobs they’ve been doing mostly to make other people rich; they’re aligning with their inner truth instead of trying to suppress it. I know that this isn’t an easy path to follow, but it’s great to see these ripples happening more frequently than ever.

If you haven’t made this leap yet — i.e. if you’re still working at a job you hate — well… it’s becoming clear that your peers are waking up and leaving you behind. If you’re going to join them, you might want to step up sooner rather than later.

Getting onto the path with a heart is just the first step, however. Once you take that step, here are some of the problems you may encounter:

Not earning much money – Many new entrepreneurs have a rude awakening when they discover that it’s more challenging than they expected to CREATE and DELIVER value that a sufficient number people will pay good money for.Feeling isolated – Being the only heart-centered entrepreneur that you know can leave you feeling isolated and alone.Staying focused – With so many opportunities and so many distractions, how do you stay focused on your important core work and make real progress?Marketing – If hardly anyone knows who you are, how will you generate business?

You can solve these problems on your own. That’s possible. The downside is that you’ll probably give up before you make it work. And if you do make it work, it will likely take you many years to figure this out. What many new entrepreneurs think they can accomplish in one year actually takes them five years.

The shortcut is to get some direct mentoring, coaching, and accountability support from someone who’s already dealt with these problems and solved them.

Have you read the book Mastery by Robert Greene? If not, I highly recommend reading it. I can save you some time by summarizing that book in one sentence: If you want to become a master within your field, become an apprentice first.

Greene discovered that the great masters had great mentors. They had people to show them the ropes. Part of this involved sharing advice. Another part involved accountability. Mentors held their apprentices to higher standards and made sure they got their work done, especially during the phases where motivation can drop.

I encourage you NOT to make the mistakes I did when I first started on this path. For my first five years in business, I lost money and sank into debt. In 1994 I began with $20K in savings. By 1999 I had zero savings and $150K of debt.  It wasn’t till my sixth year — and after a bankruptcy — that I finally had my first profitable year. After that I was golden, and every year since then I’ve made money. I’ve been able to draw a six-figure salary from my business for many years now.

If you want to model my approach, you’ll have your first profitable year six years after you begin. How does that sound?

So either you can follow my path, which requires extraordinary patience and tenacity, or you can take a smarter and more efficient approach — the approach that Robert Greene recommends in Mastery. Get mentored, and save yourself years of ignorant and naive mistakes.

What did I do differently during that sixth year? I reached out for help and got advice and wisdom from other successful entrepreneurs. I finally swallowed my pride, connected with other people in my field who were doing better than I was financially, and I learned from them. That made all the difference in the world. Beginning with that shift, I not only made more money, but I also worked fewer hours.

As I write this, I’m sitting in a Starbucks near Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. I’m enjoying a spontaneous one-week trip here — for fun, for variety, and to mix things up. Less than 24 hours after feeling an urge to take this trip, I was at the airport awaiting my flight. During my first five years in business, I NEVER did this sort of thing. The irony is that by taking more time off, my income went way up. I now earn more money during one night’s sleep than I used to earn in a month of hard work.

It always seemed counter-intuitive to me that taking more time off can significantly boost my productivity. That was a lesson I learned from other entrepreneurs. In his book The Success Principles, Jack Canfield recommends taking 130-150 full days off each year. A day off means no work-related activities whatsoever from midnight to midnight. No business calls. No checking email. No social media. Is that much time off unfathomable to you? It was to me at one time. But stepping away from your business completely and coming back to it with a fresh perspective is one of many strategies that highly successful entrepreneurs use. Since I’m working today by writing this, today wouldn’t technically qualify as a full day off for me. I’m nowhere near 130 full days off per year (I do a lot of partial work days, like today), but I’m seeing surprisingly good results as I move further in that direction.

Would you like to learn more of these simple productivity secrets?

As it turns out, business coach Ryan Eliason is offering an in-depth coaching program to directly mentor people who are dealing with the challenges above. This is a very hands-on program with specific action steps for people who are ready to build a new business or improve an existing one.

Ryan’s 5-month (21-week) program includes:

21 weekly coaching lessons (typically a 75-90 minute lesson each time)21 weekly live group coaching calls (2 hours each)Step-by-step assignments to help you build and improve your businessMasterminding support with fellow entrepreneursAccess to Ryan’s personal Rolodex of recommended resources (this could save you months of research)24/7 access to Ryan’s private forum for Q&A and additional coachingForms and templates for goal setting, accountability, and tracking your progressSeveral additional high-value bonuses (see Ryan’s sign-up page for details)

Does it appeal to you to have an experienced entrepreneur and business coach hold your hand through the process of starting, building, and improving your own heart-centered business?

Since this is a group coaching situation, it’s a lot more economical than paying for one-on-one coaching. Solo coaching is great, but with group coaching you’ll save a lot of money. You’ll also enjoy the benefits of connecting with other entrepreneurs who are going through the program with you.

The coach behind the program is Ryan Eliason. I connected with Ryan through our mutual friend Ocean Robbins. Ryan and Ocean started off in the non-profit space together about 25 years ago — a couple of heart-centered guys wanting to change the world for the better.

Eventually Ryan became inspired by the idea of using business as a vehicle for creating positive change in the world. With the right business model — which can be a tricky thing to develop — Ryan learned that it’s possible to improve people’s lives AND enjoy a financially abundant lifestyle as well.

If you’ve been reading my blog for some time, then you know that this lesson is one that I had to learn as well. Ryan and I are on the same page in our understanding that financial abundance stems from creating and delivering real value to people. That’s a simple realization, but a profoundly practical one. In business it spells the difference between frustration and flow.

That said, creating value is only part of the path. Getting your value delivered is a whole different animal. Another step beyond that is learning how to create and deliver value that people will PAY GOOD MONEY for. And beyond that is encouraging those same people to REFER their friends, family, and co-workers to your business.

Again, you can figure all of this out on your own. Or you can save yourself several years and go the apprenticeship route. I recommend the latter. So does Robert Greene. Coaching is a high-value investment.

Your tuition for this coaching program is $895. Or you can do an installment plan for $197 per month for 5 months.

There’s a 100% money-back guarantee.

If you’re interested, visit Ryan’s sign-up page to review the details and get enrolled. Hundreds of people have already paid to enroll in this specific training. Those people will be your co-apprentices as you experience this program together… or they’ll be the people leaving you behind when you see the new business ventures they create without you.

So are you going to continue slogging it out on your own, or will you swallow your pride, admit you could use help from other entrepreneurs, and enjoy playing the role of apprentice for the next 5 months?

Registration closes on February 28th at 11pm Pacific time, so you have about a day and a half left to decide.

The training begins on March 1st. If you’re going to do this, then do it.

Update: Registration for this program is now closed, but you can still get on the waiting list to be notified if a spot opens up.

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Life on Purpose - A step-by-step process to discover your life purpose

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How to Get a Book Contract in 6 Months (with a Blog)

You CAN write one of these...

You can publish a book.

And you can do it much sooner than you think, actually.

How do you do this? Not by wasting years writing articles or obsessing over writer’s conferences and book proposals.

All you need is a blog.

No other activity (including years of freelance writing) has brought me closer to my dream of publishing a book than blogging. It took me about six months to get a book contract with a publisher.

And you can do the same.

But why would want to publish a book?

Because:

Being a published author makes you an “expert” in your field.Traditionally-published books tend to be of a higher quality.Publishers can help you with marketing.

Let’s be honest: You don’t publish for the royalties. You won’t be retiring after your first book goes to print. But if you have a message the world needs to hear, going with a traditional publisher may be the right thing for you. Here’s how you can do it in six months:

All publishers want to know if you have a “platform.” A platform is an asset you own that gives you the authority to speak on a certain topic.

If you can build a website that attracts a good tribe of followers, you have a good chance of getting noticed and eventually published. A blog is a great way to do this.

Getting started

You can sign up for a free blog on sites like WordPress.com, Tumblr.com, and Blogger.com.

Or, you can spend some cash on a self-hosted WordPress.org blog. For less than $100, you can have your site up and running in two hours. (Follow this guide for step-by-step instructions.)

How to launch

The first four weeks of your new blog should be focused on creating content, not marketing.

At the end of the month, you should be fully launched with your core content and have easy ways for people to subscribe (you can do this for free via Feedburner), follow you, and interact with your writing.

Then, you can send an email to friends and colleagues letting them know about your new site.

In the world of social media, promotion looks like connecting with people who can help you. However, you need to make sure you have the right tools.

Your social media toolkit

If you haven’t already done so, you need to do the following

Once you’re on those social networks, don’t go crazy with promotion and mindless following. Start small and personal, and build from there.

Guest posting

There are lots of ways to earn blog subscribers and get noticed online. The best I’ve found is guest posting. Reaching out to other bloggers and websites and writing for them is a great way to build a readership and get your name out there. Make sure you are smart about it, though. Target sites that focus on your topic and have a large enough readership that it will be worth your time.

For more on this, read these six tips on how to be a good guest blogger.

Interviewing experts

Another way to grow an audience and build influence is to do interviews. Seek out other authors and bloggers in your niche and ask to interview them. This allows you to deliver value to your readers, while building relationships with influential people. Soon, people will think of you as the expert — which is exactly what publishers are looking for.

For more on this, check out this series: How to Conduct an Interview Like a Journalist

Once you’ve built a blog and started generating an audience, you can now work on a manifesto. A manifesto is a short eBook that helps you connect with an audience that shares your beliefs. You can also use it to build an email list by giving it away for free.

This is a short eBook — less than 10,000 words — which you should be able to write in a few days (or less). The shorter it is, the more people will read and share it.

For more on this, check out this seven-step guide to writing an eBook.

Every author needs a brand. You want people to recognize your name, as they would Stephen King or J.K. Rowling. What’s the best way for a blogger to do this? Get social.

Connect on social media

Social media is a great way to find fans and friends who will spread your work. It’s free, and most people are pretty approachable. The trick is to not focus too much on yourself. If you show interest in other people and add value, you can make meaningful connections and build a following that is actually worth something.

On Twitter, follow popular hashtags that focus on your topic. On Facebook, “like” relevant pages and engage in the comments. Use common interests to build rapport that leads to relationship.

Pick up the phone

Once you’ve connected with someone via social media or email, the best way to take the relationship to the next level is to get on a call together. If you’re comfortable giving out your phone number, you can do that. Or you can Skype, which is free, and can actually be more personal if you do a video chat.

Meet in person

The whole point of all this is to lead to deeper connection. So once you initiate an online relationship, you’ll want to take it to the next level. A few ways to do this are:

Ask a social media friend to lunch or coffee.Sign up for local, free meetups.Attend conferences.

While this may require some investment of time and money, it’s worth it. There really is nothing like in-the-flesh relationships. All you have to do is ask.

Once you’ve started to build a platform and are connecting with important people, it’s time to find an agent.

Work your network

Build off of existing relationships if you can. The best way to get an agent is through referral. If you don’t have a friend who can refer someone to you, then you may need to revert to “cold calling” by writing a query letter. However, if you’ve succeeded at building a platform, an agent may come find you.

Do you need an agent?

Of course, you don’t have to use an agent. Without one, though, you’re on your own.

The downside to having an agent is you share your royalties with them (the market rate is around 15%). The upside is authors with agents typically get better deals. Agents also help negotiate the terms of the contract and make sure you don’t get ripped off by a publisher.

For more on this, check out: How to Find a Literary Agent

Finally, it’s time to start working on the book itself, but not actually write it. Not yet.

Most publishers will want a say in your book, so it’s not productive to start writing before you have a contract. What you can do, though, is work on your proposal.

Writing a book proposal

If your agent doesn’t have a book proposal template, you can Google “book proposal templates” or follow a publisher’s guidelines. If you need further help, you can get this eBook: Writing a Winning Book Proposal by Michael Hyatt.

To be fair, it may take months to get a contract from a publisher, but I don’t recommend working on your proposal sooner than Month 6. Investing your time in building a platform will give you a much better chance of being taken seriously by a publisher. It can expedite the process, as well.

If you do it right, the publisher may come to you. This is not the “norm” in publishing, but it does happen. It happened to me and to many of my friends who are authors. And it can happen to you — if you build a blog worth noticing and serve your way into influence.

Ready to publish your first book? Start blogging.

(Photo credit: Nicola Romagna)

Jeff Goins is a blogger, nonprofit marketer, and soon-to-be-published author. You can connect with him on Twitter @jeffgoins and on Facebook. You can also find out more about his path from blogging to book contract by getting his eBook Every Writer's Dream: How to Never Pitch Your Writing Again, which is free for a limited time

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The 5 Absolute Worst Months to Start GTD

Some months are the worst...

David Allen’s Getting Things Done methodology is one of – if not the – most highly-touted way you can improve your productivity on multiple levels.

But implementing it isn’t something that you can just “get done”.

GTD can be dififcult for those stuck in their ways and trying to adopt it on their own. Sure, the David Allen Company provides resources that can help you get into it more efficiently and effectively, but it’s still a lot to wrap your head around.

Many people have to adjust their entire way of thinking when they try to use GTD, and that takes a whole lot of time, focus and effort. So choosing when to start GTD is critical.

Rather than offer the best times to start (which I may do in a later post), I’m going to go a different way. I think that by suggesting the worst months to start GTD you might just stand a better chance of committing to a start date, as opposed to waffling on one or trying to start right now.

This month is a bad one to start GTDing because it basically begins the summer season (for those living in the Northern Hemishpere). It’s a time where people want to enjoy their time, and not spend it learning how to best spend their time. Distraction levels are high due to the warm weather and the fact the kids (if applicable) are out of school.

Ask yourself this: Would you rather start to practice “Mind Like Water” or actually “be in the water” during the month of July?

In July, get out of your head…and get to the beach.

This is a month where traveling is a big thing. Spring Break for a lot of students, warmer weather in the tropics for those North Americans seeking refuge from the cold – March doesn’t even like a full month once you factor a vacation in there.

When you’re thinking about getting away at this time of year, it’s best not to think about getting things done at this time of year.

Don’t you have enough to do during this month? Doesn’t everybody that you’ll need to communicate with have enough to do that you’ll have trouble even syncing up with them when you need to – even without GTD as your ally?

The holiday season is stressful enough for many; don’t over-season yourself by tackling the adoption of a productivity system on top of things. You’ve got enough to do in this month without having to learn how to do it better.

Another time of year that seems to slip away just as quickly as it arrived. Summer is over, school is starting up and everyone at the office is hopefully refreshed from a few long weekends over the last couple of months. September is a time best spent getting connected with where you’re at so far in the year as opposed to tweaking how you got there.

The month may leave quickly because of all of the “starting” happening all over the place, but most people seem to take the entire month just to get back into a routine. So settle back into that routine while looking at it for what it is this month. Save the looking at it for what it could be for a month in the future.

This one may sound a bit odd, especially considering that most resolutions are made (and often broken) in January. But think about it. You’ve just come out a holiday season that basically has lasted for all of December (and those in the United States have been in that mode since Thanksgiving) and now you’re asking yourself to commit to putting a system in place to get things done – and you’re asking yourself to do this without any recovery time.

And people wonder why resolutions don’t stick.

January is a better month to spend reflecting on the year that just passed, to prepare yourself for the year ahead and recover from the holiday blitz you’ve just experienced.

The big idea behind GTD is that it will help you in your quest to get things done. The worst idea is to pick a month where you have less of a chance of completing that quest.

So, during which of the 7 remaining months will you start GTD?

(Photo credit: Close Up Calendar Page with drawing-pin by Shutterstock)

Mike Vardy is a writer, speaker, and "productivityist". You can follow him on Twitter, listen to him regularly on his podcast, ProductiVardy, and read more from him at MikeVardy.com and at Vardy.me.

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12 Months of Clearing to Create a Great 2011

Make room for guests by clearing the guest room!

What you do at the end of the year sets the tone and direction of the new year. This year set your intention to take the 12 Months of Clearing Challenge. Commit to clearing your entire home of those things you no longer love or use.

Sound like a tall order? It is! But, it can be done following the 12 Months of Clearing Plan. Each month you focus on clearing one specific area.

January-Your bedroom closet

Why your bedroom closet? Your clothes are an extension of you. Ideally they should reflect who you are today. If you want to be clear about who you are and what you want, the best thing you can do is clear your closet. Also, once your closet has been tackled the rest of the bedroom will be much easier to clear. A clear bedroom can have a profound positive effect on your health because your body is exposed to its energy for at least 6 to 8 hours every night.

February-Home office

Eeeew!!!! Yuck!!! Why do the home office so early in the year? Normally I would recommend that you deal with anything that has to do with paper further along in the process of clearing because paper can shut you down faster than any other kind of organizing. But, the home office is usually the heart of organizing finances. It’s a good idea to be grounded regarding finances as soon as possible in a new year. If you have volumes of paper in your home office that you just can’t make yourself clear because of fear or overwhelm, consider getting help to do it from a friend or professional. Or, you could clump all paper to be gone through in boxes that you set aside until later in the year when you are feeling less overwhelmed and more confident about your ability to do it. Once the distracting paper is clumped, focus on clearing out other items (old software, manual, office supplies, etc.) and setting up the home office for ease of functioning.

March-Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It is a high activity area. Working there will clear out old food stuffs that are past their expiration date and create a space where positive interactions are possible.

April-Garage

The garage is a clearing project many people like to avoid, probably because it’s a big, complex area and because it’s usually a dirty job. But, clearing the garage before the season when yard tools and recreational equipment will be used makes the process of accessing those items more appealing. And, why have that stuff if you can’t access it? Because the garage is a big job, break it down by section. For example, work on tools one weekend, recreational equipment the next and so on. Or, you could look for items from the entire garage to clear the first weekend. Then, the next weekend reorganize the items that are left. If the job is still too daunting, get help at least to get started. Once you’ve broken through the overwhelm you may be able to finish on your own.

May-Linen closet

Whew! May is an easy month because it’s the Mother’s Day month. Since women often take the lead with clutter clearing, I wanted to be sure that they get a bit of a break this month. Linen closets are usually not as challenging as other closets, unless you also keep toiletries in them. Clear out those nasty, ragged towels, unless you use them for bathing dogs. And, get real about the sheets! If they are looking paper thin, it’s time to invest in some new sheets.

June-Utility room

The utility room is another challenging place to clear. Like the garage it’s usually a multi-function work and storage space. That creates complexity. And, I’ve found that many people are seduced by cleaning products. They often have multiples of products that do the same thing. Decide which products you actually use and get rid of the rest! Also, make sure that all products are visible. If you can’t see an item, you won’t use it.

July-Bathroom closets/cabinets

Bathroom closets and cabinets are another haven of products that looked like just the thing for your hair or nails or teeth, but that in actuality were used just once or twice and never used again. I’m not sure why they don’t get thrown away immediately. Perhaps because they cost money or because you hope they’ll miraculously work better the next time. Clear out those stagnant items!

August-Children’s rooms

Unless your child is incapable of getting rid of things or is too young to make decisions, I recommend that clearing children’s rooms involve the children at some point in the process. Involving them is an excellent way to teach them not only how to do it, but that it must be done from time to time. They will learn that some of their belongings are temporary residents in their room. Once they have outgrown them, they should be released. Clearing a child’s room with them is also an excellent opportunity to teach them the idea of community service. They are blessed to have all they have. When they are done with their toys, books and clothes they then have the opportunity to pass them on to others who are less fortunate. August is a good time to clear children’s rooms because it sets a positive stage for the new school year.

September-Hall closets

Hall closets can become dumps for miscellaneous items. Check those spaces for what is actually used at some point during the year. Clear out faded flags, and hats, coats and gloves that never get worn. What about the boots that litter the floor? If you have games in your hall closet, are they still pulled out and played? How many vacuum cleaners do you have in there? Which one works best?

October-Attic

Like the garage, the attic is a huge daunting project. Feng shui teaches that the attic is the area of your hopes and aspirations. If you clear here, you get clear about what you want and you make space to get more of what you really want. Is it worth facing the nightmare up there? You bet! In many climates fall is the best time to clear an attic because it is neither too hot or too cold. If your attic is packed tight I recommend that you first look for big “Duh!”items. Those are the things that are no brainers for pitching–for example, the two Christmas trees you haven’t used in a decade. Clearing out those items will loosen up the space, making it possible to think more clearly. Once a few sizable items have left the space you’ll be encouraged by your progress and feel enthusiasm to release more. Put all small items and paper aside to deal with last. Don’t get bogged down with the minutia!

November-Guest rooms

Guest rooms either become dumping grounds, multi-purpose rooms or stagnant spaces for things that don’t matter much. The energy of every part of the house affects the energy of the whole and what happens in your life. Clear the dump. Clear and reorganize the multi-purpose room. Release those things you no longer love or use that made their way to your guest room. Clearing the guest room will make it possible to have loved ones stay with you during the holiday season.

December-Holiday decorations

December is too busy a time to do any big organizing projects. But, you will be pulling out your seasonal decorations. When you do, notice which items you use and what stays in the boxes. Pitch those decorations that haven’t emerged from their boxes in two years. Clearing your decorations down to just those that actually get used will make the prospect of decorating next year much more appealing.

Some of you may be wondering what you do during the month assigned to the garage if you don’t have a garage. Or, if you don’t have children, what do you do in August. What about the basement? I don’t have a basement (yeah!), so I didn’t include it. But, if you do have a basement, you can substitute it for clearing out children’s rooms if you have no children or the garage if you have no garage. You may also choose to tackle the basement instead doing one of the other areas that you know won’t be difficult for you to squeeze in during another month.

My intention in setting specific goals each month is to help you focus your organizing efforts. It’s very easy to be distracted by the noise of clutter all over the house. If you choose to take the 12 month challenge, commit to tackling and completing the one area each month. If the area is too big to do all by yourself, get friends, family or professional help to make it happen. And, remember that it’s ESSENTIAL that you maintain your day to day organizing processes and systems in addition to your monthly clearing project. If you don’t, you’ll be creating a new nightmare while you’re clearing another.

Having a monthly clearing goal will also help you pace yourself. Once you feel some of the benefits of clearing you may be tempted to do massive clearing all at once. Clearing too much too fast will shift energies too quickly. This can result in chaos in your life or physical illness.

What is most important is that you do some clearing each month. My suggestions are just that — suggestions. Feel free to tailor this plan to work with the realities of your climate, your energy and your family situation.

If you take this challenge, I would love to hear from you about your progress, challenges and how your life changes as a result of your commitment to clearing. Clearing your whole house will transform your life. It takes courage to take on this challenge. Be open and ready for big changes!

My passion is helping people discover the profound impact that environment has on performance. I want people to know they can change their lives by changing the spaces in which they live and work. Check out my blog, http://www.rockscissorspaperinstitute.com/blog, or my book, Rock Scissors Paper: Understanding How Environment Affects Your Performance on a Daily Basis at www.RockScissorsPaperInstitute.com/book.

View the original article here

12 Months of Clearing to Create a Great 2011

Make room for guests by clearing the guest room!

What you do at the end of the year sets the tone and direction of the new year. This year set your intention to take the 12 Months of Clearing Challenge. Commit to clearing your entire home of those things you no longer love or use.

Sound like a tall order? It is! But, it can be done following the 12 Months of Clearing Plan. Each month you focus on clearing one specific area.

January-Your bedroom closet

Why your bedroom closet? Your clothes are an extension of you. Ideally they should reflect who you are today. If you want to be clear about who you are and what you want, the best thing you can do is clear your closet. Also, once your closet has been tackled the rest of the bedroom will be much easier to clear. A clear bedroom can have a profound positive effect on your health because your body is exposed to its energy for at least 6 to 8 hours every night.

February-Home office

Eeeew!!!! Yuck!!! Why do the home office so early in the year? Normally I would recommend that you deal with anything that has to do with paper further along in the process of clearing because paper can shut you down faster than any other kind of organizing. But, the home office is usually the heart of organizing finances. It’s a good idea to be grounded regarding finances as soon as possible in a new year. If you have volumes of paper in your home office that you just can’t make yourself clear because of fear or overwhelm, consider getting help to do it from a friend or professional. Or, you could clump all paper to be gone through in boxes that you set aside until later in the year when you are feeling less overwhelmed and more confident about your ability to do it. Once the distracting paper is clumped, focus on clearing out other items (old software, manual, office supplies, etc.) and setting up the home office for ease of functioning.

March-Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home. It is a high activity area. Working there will clear out old food stuffs that are past their expiration date and create a space where positive interactions are possible.

April-Garage

The garage is a clearing project many people like to avoid, probably because it’s a big, complex area and because it’s usually a dirty job. But, clearing the garage before the season when yard tools and recreational equipment will be used makes the process of accessing those items more appealing. And, why have that stuff if you can’t access it? Because the garage is a big job, break it down by section. For example, work on tools one weekend, recreational equipment the next and so on. Or, you could look for items from the entire garage to clear the first weekend. Then, the next weekend reorganize the items that are left. If the job is still too daunting, get help at least to get started. Once you’ve broken through the overwhelm you may be able to finish on your own.

May-Linen closet

Whew! May is an easy month because it’s the Mother’s Day month. Since women often take the lead with clutter clearing, I wanted to be sure that they get a bit of a break this month. Linen closets are usually not as challenging as other closets, unless you also keep toiletries in them. Clear out those nasty, ragged towels, unless you use them for bathing dogs. And, get real about the sheets! If they are looking paper thin, it’s time to invest in some new sheets.

June-Utility room

The utility room is another challenging place to clear. Like the garage it’s usually a multi-function work and storage space. That creates complexity. And, I’ve found that many people are seduced by cleaning products. They often have multiples of products that do the same thing. Decide which products you actually use and get rid of the rest! Also, make sure that all products are visible. If you can’t see an item, you won’t use it.

July-Bathroom closets/cabinets

Bathroom closets and cabinets are another haven of products that looked like just the thing for your hair or nails or teeth, but that in actuality were used just once or twice and never used again. I’m not sure why they don’t get thrown away immediately. Perhaps because they cost money or because you hope they’ll miraculously work better the next time. Clear out those stagnant items!

August-Children’s rooms

Unless your child is incapable of getting rid of things or is too young to make decisions, I recommend that clearing children’s rooms involve the children at some point in the process. Involving them is an excellent way to teach them not only how to do it, but that it must be done from time to time. They will learn that some of their belongings are temporary residents in their room. Once they have outgrown them, they should be released. Clearing a child’s room with them is also an excellent opportunity to teach them the idea of community service. They are blessed to have all they have. When they are done with their toys, books and clothes they then have the opportunity to pass them on to others who are less fortunate. August is a good time to clear children’s rooms because it sets a positive stage for the new school year.

September-Hall closets

Hall closets can become dumps for miscellaneous items. Check those spaces for what is actually used at some point during the year. Clear out faded flags, and hats, coats and gloves that never get worn. What about the boots that litter the floor? If you have games in your hall closet, are they still pulled out and played? How many vacuum cleaners do you have in there? Which one works best?

October-Attic

Like the garage, the attic is a huge daunting project. Feng shui teaches that the attic is the area of your hopes and aspirations. If you clear here, you get clear about what you want and you make space to get more of what you really want. Is it worth facing the nightmare up there? You bet! In many climates fall is the best time to clear an attic because it is neither too hot or too cold. If your attic is packed tight I recommend that you first look for big “Duh!”items. Those are the things that are no brainers for pitching–for example, the two Christmas trees you haven’t used in a decade. Clearing out those items will loosen up the space, making it possible to think more clearly. Once a few sizable items have left the space you’ll be encouraged by your progress and feel enthusiasm to release more. Put all small items and paper aside to deal with last. Don’t get bogged down with the minutia!

November-Guest rooms

Guest rooms either become dumping grounds, multi-purpose rooms or stagnant spaces for things that don’t matter much. The energy of every part of the house affects the energy of the whole and what happens in your life. Clear the dump. Clear and reorganize the multi-purpose room. Release those things you no longer love or use that made their way to your guest room. Clearing the guest room will make it possible to have loved ones stay with you during the holiday season.

December-Holiday decorations

December is too busy a time to do any big organizing projects. But, you will be pulling out your seasonal decorations. When you do, notice which items you use and what stays in the boxes. Pitch those decorations that haven’t emerged from their boxes in two years. Clearing your decorations down to just those that actually get used will make the prospect of decorating next year much more appealing.

Some of you may be wondering what you do during the month assigned to the garage if you don’t have a garage. Or, if you don’t have children, what do you do in August. What about the basement? I don’t have a basement (yeah!), so I didn’t include it. But, if you do have a basement, you can substitute it for clearing out children’s rooms if you have no children or the garage if you have no garage. You may also choose to tackle the basement instead doing one of the other areas that you know won’t be difficult for you to squeeze in during another month.

My intention in setting specific goals each month is to help you focus your organizing efforts. It’s very easy to be distracted by the noise of clutter all over the house. If you choose to take the 12 month challenge, commit to tackling and completing the one area each month. If the area is too big to do all by yourself, get friends, family or professional help to make it happen. And, remember that it’s ESSENTIAL that you maintain your day to day organizing processes and systems in addition to your monthly clearing project. If you don’t, you’ll be creating a new nightmare while you’re clearing another.

Having a monthly clearing goal will also help you pace yourself. Once you feel some of the benefits of clearing you may be tempted to do massive clearing all at once. Clearing too much too fast will shift energies too quickly. This can result in chaos in your life or physical illness.

What is most important is that you do some clearing each month. My suggestions are just that — suggestions. Feel free to tailor this plan to work with the realities of your climate, your energy and your family situation.

If you take this challenge, I would love to hear from you about your progress, challenges and how your life changes as a result of your commitment to clearing. Clearing your whole house will transform your life. It takes courage to take on this challenge. Be open and ready for big changes!

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