30 days: Change your habits, Change your life

When will you start
uncluttering?

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Action Step:
Schedule a weekend and get rid of everything you don’t need any
more!
SCHEDULE THE WEEKEND NOW!

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31
Uncluttering and tolerations go hand in hand: A real-
life example
Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.
—BARBARA HEMPHILL
Uncluttering and tolerations go hand in hand. I have here a real-life
example of my client Lawrence, who describes what happened
during the process:
When I went through the process of uncluttering my life, it was
like I was creating a new sense of freedom for myself. Before I
understood what cluttering is, I had been going through life
picking up so many bad habits and discouraging thoughts along
the way... They weren’t the type of habits like a vice, for example,
smoking or drinking. They were more like small tolerations that
were seemingly insignificant to begin with, but as I gained more
and more of them in my life and just accepted them as something
I couldn’t change, they grew heavier until I was very weighed
down. These tolerations made me feel like I was moving like a
sloth. Things like procrastination, lack of sleep, not gaining
fulfillment from my work, getting used to take-out food too often,
beating myself up for not achieving more success... Somewhere
along the way, I lost sight of my goals in life and I just allowed
these tolerations to clutter things up to the point that I felt stuck.
When my coach Marc introduced the idea of uncluttering to me,
it was truly a revelation. I understood what it meant immediately,
but I just didn’t know why I was this way or how to fix it and climb
out of the hole. With the tools that Marc helped to equip me with, I

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can now recognize my tolerations and work on unloading
them. I’ve identified the ones that I could fix quickly and have
gotten rid of them: fixing the window sill that wouldn’t open,
hanging up the paintings that I left in storage when I moved,
replacing my old mattress that was not so comfortable. I also
recognize the tolerations that will take more time to resolve, and I
work on them all the time, like challenging myself more at work
and getting gratification from that productivity. I’ve written down all
of them to keep track of and to hold myself accountable, and I
write down new tolerations as I identify them along the way.
Uncluttering the tolerations in my life that were jumbled together
in my mind and slowing me down, has made me feel like I am 10
times lighter now. I have more energy, more spirit, and more
enthusiasm. And as I uncluttered the tolerations, I found that my
physical surroundings became uncluttered as well. My apartment
is cleaner and more open, so I feel like I’m in a clutter-free
environment at home.

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32
The most important hour…
Write it on your heart that every day
is the best day in the year.
—RALPH WALDO EMERSON
The most important hour of your day is composed of the 30 minutes
after you wake up and the 30 minutes before you fall asleep. This is
when your subconscious is very receptive, so it’s of much
importance what you do in this time. The way you start your day will
have a huge impact on how the rest of your day develops. I’m sure
you have had days which have started off on the wrong foot and
from then on, it got worse and worse
—
or just the opposite, where
you woke up with that feeling that everything will go your way and
then it did. That’s why it’s very important to begin your day well. Most
of us simply get into a rush from minute one after waking up and
that’s how our days unfold. No wonder most people run around
stressed nowadays. What would getting up half an hour or an hour
earlier every morning do for you? What if instead of hurrying and
swallowing down your breakfast or even having it on the way to
work, you get up and take half an hour for yourself? Maybe you even
create a little morning ritual with a 10- or 15-minute meditation. Do
you see what this could do for your life if you made it a habit? Here
are some activities for the morning ritual. Give it a shot!
• Think positive: Today is going to be a great day!
• Remember for five minutes what you are grateful for.
• 15 minutes of quiet time.
• Imagine the day that is about to start going very well.

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• Watch a sunrise.
• Go running or take a walk.
• Write in your journal.
The last half an hour of your day has the same importance. The
things you do in the last half an hour before sleeping will remain in
your subconscious during your sleep. So then it’s time to do the
following:
• Write into your journal again.
• Now is the time to reflect on your day. What did you do great?
What could you have done even better?
• Plan your day ahead. What are the most important things you want
to get done tomorrow?
• Make a to-do list for the next day.
• Visualize your ideal day.
• Read some inspirational blogs, articles or chapters of a book.
• Listen to music that inspires you.
I highly recommend that you NOT WATCH THE NEWS or MOVIES
that agitate you before you are about to go to sleep. This is because
when you are falling asleep, you are highly receptive to suggestions.
That’s why it’s a lot more beneficial to listen to or watch positive
material.
The planning ahead of your day and the list of things to do can
bring you immense advantages and time saving. The things you
have to do will already be in your subconscious plus you will get to
work very focused the next day if you already know what your
priorities are.