Kill the Business Dust Bunnies!

Spring is finally here.

Time for spring cleaning. Not just your pantries and toilet. (Can I say toilet in a business blog?) Now is as good a time as any to take stock of what you’ve been doing during the first quarter of 2016 and toss away some of those bad work habits.

We love to talk about how busy we are. And how that gets in the way of making change. But if we just threw away or tweaked one habit each day, our filthy closet (the metaphorical one) would be way neater by the end of the year.

I call them Springolutions..they are like New Year’s resolutions, but after we’ve totally blown most of the original set of commitments, these news ones will take us into the second quarter of the year.

Here are five things you can do this week that aren’t super-difficult:

• Throw away at least three things on/in your desk that you don’t need. Some of them may have been there since 1982. If you haven’t looked at them in at least 90 days, they probably aren’t all that important.
• Download a list-making app like Listmaster. It’ll help you keep track of and prioritize all that stuff that’s swirling around in your head. (I’ve mastered a great set of categories…contact me if you want to know what they are!)
• Get a little more sleep or some exercise. It’ll help your brain.
• Learn something new. A new social media app, a language, or a hobby. Or read a book.
• Say “no“ to something you really didn’t want to do but felt obligated to do.
• Say “yes” to a business trip, conference, or even just a networking night out. Hanging out with the same people day after day after day will make you stale and musty.

And then, if you’re really feeling energized and spring-like, you can literally clean (or hire someone to clean) your office or your closet (or even your toilet). Germs are lurking everywhere at work, according to this terrifying infographic.

But let’s keep it positive, shall we? After all, spring is here! Buy some daffodils or tulips or something. This scientific study even indicates that flowers will make you a happier person and create “positive emotional feelings in those who enter a room.” Who doesn’t need that?

Some spring cleaning wisdom:

• How to organize your desk
• Just some of the thousands of business events happening this spring. (Check your local or industry-specific calendars too!)
• What are dust bunnies?
• Do we really need pictures to show us how to clean a toilet?