The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up by Marie Kondo

I am not sure that I agree with the author when she says that “tidying can be a life-transformational experience,” but I have seen enough business executives in my practice to know that clutter creates subtle problems. Visual clutter in the home or office creates “background” to-do lists, unlike those more formal itemized “work” to-do list that are usually entered in some time-management or organizational software. Items on these latter agendas tend to get accomplished or dealt with, even if that means moving them to the next day’s “to-do” list.

 

In contrast, items on the mental list linger in the background. They act like silent programs that soak-up attentional bandwidths and increase stress. The visual clutter or disorganization adds background anxiety or stress of the worse kind: undefined and therefore enduring.

 

So if you’re looking for relief, read this simple and motivating tidying-up book with its many helpful hints such as 1) clean-up everything at once, 2) get rid of items that don’t bring pleasure and 3) ensure that every item has a particular storage place.

 

Your mother might have said it, but now it’s officially on the New York Times bestseller list.