It’s the time of year when we all start to wind down, ready for the festivities of Christmas and New Year. Solo and small business owners alike, are also taking time to celebrate the achievements they’ve reached throughout the current year.

However, it’s also the perfect time to get ready for the beginning of that new year. As you’re winding down and celebrating your successes, it’s the ideal time to clear the deadwood and clutter from your space – and that includes both your physical and mental spaces.

Clearing the clutter from your space doesn’t have to be stressful or difficult. During the rest of this month I’ll be giving you advice on how to get your mindset ready and super-focused on what you want to achieve for 2017. We’ll be looking at your motivation, passion, persistence and how the right support can make this easier for you. This will get you into the right mental space, ready to focus on making the forthcoming year, a great year for you – and this is why we’ll be looking at goal setting in January.

But none of that will help you, if you don’t spend the time now, clearing your space.

Clear your work space

Now is the perfect time to take a non-judgemental look at your space. Is your physical space working for you? Are there things that don’t belong or that attract your attention, for all the wrong reasons? Write down what is, and isn’t, working for you.

A simple way to review your physical space is to look at your workflow and patterns. Is everything you need, close to hand? Do you have designated files and trays in place for all your papers? Are you printing what’s needed, or just printing for the sake of printing? Is there any paperwork you can now archive or shred? How about your drawers and bookshelves – is there anything you can get rid of donate?

Do you have an office space, but are avoiding working in there? Is this down to the space not working for you in some way, or could it be that you need to address the thought process going through your mind?

Clear your mind

Again, you can take a non-judgemental look at what’s going on in your mind space. A simple way to get started, is to set aside some time to settle down with a cup of tea, a notebook and pen and look at what you think and feel about your current year, as well as your future goals and dreams.

Are there any negative mindsets you need to clear and/or reframe, ready for the new year? How about your belief structures around money, finances, stepping up to the next income milestone, your business success and stepping up etc.? What about thoughts about your own abilities, your qualifications and yourself generally?

Finally, there’s two great questions you can ask yourself, that will really help you unearth any mindset patterns you may not be consciously aware of. Question One: What do you need to stop doing and/or thinking, if you want to step up your business in the coming year? Question Two: What do you need to start doing and/or thinking, if you want to step up your business?

How did you get on with clearing your physical and mindset spaces? Did any of the mindset questions unearth some surprising answers? What about your physical space – did you find things you’d completely forgotten you had? I’d love to hear your experiences, so do please share them over in the comments box!

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