Detox

From the desk of…
Erin Pittman | Optomi Consultant-Care Manager

{Image courtesy of a Pair of Pears}

All January long, every social media platform will be flooded with articles about how to keep your New Years resolution and recipes for detox water (seriously, that’s a thing). It only seems appropriate to spend some time contemplating how we can apply the whole “2015 is going to be my year!” mindset to our careers.

Step 1: Get rid of e-clutter.

You know what I’m talking about. That email from 2011 that you keep thinking you might need. Its outta here. The start of a new year is a perfect time to clean out your inbox and peel away the layers of icons so you can actually see the delightful picture of your dog in a bow tie hidden on your desktop.

My personal favorite way to purge unnecessary emails is to search by sender and mass delete, thus guaranteeing you’re free from the 1,000s of Linkedin acceptance emails, but you don’t delete the email your boss sent complimenting your awesome powerpoint skills. Before you know it, you won’t be getting any more Microsoft Outlook alerts warning you that you’re up 10188 MB of 10240 MB of storage space, which is a total generalization and not at all an email I got this morning.

If you can’t bear to take a dust buster to the data cobwebs collecting on your laptop, do yourself a favor and store it on a backup drive. There are plenty of affordable options for Mac and PC alike. I’ve seen many a coworker’s spirits broken after a trip to the Genius Bar, mourning the loss of their favorite spreadsheet. Back it up.

Step 2: Do the one thing you’ve been putting off all year.

Everyone has one thing on their to-do list that has migrated page to page for so long, it would almost be sad to cross it off. Almost.

Seriously though, take your dark gray suit to the dry cleaners, file October’s expense report (Sorry about that, Patrick), or empty out your emergency snack drawer. December 2015-You will thank you for it.

Step 3: Get Organized

Unless you’ve got a personal assistant or are one of those lucky Type A people I keep hearing about, organization isn’t something that comes easily. But now that your email is pristine and your drawers are shining with the promise of unsalted almonds in place of 2014’s Cheetos, you’ve got a blank canvas to work with.

Personally, I’m starting the year with a new planner that I came across a few months ago that incorporates both work and personal schedules. There is just something about putting pen to paper that helps me clear my thoughts and visualize my day. If you’re more of an e-planner, there are loads of apps and online services that will help you keep you on track for the “Project Deadline/Wedding Anniversary/School Play” day you’ll inevitably run into this year. I’ve found that Evernote integrates nicely with multiple platforms so you’re not constricted to any one device.

These small steps have you well on your way to make 2015 a banner year. Come to think of it, due to the eternal nature of the Internet, its entirely possible you’re reading this from the future. If that’s the case- don’t forget to pick up your suit from the dry cleaner- it’ll look great at the school play this week.