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‘Stuff’ Editing – Are You Doing It?
A few nights ago I watched a great TED Talk by Graham Hill titled ‘Less Stuff, More Happiness’. He spoke about ‘editing’ your life to make room for the good stuff.
Graham relates it largely to possessions and living space. In it he’s sitting on a box and tells his audience although he has no idea what’s in it he’s moved it from house to house for years… I’m sure you can relate to that. I know I can. I still have university essays, a box full of gift cards dating since forever, and a bag of old dresses that my grandma gave me. They don’t fit me but I just can’t bear to get rid of them.
Less is More
He also asks you to remember when you were most happy… Perhaps when you were camping, travelling or back in college? These are times when we have only what we need… which isn’t much. I’ve had some great travel adventures, when all I had was a backpack and whatever I could fit in it. And many happy memories of simple pleasures… Playing cards by candlelight, yoga on a beach at sunrise, reading in a hammock, writing on a bus. Even washing clothes in a cement shower in Africa is a vividly happy memory. As is hanging them on a little elastic travel clothesline above my bed.
So this concept of an Edited Life got me thinking about the ‘stuff’ in our businesses, and particularly, from my point of view as a Business Writer, our word ‘stuff’.
It’s pretty much passé to tell you we live in a time of Information Overload. The amount of information we take in on a daily basis has gone up five times in the last 20 years, and no wonder… According to The Telegraph “Everyday the average person produces six newspapers worth of information through email, twitter, social networking sites and text messages.” Isn’t that just a little bit crazy?!
Cyber Stuff and Internet Garbage
The ‘stuff’ that Graham refers to is physical possessions. But what about cyber ‘stuff’ and Internet garbage? Right now you are reading this article online. You most likely came here via Facebook, Twitter or perhaps through my email list. I could also have used Google+, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Digg, YouTube, Vimeo, reddit, StumbleUpon, WordPress, Blogger, MySpace etcetera, etcetera… Argh, so much ‘stuff’!
Are you exhausted by the sheer job of visualising all this information? I am. So how do we cope with all this? How do we make it work for us? Make it a help, rather than a hindrance to our businesses, and achieve our end goals?
The answer is EDITING.
Edit your life, edit your marketing activities, edit your social media and other online activities and of course edit the words you use. Graham advises “edit ruthlessly, clear the arteries of life”. Why? So you’ve got time and space for the good stuff.
I love words, and I can easily stream them constantly. But, to what end? I would rather have more time with my children, dinners with friends, my arms around someone special, my hands in the earth, my feet on the sand and the wind in my hair.
If you would like some well chosen, ruthlessly edited words for your business please get in touch. At the very least sign up to receive my guide to writing winning words (it will save you time!) and you’ll automatically receive my future articles, which will of course be well edited!
Here’s to an edited life and the joy of less.
Leonie :)
LEONIE ORTON is a business writer and marketer.
She extracts your thoughts, gives them structure
and then converts them into words that do their
job pretty darn well. Find out more about her here.
Connect with her on Facebook & Twitter.
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LEONIE ORTON is a professional writer and
marketing communications expert. She helps
you to help others with words that captivate,
connect and convert. She also assists and
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patricia
October 27, 2011I Love this concept of editing. it’s all about values. when we know what is important to us andf priorities is ike being on a diet, eliminating junk food and focus on the essence. And social network is a way to be distracted from our real values. We need to focus! Thanks great post.
Leonie
October 31, 2011So true Patricia! Social media is great for business and pleasure but focus is so important. Without it we just end up going around in circles!
Carolina HeartStrings
October 27, 2011Soooo many things hit home with this one. YES – information overload. Feeling very stressed from too much texting, constantly multitasking and no real attention to any one thing. YES – too many material items. Was just telling my mom that my new policy is for every one new thing brought into the house I must get rid of two. YIKES!
Leonie
October 31, 2011It’s great to have a spring clean and let go of material possessions… But even more important to take time to pause and ask ‘why’ for everything you’re doing in life. It’s amazing how few things are really essential. And at the heart of it all we’re aiming for happiness… Happiness is simple.
Krishna Everson
October 27, 2011Wonderful post Leonie. So meaningful, I love the pictures you paint and the stories you share! Why do we need so much ‘stuff’ anyway? Is it because without it we feel we are missing out? In reality, I think the opposite is true! Too much stuff, means we are missing out on the MOST important things. Love your work. Krishna xx
Leonie
October 31, 2011So true Krishna… I think we get in the habit of collecting stuff… Without taking time to think about what we’ve got and what we’re doing. :)
Jenny
October 27, 2011Oh, how I can relate to this!
We have recently had our daughter and her 2 children (and assorted household furniture etc) move back in with us. Well we HAD to have the biggest purge of our 37 years of married life. Out went the old tax records dating back 15 years and more…….. I’ve been thru the wardrobe and decluttered that …….. Gosh and we are still bursting at the seams!
Hubby and I are preparing to leave them to it and take off in our caravan (much less stuff in there) next year :-)
Leonie
October 31, 2011How fantastic Jenny! …Yes get rid of it!! ‘Stuff’ is so heavy and it just weighs you down. How wonderful it will be for you and your hubby to lighten the load so you can ‘fly’!! :)
your fabulous friend neroli
October 27, 2011Hi gorgeous girl:)
This is a brilliant article & very timely! I’ve just up & moved to Sydney & left a HUGE amount of stuff behind. I only took what I could fit in my car. Minimal stuff.
As a result, I’ve been sleeping on the floor for 2 weeks – I’ve bought a desk & decent chair to work on…still no bed : / Apparently Tony Robbins slept in a hammock for months after spending all his money on a desk so at least I’m in good company ;)
I feel very happy lying on the floor in my makeshift bed at night in my new un-stuffy world, much like you washing in the cement shower… Re unclogging the cyber-stuff overload, still figuring that out. I might be getting paid to do someone’s social media for their business, so at least the time I normally waste on SM I’ll be getting paid for!
I read a quote once by one of the great writers, don’t remember which one, he was apologizing to his friend in a letter, saying, “I’m so sorry this is a long letter, I haven’t got time to write you a short one.” Economy of words is an art form, and only the masters of language know how to do it – yay for ruthless editing Ms O :) xxn
Leonie
October 31, 2011Hello Fabulous Neroli! Funny how we make our lives (and marketing activities) complex and busy when ‘simple’ is where it’s at! I’ve just spent the weekend at a Yoga retreat with just one bag of clothes, a sleeping bag and a pillow. Felt so great to have time and space for yoga and meditation with only the bare essentials. I think it’s important for us to try and bring some of this back to ‘reality’! xx
Sue Murphy
October 30, 2011This is very timely Leonie as I just spent 3 hours cleaning out my cupboards!!! I did a trip to the op shop and feel fabulous after clearing out lots of ‘stuff’. Now to the computer to do the same. I’m a big believer that less is more but seem to accumulate alot of stuff along the way.
I think it time to get rid of it all and just keep my computer, some clothes, my hubby and my kids. The less we have the happier we are because we can really enjoy every moment and just ‘be’.
Great post Leonie.
Sue xxx
Leonie
October 31, 2011Yay Sue! There will be space for lots of good stuff comin’ atcha! xx
Debbie Ducic
October 31, 2011My hubby and I are probably at the extreme end of the “Dump the Stuff” crowd since a couple of years ago we sold or gave away just about EVERYTHING we owned and moved from America to Australia. It was something we talked about several times over several years and we had a few false starts. We would pare it down and then pump it up again. Just as we would get rid of stuff, we would inherit more. What a cycle!
The process was painful at times and freeing at times, but it was the final trip to the final storage shed where it came down to a 100 sq. ft container where it was the most challenging and yet deeply revealing. But as opposed to many across the world who have been struck by immediate disaster, at least we had time to decide what was most endearing to keep.
Funny thing is… that container is STILL waiting patiently in the US and there are only a few things we wish we had in our possession now. It is close to a year and a half later and we have traveled and experienced more than most who have lived in Australia all their lives. We have been blessed to serve as housesitters and petsitters since then with our SUV and only what fits in it. It has been an AMAZING and freeing experience!
Interestingly, however, you bring up the “other” “stuff”… the overload of information and social media interaction and that is a VERY astute observation! I spend a great deal of time online and have had to do a lot of soul searching in that regard as well. As with any kind of growth, it is a process and I have just recently made the decision to take my GutZy Women site down (I started it in 2007 and it was quite a huge site), but it seems like another lifetime since GutZy Women has eve-olved as well.
I have received clarity on the direction my online business and have cut back on much of what I was doing before. We have made a commitment of regular exercise and sightseeing, so it’s natural that I have cut back on my computer time and that time has got to be more disciplined.
I saw that TED talk as well and with your article, it is obviously at top of mind in many circles! Thanks Leonie!
LOVE
Deb
Leonie
October 31, 2011Thanks for your great comment Debbie. Wow, sounds like you and your husband are very adept at the physical ‘stuff’ editing! …But the cyber and mental ‘stuff’ is possibly even more draining and confusing. Complexities are always waiting and forming. Constant editing is required. And it all starts with awareness… I’ve just spent the weekend at a yoga retreat. So the focus was on the internal world, but also just socialising with the other people there… Facetime. I love social media and the www but it’s a minefield for ‘stuff’ accumulation!! Vigilance is required!
Leonie
October 31, 2011Good luck with it Beanie. The online world especially loves to make us busy. But it’s not necessarily ‘good’ busy!! Great to get really ruthless about what you’re spending your time on so you’ve got time to spend doing the important stuff well. :)