I’d gotten really behind in keeping my email folders updated and the result was frustration and wasted time. It felt worse than a cluttered desk. It was more like a cluttered desk with pile after pile of papers and I didn’t know what was in the piles. The fact that I had been receiving more junk emails than usual lately didn’t help. So I decided to tackle the problem.

I spent a few hours reorganizing my folders and then moving the messages I needed to keep into the appropriate folders. I also unsubscribed to some senders and blocked others. The IT guy (Miller) looked at the filter and other items to assist with the amount of junk messages. I permanently deleted several thousand emails – I told you it had gotten bad.

Now it feels like I have a clean desk – I know the question is how long I will keep it that way. But for now, I feel “free.” And I can quickly find the information I need. This feels a whole lot better than the situation did at the first of the week.

Sometimes the clutter in life gets so bad we become demotivated. We don’t know where to start to improve things or how to tackle all the things facing us. There’s just too much to do and too many demands on us.

That is why I find it helpful to periodically take a personal retreat and examine my life – my clutter. It helps me refocus and develop a plan for moving forward. It never works out perfectly, but it always helps…and that is always better than the status quo.

If your life feels cluttered, try taking a few hours to do something about it. You have to start somewhere. You’ll be glad you did.

Pastor Steve Hogg