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I just re-found something called “The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun” by Michal Bungay Stanier. And it struck me – this has everything to do with organizing and de-cluttering (or de-crapilating, as a client has called it). It comes down to quality of life. If you aren’t beating yourself up about how disorganized/messy/overwhelming your office, a room, your house, your garage, your fill in the blank is, you are just plain happier and you have more energy to do other things: time with family, planting a garden, getting to that long awaited project, hiking, swimming …whatever it is that you really like to do when you have spare time.

So . . . here they are:

The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun

1. STOP hiding who you REALLY are
Take time to figure out what makes up your DNA. What are the unique building blocks of who you really are? When it comes down to it, what do you stand for? And then, when you know who you are, turn up the volume!

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.” Judy Garland, Actress

2. Start BEING INTENSELY selfish
Get hungry for the things that are truly important to you. Think of the people you respect and love, the moments you relish, the impact you want to have, the legacy you want to leave. Bottom line: don’t waste your time on anything else.

“When you come right down to it, all you have is yourself. All the rest is nothing.” Pablo Picasso, Artist

3. STOP following the RULES
With the exception of gravity, almost all of the rules are negotiable – someone just makes them up. It’s no longer about what you can’t do; it’s about what you can do.

“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”
Katherine Hepburn, Actress

4. START SCARING yourself
Explore the edges. Dip you toe in the bold, the outrageous, and the unthinkable. Seek out and have adventures.

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful.”
Ernest Shackleton, Explorer
5. Stop taking it ALL so DAMN SERIOUSLY
In this moment, is it a life or death decision? In 10 years, will you remember what you’re fretting about? In 100 years, will anyone care? So lighten up – this too will pass.

“Do not take life too seriously. You will not get out of it alive.”
Elbert Hubbard, Publisher

6. START getting rid of the CRAP
Think of all that stuff that’s weighing you down and getting in the way. Not just the things, but also the habits, the memories, the attitudes, the people. Get rid of that clutter.

“Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification .” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Civil Rights Leader

7. STOP being BUSY
Being busy is seductive. But just because you’re going flat out doesn’t mean you’re on the right track. If it’s the wrong hole, you need to stop digging..

“We’re lost, but we are making good time.”
Yogi Berra, Baseball Philosopher

8. START something
It’s time to do what you really want to do. Don’t wait any longer for permission. There are always enough reasons to procrastinate just a little longer. Enough! Just start!

“When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done.”
Lou Holtz, Sports Coach

Michael goes on to say:
“Turn intent into action. Write down an action that you could take, that would help you do more Great Work and have more fun (according to the American Society of Training and Development, it’s 40% likely you’ll do what you’ve just written down). Now tell someone you’re going to do it – and by when (that’s jumped the likelihood of completion to 65%). And now tell them you’ll report back to them that you’ve done it, and by when (and that’s taken the likelihood to 95%). Most importantly, have fun …”
http://www.boxofcrayons.biz/pdf/medical-futures-irres.pdf

Michael’s website is: http://www.boxofcrayons.biz/

Pick something you want to get organized. Write it down. Then tell your best friend that you are going to do it and give them the date you’ll have it done by. And then (gulp) tell them when you’ll call/e-mail/text them to say “I did it!!”

Take it in small pieces: 20 or 30 minutes here and 20 or 30 minutes there. Set a timer (maybe the one on the kitchen stove). That way, you can’t get overwhelmed because you’re just doing it a bit at a time, the same way it got created.

Most of all, let yourself have fun with it. You are going to find some stuff you thought was gone forever. You’ll find stuff you knew was there, you just couldn’t figure out where.