Moncton ‘Clutter Coach’ Suggests 5 Ways To Work Better From Home
MONCTON – Kim Sneath, a clutter coach based in Moncton, has seen an increase in virtual appointments from people across Canada and the U.S. looking to declutter their space and boost productivity during the pandemic.
With more people working from home the need for a workspace is higher, but not everybody has an actual closed-door office at home. Sneath, an actress turned home stager and now a clutter coach and member of Professional Organizers in Canada, says most of her clients are parents struggling with clutter and multi-tasking.
She helps them virtually and via phone, or visits them at home if they’re located in the Moncton area.
Sneath shared five things that she’s found are key to increasing productivity.
Decluttering
“Clutter is unmade decisions, and that’s why it’s overwhelming,” she said. “It pulls your focus, it takes your time, your brain space. You can’t be as productive when you’re drowning in a sea of paper and clutter, and missing things.”
Removing clutter, which she describes as anything that’s unwanted, not loved, not used, and not needed, is the first step to having a clearer space for work, and therefore a clearer mind.
Sneath says the common mistake people make when they decide to organize their space is to buy storage and other things that they think will help them.
“But you haven’t even assessed what you have,” she said. “Never organize what you can discard.”
“Decluttering is highlighting what you love, and surrounding and making your home a place that you love rather than a place that you want to run away from, especially now in these days, we are all home and everybody’s home with us,” she said. “Your home should support you, not drain you.”
Once that step is done, making sure things are sorted, contained, and labeled is important. It’s even more important to maintain that organized system.
Setting Boundaries
Many people don’t have a dedicated room at home that they can use as an office. They may use their dining table or the kitchen counter to work.
Sneath says setting boundaries can make a significant difference and help you co-exist more peacefully with other residents in your house.
“Setting up a boundary could be something like, nothing else is allowed on the dining room table from Monday to Friday, so bookbags don’t go there,” she said. “So, [your family] understands what can help you work best, and you can merge back into being a mom or a parent at the end of the day.”
It can also mean putting up physical barriers like screens or curtains.
Boundaries apply to ourselves too.
“With yourself, boundaries means ensuring everything has a place and putting everything in its place,” she says.
Focus On One Thing At A Time
Sneath says many of her clients who are parents often multi-task, “but multitasking is totally out,” she said. “It’s not effective whether you’re are at a corporate office or at home.”
“Productivity is a matter of focus, time, purpose – like, what’s the purpose for this moment,” she said. “Look at time as energy, and try not to waste them in all these ways like multitasking and scattered focus, then you’ll feel like you have a lot more time.”
Clean Up The Night Before
If you have dishes left undone overnight or a desk that’s messy, it can distract you from work. Sneath says cleaning up the night before a new workday starts can help.
“It can help your mental space,” she said. “Have a clear desk space, have a clear mind.”
Tackle Creative Tasks In The Morning
Sneath says for many people, their minds are clearest first thing in the morning. So that’s the best time to tackle creative tasks.
“If you have to create a program or write a blog, do that first thing in the morning when you have your full night’s rest before people start dinging, and emails start filling in – even if you only get a part of it done, that’s when you’re most creatively inspired, usually,” she said.
While the steps seem simple, people often don’t know where to start. Sneath says it all starts with knowing what your goal, timeline and budget is, and then break down the steps to achieving that goal.
Whether you want to make sure your house supports work-from-home full-time or just for the next few months, she says having clarity on your objective can help you prioritize.
Inda Intiar is a reporter for Huddle. Send her story suggestions: [email protected]