“I have so much to do…I can’t stay focused and get everything done”.  I hear my clients — and myself —say this WAY too often. It’s time to find a solution. How can we possibly concentrate on one thing until the task is complete then move on to the next job — this could take hours! Being focused also means paying attention and really listening when someone is speaking — and not thinking about three other things I think I ‘need’ to do NEXT.

It’s time to shift our energy and strengthen our ability to FOCUS.

The state of our home affects your mood, success, energy…in short, our life. Adjusting the flow of CHI (energy) in our home is the practice and goal of Feng Shui. Think of CHI as a breeze coming in the front door and slowly wafting and circulating through all the rooms bringing you life saving breath. Ideally, CHI flows smoothly, evenly, throughout all areas. As we de-cluttering and move furniture, we adjust the flow of CHI energy, and we are also changing our personal energy and state of mind. The ultimate purpose in fine-tuning the CHI in our home or office is to help us aCHIeve our personal goals for a happy, successful, abundant and balanced life.

The movement of CHI is what is important. Rushing and stagnating CHI create distractions and lack of focus.  Stagnating or blocked CHI (as with clutter) may keep us from aCHIeving all we want in life. Rushing CHI moves too fast and may cause too many opportunities to come at once or dash past us so fast that we miss them.

Think of rushing CHI as all the obligations talking to us at once…from our iPod to our broken dishwasher to our CHIld’s hockey game — all wanting attention — NOW! Stagnating CHI, as in clutter, causes confusion and feelings of helplessness. We cannot think clearly, much less concentrate. What can we do to get it all done and not feel guilty?

When we change aspects of our home, like re-arranging furniture, clearing clutter and changing colors, we are changing the CHI and shifting our personal energy at the same time.

Four Simple CHI-Changes to help increase our ability to FOCUS:

1. Clear clutter first — one room, one corner at a time.

• Clutter is distracting – and scatters your thinking taking your focus away from your task
• Clutter is blocking good energy from reaCHIng you – with good ideas for instance and new opportunities
• Clutter drains your energy
• Clutter negatively affects your mood

2. Create a functional, welcoming space to work — especially if you have a home office. It is more challenging to concentrate if you are constantly checking out the tv, moving the laundry to get to your books etc. Try these modifications:

• Light! This seems simple, but often offices have very inadequate lighting. Use daylight bulbs, as they are the least stressful and closest to natural light. Open blinds to add natural light-it is positively energizing.
• Desk placement – be sure you can see the door or entrance to your space easily from your seat. Do not face the wall if possible, or add a mirror so you can see someone coming into your office from behind your chair.
• Color – color affects us, often subtly. If a room is a gloomy color, or needs painting, it will affect how you feel. Re-paint – it’s an inexpensive energy boost. Choose color(s) you love…experiment with something different. Check out on line sites at Benjamin Moore new life and growth.

3. Meditate – and learn what is important to YOU. No need to sign up for special classes. Just find a quiet space, sit with your eyes closed, breathe deeply for 15 minutes each day to clear your mind of everything. It may not be easy to do in our busy lives, but it has HUGE calming benefits for your mental & physical health. In addition, when you are calm maintaining focus becomes easier.

4. Know Yourself – knowing your personality, likes & dislikes, what you do well and not so well and what excites you and gives you strength is how you learn to prioritize your time. Women often find themselves doing so much and often do not remember why they said “sure I’ll help out…sure I’d love to be on this committee.” In part, women get overwhelmed because they find it hard to say no.  Man or woman, make a list of your obligations and weekly to-do’s and read it aloud. You will be amazed at what you have to/want to accomplish each week.  Now re-write your list in order of personal importance-prioritize. Decide to delegate some obligations to others and delete other items all together.  Follow your new list for a week and see how much better you are able to keep on track.

This short blog can only begin to describe the importance of learning how to focus and complete the short & long-term goals in our lives. Taking time to master this talent develops self-respect and results in aCHIeving what is important in YOUR life.

Allow this information move slowly & steadily through your thinking like positive CHI wafting through your home. Don’t let it get stuck among the clutter in your in-box or rush past you out the window. Take time to try out the suggestions that suit you.  I’ll have more ideas next week. Get started, stay with it, check in, and let me know how you are doing. Remember, you are worth it!

I have lots of paper in my office. I haven’t learned to read everything on line so I print articles to read later. I make notes on post its and I collect articles in print to save. There’s just so many interesting things going on in the world, I don’t want to miss a thing. Does this sound familiar?

Well, I got fed up this week and decided to convert my desk from a “mess” desk to a “success” desk. This meant dealing with the last vestiges of clutter in my life…my papers. It has taken several attempts to clean everything up, but I am happy to report….I won! I created files for my articles, completed the tasks on my my old post it notes, created a ‘read later’ file on line, and finally my desk is my own to arrange as I like. Of course, I am following some special Feng Shui ideas to give me added power, insight, and effectiveness.

The adjustments I used on my desktop are based on the Bagua Map used in Feng Shui. It is the guide to all energy movement in life. I’ll tell you more about the Bagua Map in the future…but for now…just have a little trust. The Bagua square or rectangle is divided into 9 equal areas, three across and three down. The color for each area is shown below. Draw one for yourself, and place the grid parallel with your seat facing your desk. For most desks the career area will be closest to your chair. Use this as your guide to arrange your desktop.

It should look something like this:

Desk Chair will be to this side

Desktop Arrangement

We’ll start along the back row on the far left…

• Abundance & Wealth: place something expensive, gold, or a small fountain
• Fame & Reputation: to brighten your fame, place your business cards in the center back of your desk or a red candle (it works even if you don’t light it)
• Relationships: place a picture of yourself with your partner, an uplifting quote, flowers or names of current business contacts
• Health & Family: In the middle left choose between a photo of your family or a healthy plant.
• Wisdom: And just in front of Health on the left, keep a reference book, or anything that reminds you of wisdom to help in making good decisions.
• Career: Across the front in the center is Career…and the actual center of your desk (just behind Career) are for your computer when in use and writing an organizing projects.
• Helpful People: To the far right in front keep your phone, blackberry, iPod your communication too to reach all the helpful people in your life
• Creativity: on the right in the middle is the creativity area, a good place for current project files.

I hope this has inspired you to take a second look at your desk and make some helpful changes. Understand that you do not have to implement all of these cures. Personally, I like a more open, cleaner desk (even though as I said it has taken me while to get this done)…it feels expansive, lighter, more inspiring and I look forward to sitting down and getting to work.

Try something new, experience the SHIFT and do what feels right for you. That’s good Feng Shui.

Has the current economy negatively affected you? Are you feeling anxious,
stressed and stuck? Do you feel your life is totally out of control? Has
your home become a source of more financial strain and pressure? I have
good news for you. You have more control than you think. One HUGE source of
control has to do with one common, BIG underlying problem – CLUTTER.

Perhaps you haven’t paid attention to the clutter around you. Clutter is
not just an issue of organization; it goes much deeper than that having
effects on your mental, emotional and financial aspects of life.

Clutter is an over abundance of ‘things’ in any area of your home or
office. These ‘things’ all have their own energy and this excess energy
creates stress and feelings of being stuck and overwhelmed. And, I
mentioned finances…well, all of this stuff cost you money to acquire,
right? So, clutter is also expensive.

Clutter is:

- the unwanted gifts you haven’t yet passed on
- the clothes you haven’t worn in years
- the magazines you’ll read – one day
- the overflow of files in your ‘in-box’

REMOVING clutter allows you to:

- create new opportunities in your life – new job, partner, new ‘look’
- experience better productivity – get more done in less time
- feel in control of your life
- focus on what’s important – clarify your values

Cathy Davis, St. Louis, MO www.DavisCreative.com

Often when we’re just getting started working from home we tend to think that wherever we plop ourselves down with our work stuff is just fine. We’re lucky to have a place to get started. You may even be lucky enough to have a spare bedroom or space in the basement to set up shop. So we put that desk or table against the wall and pull up a chair, find a book case, some lighting, maybe a table to lay out our work, plug in the computer and we’re in business.

Well, I’d like you to know that no matter where you set up shop (except your bedroom….that room is for other activities) if you follow certain simple principles of good Feng Shui design, you will be enabling and inviting all the success you desire to find you…..even in the back bedroom or your basement office.

3 quick & easy tips to set yourself up for success.

First – desk placement: Arrange your desk as far from the door as you can so it allows you to see as much of the room as possible. Do not place the desk in a direct line with the door. When seated it’s best to have a wall behind your chair and you should be able to see the door easily without twisting or turning. This advantageous position allows you to see anyone coming in the room and helps you feel in control of your space, your business and your goals. Just think of another arrangement where you are facing a wall or a corner and have to turn around anytime someone comes into the room. How does that make you feel….awkward, uncomfortable, ‘up against a wall’, frustrated? Try this new arrangement and experience the change. If a corner desk is your only option, hang a mirror so that you can see what’s going on behind you.

Second – Clutter – on your desk and around your room. Keep your files organized, not in piles. Clutter makes it harder to find things and adds to your stress. Find ways to organize your materials and files.� Clear off your desk at the end of each day and return to a clean, organized, welcoming office space each morning. Just think how you feel walking into an office that is cluttered and a mess. Does it make you want to work and grow your business….not likely! You probably would rather turn around and go shopping.

Third – Increase the positive energy in your office:

• Plants…use real plants if you have natural light as they reduce the effects of EMF’s (electromagnetic fields from computers etc.)
• Hands free phone…trying to prop the phone up with your shoulder against your ear will cause LOTS of muscle and stress problems you don’t need. The stress of holding this position often changes the tone of your voice, it’s distracting to you because you’re wondering when it’s going to fall, and sometimes your caller can sense this too. Make your life easier and focus on the call not on how you are holding the phone. You can also use a head set plugged into the phone.
• Lighting – use full spectrum lighting. This light most closely resembles natural daylight. It is more energizing for you and if you work with colors it is a huge help. You can find these bulbs every where and they are well worth the slightly increased price of ordinary bulbs. Full spectrum tubes are also made for fluorescent light units. If the overhead lighting is not bright enough or creates shadows, add a desk lamp that makes your work area comfortable and well lit.

The results are:

• you feel in control of your space, thinking, planning and business direction
• you have created a positive work environment, distinctly separate from your home atmosphere, that energizes you each day to stay the course.
• your office reflects your professional work and positive outlook that supports you in achieving your business goals.

With all this positive energy surrounding you … success is yours!