Two weeks ago, one of my readers Anna, pointed that sometimes it is difficult to be consistent and don’t clutter back. This issue doesn’t concern only our wallets, but many other places: workspace, room, house, attic, cellar, car locker, computer desktop and so on.

It is senseless to organize and clean any place if we can’t maintain uncluttered state. How to avoid cluttering back? Below are my favorite strategies.

Identify clutter and its sources

This is a starting point. It is very important to do this conscientiously. Knowing what is not necessary in your space and being aware of clutter’s sources will definitely help you avoid clutter in future.

Prepare a dedicated place for incoming stuff

It should be such a bin with label “to be processed”. All new things go there, before you find proper place for them or decide to remove them (if they are not really necessary for you). It can be a separate locker, drawer, box or folder on your computer. This way you will avoid situations where clutter attacks different places. You keep it under control, in single place. Of course you need to regularly dedicate some time to process this stuff.

Batch processing

Collect similar things and process them together. Why? It is more effective. Similar things need similar activities. It’s better to check and process thirty e-mails, then read thirty posts from your favorite blogs and then put labels on thirty unknown CDs from your shelf instead of doing all these things mixed together like: one e-mail, one post, one CD, one email…and so on.

Keep empty spaces

If you keep empty spaces, it is much easier to keep clutter away from them. You get used to these empty spaces and when there appears something new, you immediately notice it and react on it to bring the previous, empty and clean state.

Less clutter, easier to clean

Less stuff around makes cleaning process much easier. Imagine that you have empty room to clean. It is much easier to clean than a room full of different furniture, decorations and other objects. Reduce to essential things and you will enjoy easier cleaning, which will keeps you motivated to avoid further clutter.

Do I really need this?

When you want to take a new thing, ask this question. Do I really need this? Would I use it in near future or it will only clutter my room? Very often you will give yourself negative answers. Don’t need it, don’t take it.

One in, one out

It is very simple and effective. When you put something into certain area, you must take something out of there. This solution is not working when there is nothing you can remove, which is not necessary and you have to add something which is also necessary.

One in, two out

A stronger version of previous method. It is very good strategy to unclutter any place, when there is a lot of unnecessary stuff around. When you are already limited to essential and critical things, it is no longer working. But that means you achieved suitable order.

Knowing above tips, you should effectively avoid clutter getting back. Enjoy your clean, simple and uncluttered spaces.

photo credit: kk+

I would like to introduce you to the concept of four stages of competence. This model describes four stages of learning a new skill. Sometimes it is also knows as a conscious competence learning model, conscious competence ladder or conscious competence matrix.

The process begins with unconscious incompetence stage, goes through conscious incompetence and conscious competence and ends with unconscious competence.

The first step, unconscious incompetence, is when you don’t know what you don’t know. You are unaware of your lack of skill and knowledge. You are in this state also when you deny usefulness of certain skill.

To move forward, you must become conscious of your incompetence. Then you reach the second stage. You don’t understand the skill, you can’t do that, but you are aware of your incompetence. You are also aware of your deficiency in this certain skill. To go to the third stage you have to learn and practice.

Third stage, conscious competence, is when you successfully perform certain ability. However you need focus, concentration while performing it. When you continue to practice a lot, you are moving toward forth stage.

The last stage (there are some opinion suggesting one more, fifth stage) is unconscious competence. You don’t have to think about performing certain skill. It is like a second nature. Very often you can do something else at the same time.

Let me show you simple example how this model looks like for learning certain skill. The most popular example concerns driving a car. I would like to break this trend. Let’s see how it works with driving a bus.:)

You are a non-driver. You don’t know anything about driving a bus, don’t even know that there are skills required to do so. You are unconscious incompetent.

When you seat for the first time in front of a bus wheel, you become aware of your incompetence. You can’t drive, but now, you are realizing all the things that you have to learn and practice. You are conscious incompetent.

You begin to learn and practice driving a bus. Finally, you pass your driving exams. You can drive a bus, but you need to put a little effort while doing it. You must consciously focus on this skill while performing it. You are conscious competent.

You become unconscious competent bus driver, when you don’t have to think about changing gears, checking mirrors, using traffic indicators and such things, while driving. Meantime, you can answer your cell-phone, eat a burger or take some notes.

It is interesting, how I can help you in learning new skills and gaining knowledge according to this model. I bet, that it is usually somewhere between first and second; second and third phases. Do you agree?

photo credit: Elsie esq.

It is very common that when you are starting a new habit, at the beginning you are quite well motivated. You keep doing your tasks, you follow your routines. Everything is fine, till some point where your motivation turns downward and you lose your willingness to continue.

Sometimes it comes very slowly. At first you don’t even notice that you are losing interest and desire to cultivate your habit. From time to time, you skip some steps. Soon, you realize that you are skipping more than you perform, often thinking on how to avoid next points.

Sometimes your motivation drop instantly from sky to ground level. Well, probably it wasn’t your first failure and surely not the last one…

Those patters appear very often when physical activities are concerned. Therefore I listed below best tips to kick your motivation to keep running. Some of them you have never heard about and some you probably have. Either way reading about them can help you get motivated so go on…

1. Think over reasons why you want to exercise. Health benefits, releasing stress, sleep improving, decreasing blood pressure, fun and social interactions are all among many others.
2. Think over reasons why not to exercise. Is there a good argue not to do this or is it only laziness? No, lack of time is not an explanation. Don’t fool yourself. Don’t become a slave of your laziness and excuses.
3. Find activity that you will truly enjoy. If you don’t like your exercises, sooner or later you will drop this habit no matter what. But remember to give it a time. You may not like running during first two weeks, but after two months you will find it pleasant.
4. Take one week break from exercises and then start again.
5. Change something in your routine. Run in different places, exercise on different time of day, on different days, with different people.
6. Change type of activity for some period of time, then return to the previous one.
7. Find a friend who will exercise with you. Mutually motivate each other and enjoy time spend together.
8. Track your progress. Seeing that you are improving can be very motivating.
9. Set short term, mid term and long term goals you want to achieve like distance you want to run or number of pushups to perform in a row. Of course keep tracking your progress and gratitude yourself when you achieve your goal.
10. Inspire yourself.
11. Keep writing all benefits you experience since starting exercising habit.
12. Take a coach. If you pay, you subconsciously motivated because you want to get a good workout for your money.
13. Exercise with your favorite, highly energetic music.
14. Exercise with soundtrack from your favorite action movie. Imagine that you are the main character. Feel the adrenaline and jump into the action.
15. Tell your friends and relatives about your exercise habit. Public statement will keep you obligated to continue exercising.
16. Perform a 30-days trial.
17. Take a part in competition or find a good competitor. It is always a good motivational stimulus.
18. Find energy in your emotions. No matter if it is coming from anger on your boss or excitement flowing from meeting a new, interesting person. Amplify this emotion and turn into physical energy.
19. Plan your exercises on busy days with strich schedule and almost no free time. While executing consecutive tasks and activities there is no time to think if you like your next step or you don’t. You simply perform everything what is coming. Put yourself into such state.
20. Remember, you are in control. You choose to exercise. You don’t need to do this.
21. Stop reading this site and just do it.Now.

photo credit: Ernst Moeksis

This Sunday Roundup is made of interesting links I found on Twitter. If you use it, then don’t forget to follow me there.

Paul Kedrosky writes about riots at Pakistan’s stock exchange.

Trading stocks is fun, until someone loses an eye.

Check following 15 online tools at EmergingTech.com. They are free and may help you, especially if you are tech.

7 free books that should be on your shelf are presented on Lifehack. We love free stuff especially when it brings value.

EliteBlogger shares his first impression on DropBox.

Wordpress 2.6 is out. Technology Nerd gives you 6 reasons why to upgrade.

There is a funny post at cracked.com about hitting Digg front page. Who knows, maybe you will find those tips successful?

Finally, do you know which 5 comics should be movies? Or maybe you have different suggestions from those posted by Slapnuts?

That is all for this week. See you next time.