This is Optimal Living Daily Episode 2014, decluttering Time by Julie Morgan Stern of JulieMorganStern.com

and I'm Justin Malik, the guy that reads you articles, book excerpts, stories,

even student essays to you every day including holidays, covering personal development or self-help,

how to live your best and meaningful life, and a lot more. It's always with permission from

the authors or websites. For now let's get right to it and start optimizing your life.

decluttering Time by Julie Morgan Stern of JulieMorganStern.com

The word clutter often evokes a powerful image, stacks of newspapers, magazines,

old mail, brochures, and leaflets piled high and littered about every surface.

Items shoved haphazardly into any available knuck, cranny, or crevice.

Closets overflowing with shirts and sweaters you haven't worn in years, chaos, disorder,

and mess as far as the eye can see. But what about the invisible clutter, the intangible clutter?

Something we rarely talk about. Time clutter. But think about it, your schedule like your closet

is a container, a storage unit with a definite capacity. In your schedule like your closet,

has a way of accumulating stuff. So if your schedule is filled to the brim, bursting at the seams,

jam packed with commitments and obligations to yourself or to others, it's likely time to take stock

and identify the clutter that lies within. Heaving time clutter may not be backbreaking

labor like getting rid of boxes of books and clothes or moving unwanted furniture out the door,

but it is technically more complicated and more difficult emotionally. As we move from the physical

realm to the time realm, we cross a tiny boundary. We are going a little deeper, moving closer

to our feelings and our hearts. Finding time clutter. I define clutter as any obsolete object,

space, commitment, or behavior that weighs you down, distracts you, or depletes your energy.

Clutter in your schedule usually includes unfinished projects and to-dos,

...