Why You Should Consider a Life Edit

Each of us have areas of our lives that need adjusting. We may add new responsibilities and interests, while losing interest in other things. We collect new stuff while holding on to old stuff, and collectively we end up with cluttered lives. If any of this sounds familiar…you might need a life edit.

In writing, editing is the process of making every word count. This blog is edited several times before it is published – are the words accurate, concise, and understandable? Words are replaced, sentences and even paragraphs are rewritten. When my wife is available, I ask her to edit it – another perspective is invaluable.

When you edit your life, the goal is making sure you’re living authentically, with clarity and purpose. You strip away the nonessentials, retool the confused, and focus on the essentials. Here are some ingredients for a good life edit…

It may be fun to have an outlier interest, something in your life that doesn’t fit in with anything else, but if you have too many of these, you’ll lose synergy. Paul was an Apostle and a tentmaker and a learned man yet he was able to harmonize all those things into just one thing...

Actress and producer Reese Witherspoon recently said at a conference that she edits her friendships. Quoting her grandmother, she said that “people are either radiators or drains. Stick with the radiators.”

I want to pick up golf again after many years away. In order for me to this, I’m going to need to subtract something to make time for this. It’s an evaluation process because without subtracting, it cannot happen.

Some of us make the mistake of adding something new into our lives without subtracting something else to make room.Others of us refuse to add anything new to our lives because we know how busy we already are. This is a mistake if you don’t first ask yourself, “Will what I am considering add more value to myself and others than what I am giving up?” If your answer is yes, it may be time to leave something good behind for something better.

When measuring the value of something, determine how it effects your impact on others, your personal harmony, your knowledge base, and what you can learn from it.

Spaces and places need editing as well. In the early years of our marriage, our house was a hodgepodge of styles and items. That translated to my office as well. You might have found a Gumby on my book shelf next to a commentary. As the years have gone by, our house (and my office) has a theme that is consistent and relaxing. We gave away or sold a lot of things including some that were quite nice.

When was the last time you went through your closet, kitchen, or garage? Marie Kondo is famous for saying keep only those things that bring you joy (though after the birth of her third child, she is less frenetic about having everything in its place).

Is your inbox overflowing with unanswered emails or your computer files a jumbled mess of documents? Having somebody text you their favorite cookie recipe isn’t going to do you any good if you can’t remember who sent it or where it can be found on your computer.

Take time weekly to ruthlessly eliminate the clutter. Delete without regrets. Create a folder on your computer called TO REVIEW and place docs you’re not sure what to do with there. Periodically, go through this folder and take the time to categorize what’s in it. And...you’ll probably discover that some of the things you thought were important and should be saved don’t seem worth saving several weeks laterl.

Being productive without sacrificing mental, spiritual and emotional health is invaluable. It might be enough incentive for you to do a life edit.