I was channel surfing recently and I  came across one of those shows where people struggle with hoarding. In the episode I watched, there was an older couple who had accumulated so much stuff that the local government was getting ready to evict them and condemn the house and property. A team came in with family members and hauled away multiple dumpsters of trash, highlighting the emotional ups and downs the couple made on the decisions about what is kept.

It is easy to look at that situation and criticize them for letting the accumulation happen in the first place. However, while we can control the urge to stockpile personal physical possessions, many of us struggle with a hoarding mindset when it comes to the use of our time. We are afraid to give up so many things that we end up wasting time, sifting through our own accumulated stuff. See if you are assuming your own time challenges.

Emails

How many emails do you have in your inbox right now? Depending on the study you use, the general consensus is that the average person has about 200 emails sitting in the inbox right now. Respectfully, I think that is too low. I have worked with many who have thousands of read and unread messages, going back years.

When I challenge why, I get the same answers as the couple used from the show I watched, “I am afraid I will need them.”

Unorganized Electronic Files

Earlier in my career, I was promoted and the person who I replaced handed me a flash drive and said all the files I needed were on it. He apologized up front and said he did not organize them at all. Imagine receiving hundreds of files related to multiple clients over the course of a few years. I was stressed just trying to find that I needed.

Papers

I like to keep a clean desk. In fact, over the years I adopted an approach where I tend to move paper files over to an electronic version when I can, so that I can refer to it easier in the future. On the other hand, I have worked with plenty of people who had multiple stacks of paperwork around their work area. Some can live in that world and know where everything is located. However, others get stressed by the shear volume and constant reminder.

Overscheduling

People do not like to say “no”. Therefore, they’ll commit to too many activities in too short of a time frame. They accumulate meetings, hoping they will be able to make all of them and then frustrated and guilty when they fail to show up or must try and reschedule at the last minute.

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Overtasking

Tasks are easy to create, in multiple places. Whether it in on our phone, computer, paper calendar, and even post it notes – lists are simple to develop. However, when there is little thought around the timeline, complexity, or ability to finish, then the to-dos accumulate at an exponential rate and the Anxiety increases and there never seems to be enough time.

Starting to Deaccumulate

How many of the examples above would you be a considered a hoarder? Just like our couple at the beginning, they took incremental steps, with help. The same can apply to you.

If you store emails, start with the very earliest date and just delete a 100 of them, wait a day. You’ll find the world has not ended. Keep at it, increasing more each time. You’ll find cleansing the inbox can cleanse your mind.

With electronic documents, start organizing the new ones into a file system that meets your needs. Once you see the benefits, making decisions on older ones becomes much easier.

Should the stack of papers create a distraction for you, start designing dedicated time on the piles. Give yourself a time limit to decide (try the 10 second rule) – throw away, keep, or file.

Build flex time into the calendar to limit overscheduling and allow you the opportunity to negotiate a time that better fits your timing when others come asking you to invest in solving their challenge using your time.

Don’t treat all tasks equally, prioritize and determine how much time it will take you on the important ones. Build them into your schedule and calendar.

The path to better time management through deaccumulation requires a mindset shift similar to overcoming hoarding tendencies. It involves recognizing that less truly can be more when it comes to both possessions and commitments. By understanding the parallel between physical hoarding and time clutter, we can apply similar intervention strategies to both challenges.

The key is to view deaccumulation not as deprivation but as liberation. Every item or commitment we release frees up not just physical space but mental bandwidth and time – our most valuable and non-renewable resource. By consciously choosing what we keep in our lives, both physically and temporally, we create space for what truly matters and regain control over our time and attention.

David Buck is the author of the book The Time-Optimized Life, coauthor of The Retirement Collective, and owner of Kairos (Time) Management Solutions, LLC. Learn how to apply the concepts of proactively planning and using your time. Take the Time Management Analysis (TMA), the Retirement Time Analysis (RTA), or all the other free resources offered to help bring more quality time into your life.

The post Improving Time Through a Deaccumulation Mindset first appeared on Infinity Lifestyle Design.

David Buck Time Strategist

In 35+ years of business development, David developed a strong awareness of what it took for people to be productive and efficient, not just busy. He also personally sought to gain a balance of having a successful career along with the ability to pursue a meaningful personal life.

That led David to start Kairos Management Solutions, focusing all his attention to guide business professionals who struggle with a lack of flexibility in their life to gain more quality personal time. David helps others craft a strategy around their current management of time, and then define a lifestyle of intention, ease, and joy.

In 2024, David released two books, the first being The Time Optimized Life. The book reframes the reactive nature of time management and replaces it with a proactive method of time optimization. In addition, he co-authored The Retirement Collective, where he highlights and provides solutions for how to maximize the use of time for people in post-career life.