TCFBO #023: Does it Spark Joy?

Read Time: 3.5 minutes

Several years ago, we read Marie Kondo’s best-selling book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying”.

In it the author takes the reader step by step through her process to declutter and organise their home.

But there are several principles in her decluttering process that can easily be applied to your business.

Because, much like our homes, our businesses can get cluttered with stuff that no longer serve the business or its customers.

Things such as unnecessary processes, outdated practices, and obsolete products.

So here are three key principles from the book to help you think about your business in a different light.

Principle 1: “Does It Spark Joy?”

When deciding whether to keep a physical item, Marie proposes that you hold the item and ask yourself the question “Does it spark joy?”

Now, we’re not saying that holding a sheet of paper containing a process for your business is necessarily going to light your heart up.

But does that process spark joy?

Is it something that is easy to follow?

Or is it a process your team dread because it’s overly complex and often results in a dissatisfied customer?

What about your marketing strategy?

Does it spark joy in your customer’s minds?

Do you feel passionate about implementing it?

Is it creative, innovative, and reflective of you as a business?

Or is it marketing by the numbers, following tired formulas that just aren’t working the way you’d love them to work?

It's too easy to become entrenched in the "we've always done it this way" mindset.

So challenge yourself to identify and focus on areas of your business that genuinely spark joy and start to eliminate the things that are sucking the joy out of your business.

Which leads us onto…

Principle 2: “Discard First”

Before reorganizing, Marie Kondo advises to discard first.

In other words, clear out the unnecessary to make space for what truly matters.

In your business, this could mean letting go of old systems.

Or ditching strategies that aren’t giving you the results you anticipated.

Or re-evaluating partnerships that are no longer beneficial.

It's all too common for businesses to keep adding more and more.

More strategies

More products and services.

More processes.

But if you’re not taking stock and discarding what's no longer working you could find yourself creating more and more things that simply waste your time, money and energy.

Whereas, if you take the time to evaluate and discard what’s no longer working, your business will be able to operate more efficiently.

Plus you’ll be able to prioritise strategies and services that truly add value to both you and your customers.

You can also apply the “Discard First” principle (in conjunction with the “Does It Spark Joy?” principle) to the things we do as business owners on a day-to-day basis.

Before taking on another task, project or area of responsibility, take a look at what you can safely discard.

Is there something you’re doing that no longer sparks joy (or maybe never has) that you can pass on to another member of your team who would enjoy it?

Or can you ditch it completely to free up your time and business resources, allowing you to focus on something of greater value?

Whichever way you do it, discarding will ensure you don’t end up being busy for the sake of being busy.

Principle 3: “Tidy By Category, Not Location”

One of the most striking points in Marie’s method is her advice to tidy by category and not by location.

So, instead of tidying the kitchen, the bedroom or the lounge, you tidy your clothes, books, paperwork etc no matter where they are in the house.

This involves gathering all items into one place before going through the “Does It Spark Joy?” and “Discard First” principles.

And this allows you to see just how much stuff in a particular category you have and maybe if there are any unnecessary duplications.

When you apply this to your business, instead of looking at departments as isolated areas, you end up evaluating your business functions and processes by category.

For example, instead of looking separately at sales, marketing, and customer service, you could create a category of “customer journey”, then review all aspects of the entire customer journey from attraction to after sales customer service all under that one category.

By doing so, you’re likely to uncover inefficiencies, areas where effort is being duplicated or gaps that might not be so apparent if you were to look at each business area individually.

Whether it's re-evaluating processes that no longer serve their purpose, discarding outdated practices, or taking a category-based approach to evaluate your business, Marie Kondo's principles could be the refresh your business needs.

So don’t wait for Spring to start cleaning.

Start bringing the joy back into your business today.

Let us know how you get on and we’ll see you next week.

Paul & Philly

P.S. When we used Marie’s process to declutter our own home, one of the first things we slimmed down was our collection of books.

We only kept books that sparked joy at the thought of reading them or the thought of having them on the bookshelf to re-read or refer to again.

Marie’s book made the cut.

Whenever you’re ready, there are two ways we can help you:

1. Discover how to create a life and business you truly love with your copy of “Backwards Planning - A Simple Method to Move You and Your Business Forward” from Amazon.

2. To work with us through the entire “Backwards Planning” process outlined in the book, you can apply to join The Clear Focus Business Academy.

The first step is to book a facilitated Life Vision Session which we conduct one to one over Zoom. This session will not only give you clarity on what you want from your life but will give you the opportunity to experience how we work and ensure we're a good fit for each other before deciding whether The Clear Focus Business Academy is right for you. It comes with a 100% money back guarantee, so if you're not entirely satisfied, simply let us know at the end of the session and we'll issue a full refund.