A Feng Shui Tip from E. J. Shaffert – Director, London School of Feng Shui
Now that we are stepping into August, you may want to get your home set for autumn, and apply Feng Shui to improve flow and calm.
At first glance, you may be noticing the accumulation of clutter from summer and wondering, “Where do I start?”
For this Feng Shui tip, I am going to rely on a colleague named Wikipedia to explain it.
Years, ago, I had heard of a business principle, that seemed to make a lot of sense to me. It is called “The Pareto Principle”
According to Wikipedia:
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.
Business-management consultant Joseph M. Juran suggested the principle and named it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.
Interesting idea, huh? Well, here are some more references to how this might show up:
According to Wikipedia:
- 80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of its customers
- 80% of a company’s complaints come from 20% of its customers
- 80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of the time its staff spend
- 80% of a company’s sales come from 20% of its products
- 80% of a company’s sales are made by 20% of its sales staff
Therefore, many businesses have an easy access to dramatic improvements in profitability by focusing on the most effective areas and eliminating, ignoring, automating, delegating or retraining the rest, as appropriate.”
So, how does this apply to our experience of clutter?
Well, for me, the reason that clutter can seem so pernicious is that it feels overwhelming.
My first question “Where do I start?” is usually followed by a feeling of dread and wanting to run the other direction (which I used to do a lot!).
So, I have learned to apply The Pareto Principle to clutter in the home and office. I note to myself the concept that 80% of the benefit of cleaning things up will probably come from doing just 20% of the work, so I then define which I think will be the most beneficial area (the prime 20%) to handle.
And it is amazing! After only 10 – 15 minutes of focus on that most impactful area, the whole room can feel a lot better.
I have even made of game of it, and set the timer for 20 minutes, so I have just that small bit of time to attack the designated 20% of the clutter problem.
I have accepted this fact: Clutter is probably inevitable. So best to have a strategy that is fun, impactful, and efficient to get it handled.
Try it, and see what your 20% can do for you!
For more information about the Power of Feng Shui, and how to maximise this in your life:
Join us for an upcoming Online Feng Shui Taster –
We have 2 online workshops coming up at the end of this month!
Online Taster Workshops: Sunday 23 August and Saturday 29 August
Here the link for more information – See you there!