Free up creative space by decluttering first

Finding it difficult to get into a groove creatively?

Declutter your life and open up the mental space to roam free.

I recently made the decision to spend more time making friends on LinkedIn and engaging friends I already had but haven’t talked to in a long while.

It was a long time coming and a necessary step in the growth of my business. 

It took a while to dive in because I often found myself procrastinating and simply avoiding the task. 

Why?

My inbox was filled to the brim. I had thousands of connections that no longer served me and that was jamming my feed with irrelevant content.

So, what did I do to focus?

I grabbed my rubber gloves, got out the cleaning spray from under the kitchen sink, found my feather duster and went to work decluttering the mess I’ve made over the past 9 years on the platform. 

I slashed and burned about 3500 connections with people that fell far out of the range of those I currently serve, mostly television production folks that I harassed for jobs years ago.

Once upon a time, these people were my audience. But that time has long since past, but their shadow loomed large on my profile. That needed to change.

Next, my LinkedIn inbox needed some serious time and attention. 

Long story short, it was a dumpster fire with thousands of emails from people that I couldn’t even tell you what they did for a living. 

And my intro emails to them - oh boy, that was painful to relive - but I purposely checked them out as a reminder of exactly NOT what to say when introducing yourself to someone for the first time. 

Even though I pushed all those emails firmly into the dust pan, that still left a ton of relevant messages in the inbox, which still felt completely overwhelming. 

That’s when I looked into the LinkedIn Inbox system a little more and discovered the archive function. 

Oh wow, you mean they all don’t need to be in the active inbox at once? Awesome!

So, I spent time archiving all of the emails and got the inbox to zero for the first time since the first day I opened up the damn account. 

After spending the better part of 2 days sorting out my LinkedIn profile, I felt lighter. I also felt more in control of my experience on the platform. 

And now, I’m ready to make more friends. 

I feel more open and ready to have conversations with folks that are interested in chatting with me so we can figure out how to help support each other’s businesses. 

With a cleaner inbox, I now can keep an easier track of the conversations I’m having, and if we decide now is not the right time to collaborate, no problem - I archive the conversation and keep tabs on them and what they’re up to through my timeline. 

I can also scroll through the archive list and reconsider igniting the conversation with someone whose respect I work, or needs the help I provide.

The best place to start a new approach is by wiping the slate clean and zero’ing everything out. 

Cut out the baggage and that will allow you to visualize more clearly on where you are, and where you want to go, and with whom. 

It’s magical when you do, :)

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