Jean Chatzky Quotes

I can't focus when there's too many things around. Whenever I used to go to the office, I used to always say, 'Tidy up.'

When I was a teacher, teachers would come into my classroom and admire my desk on which lay nothing whatever, whereas theirs were heaped with papers and books.

I think a closet full of things would actually stress me out.

Nothing comes before my children. I find that putting everything else in order of importance also helps to get everything done.

If everybody knows where everything is kept you can avoid wasting time looking for things.

I hate belongings. I hate clutter. It really bothers me because I can't think properly. If you've got distractions in front of you, your mind goes nuts.

One way to organize your thoughts is to tidy up, even if it's in places where it makes no sense at all.

My mind was always very cluttered, so I took great pains to simplify my environment, because if my environment were half as cluttered as my mind, I wouldn't be able to make it from room to room.

I'm able to think more clearly when I don't have clutter and stuff around.

Most people in business and within their personal lives move towards complexity. More To Dos. More projects. More products. More meetings. More possessions. More goals. The best - I suggest to you - move in the opposite direction.

My desktop is really chaotic, and I'm always trying to work out where I am going to put all these ideas.

The obvious rule of efficiency is you don't want to spend more time organizing than it's worth.

I don't waste my time doing my head in about stupid things that don't really matter and don't waste time worrying over nothing.

I function properly, feel better, do better, look better, and treat others better when there's less clutter.

Sweep away the clutter of things that complicate our lives.

A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with-that's poverty-but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you're clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it's clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. (148)

I have this feeling that if I could sort out what's on my dining room table, everything would fall into place.

Time must be explicitly managed, like money.

Eliminate the clutter and all the things that are going on outside and focus on the things that you can control with how you sort of go about and take care of your business. That's something that's ongoing, and it can never change.

Efficiency for me is an obsession..It not only helps me get stronger but makes things simpler.

Strangely enough, I find myself more centered in chaos than in calm, and again I'm not sure whether that's a strength or says something weird about me, but I love a crisis. I'm normally very, very organized in the middle of chaos, and then when I have nothing to focus on, extremely disorganized, and I tend to waste a lot of time.

Less mess, less stress. That's my rule! If you don't stay on top of decluttering, it can get out of control. I maintain as much as possible. I'll do seasonal edits and decide what we can toss or donate. If we don't love it, need it or haven't used it in the past year, it's gone.

The way to wealth is as plain as the way to market. It depends chiefly on two words, industry and frugality: that is, waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality nothing will do, and with them everything.

I pick what are my priorities and I limit those priorities to less than five in my life and really in those particular areas put in the energy to try to make good choices.

I keep a journal/day planner, which really helps me stay organized and focused.