Leonard Cohen 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.'

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

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

Keep out of your mind, and out of your office, and out of your world, every element that seeks admittance with no definite, helpful, useful end in view.

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 often find that having an idea in my head prevents me from doing something else. Working is therefore a way of getting rid of an idea.

Quite a few books about decluttering are published in a year.

I love cunning containers as much as anyone, but I've found that if I get rid of everything I don't need, I often don't need a container at all.

Your mind, which is yourself, can be likened to a house. The first necessary move then, is to rid that house of all but furnishings essential to success.

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.

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.

The uncluttered life is the key to a good memory.

Sometimes it's better to not read too much, to not listen to everybody.

Cluttered closets mean a cluttered mind.

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.

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. This system has just worked for me, even though I've had to sweat over every word. It's just my style.

Once you learn to choose your belongings properly, you will be left with only the amount that fits perfectly in the space you own.

There are plenty of people out there talking about how difficult it is for some of us to just deal with all the stuff we already have, from packed closets that need organizers to storage spaces to maintenance costs, etc. Lots of people are reevaluating whether or not they need giant garages full of stuff and finding that they don't.

If a cluttered desk is the sign of a cluttered mind, what is the significance of a clean desk?

I'm a big believer in minimalism. Not materialist minimalism, although that's part of it, but time and energy minimalism. The body is given only so much energy a day.

Writing is challenging work because it's so easy to get consumed with how it's going, what's going to happen to it, who's going to like or not like it. You want to get all of that stuff out of your head and just let the work flow.

The more I examine the issue of clutter, the more effort I put into combating it, because it really does act as a weight.

Every minute you spend looking through clutter, wondering where you put this or that, being unable to focus because you're not organized costs you: time you could have spent with family or friends, time you could have been productive around the house, time you could have been making money.

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 get such a buzz out of cleaning closets.