Recently, during a business coaching session I was telling my coach all the things I had on my agenda: recent projects, upcoming projects, networking events I was going to attend, exercising, reading, oh and in between all the day-to-day activities and chores I was going to find time to implement my new marketing strategy! After I finished, she took a moment to soak everything in and responded: “It sounds like you have a lot of great things going on but what are you planning on giving up in order to take on your new responsibilities?” Her question hit me like a ton of bricks. Give up? Why must I give something up? Can’t I just add hours to the day? Obviously it was something I hadn’t thought of.

Her question was valid. Why did I think I could fit something else into my already hectic schedule? So, I sat down and thought long and hard about what I was going to do. I can’t give up charity work – I enjoy it too much. I can’t give up some of my long-term clients – they’ve been so great to me. Stop exercising? Not good for my health and it’s pretty much the only de-stressor I have right now. What’s a girl to do? Hummm…

The “what will you give up” principal is a great one that you don’t need to only apply in your business life. For example, this weekend I was cleaning out my closet – a task WAYYY over due. I had recently bought a few t-shirts and when I went to place them in my designated “t-shirt drawer” I noticed I could barely open it. (Anyone feel my pain?). It’s not that I loved all the t-shirts in the drawer, I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of anything because I “might wear it one day” or “so and so gave it to me, I can’t possibly get rid of it.” Thinking back to my coaching session I decided to apply the “what will you give up” principle to my closet cleaning. If there was something I needed – a new suit, a new pair of black heels, or a casual weekend dress – I was going to have to give up at least one or two pieces in order to make room for it. As hard as it was to get started, I realized the more I thought about the concept, the easier it became. Suddenly that pair of red shoes that I only had because they were “comfortable” was put in the “give away” pile and the pretty pink shirt that’s just a little too short was tossed along with them. It was liberating! Heck, if I missed really missed them after they left the house, I could always go out and buy something similar right?

So, now if I can only apply my closet cleaning concept to my business life I’d be on cloud 9. I’m not sure why it’s more difficult to clean up my business tasks (maybe that’s another topic for discussion) but it’s something I’m going to work on. So, my question to you peeps is: Do you follow this concept? If so, do you have any tips or advice you might be able to pass along? Is it liberating to let something go or does it make you feel guilty? Should I/we take baby steps or just start tossing and not look back?

Any advice would be appreciated! I’m sure there are many of us in the same boat. So comment below! We are looking forward to hearing from you.

PS: Not only did cleaning out my closet help me “give something up,” it also allowed me to help out a good cause. If you decide you need to clean out your closet, we encourage you to donate all your old business clothes and accessories to Dress for Success. Please also consider donating your casual clothes and accessories to The Alpha House. These are a couple of charities that biz-e-chicks has supported in the past but we know there are more out there that are in need. If you know a charity that could use donations, please feel free to comment below.