5 Minute Facts - Kill the Clutter

This is episode 234 of the Empowered Team podcast. Welcome to the Empowered Team podcast where we explore how to optimize your performance in career, sport and life. And now your host, executive coach and life strategist, Kari Schneider. Welcome. Welcome to Performance Power. This is our monthly topic where we go into the research based five minute facts. And then we take all of your questions, all your questions on health, performance, training, injury, nutrition, whatever matters to you in your performance. And I will endeavor to answer the question live. And if I can't, I will bring it up as a new topic because I'll do the research for you. So today's topic is all about clutter. Letter. Clutter. Clutter. What is that? Clutter. It's that build up of all this stuff. And because we as humans, we build up so much of the stuff, a lot of research has been done on it. So I'm going to bring this down into 5 minute facts and give you the facts on the research in five minutes. I usually don't make it under five minutes. I can say that right now, but we're going to try to do it. We're going to try to do the five minutes. So number one fact on clutter in our lives is we end up with increased stress levels. Ideally, we like to live in a home where we can de stress, we can relax, we can rejuvenate. However, when we have a whole bunch of clutter, we find it hard to do that. In fact, one study found that women reported that more clutter in their homes increased their stress levels to that that were very much higher than men. So their male counterparts didn't have as much cortisol with that clutter in the home, but the women did. The women had much greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day compared to women who had less clutter. All right, that's fact number one. Fact number two, difficulty focusing. So if you got a lot of clutter in your home, chances are can be really distracting. So our brains can really only focus on a very limited amount at any given time. The stimuli that's coming in, we have to filter out other things. So if you're surrounded by clutter when you're trying to work from home, then the clutter actually makes it harder to think clearly. So that's fact number two. All right, Fact number three has to do with procrastination. I don't think any of us as high performers want to be procrastinators. However, research shows that people with cluttered homes tend to Procrastinate on important tasks. So for instance, you might have to dig through stacks of paper in order to get to the bill that you want to pay. Or there may be so many piles of dirty clothes that you can't find what you want to wear. Now, even more important tasks, the clutter can be within our computers. Multiple computer files end up having us not take the action that we want to take right away because we become distracted by some of the clutter that's within our screen, within our workspace, within our home. So that's fact number three is procrastination. These sound a little doom and gloom. I promise I always will bring you something positive that will give you a tool that can help you towards the end. All right. Number four, difficulty in relationships. Who would have thought? But when you think about it, you can see that difficulty in relationships can come for spouses, partners, even roommates. They end up arguing on whose is what, what to do, who has to do what. So ultimately, when the things are taking up too much space, it causes problems in relationships. It actually takes up space space within the energy of the relationship. So it adds strain, especially if one partner finds the annoy the other cl other person's clutter annoying and annoying to live with. The other factor that happens with relationships is that when a a home is very cluttered, a lot of people feel almost shameful when inviting others over. So they won't invite other people over because they don't want to expose the clutter in their home. So it ends up having a greater challeng in the relationship. So that's fact number four and fact number five. Studies find that a cluttered environment impairs impulse control. So if there's a cluttered environment, we don't have as much control on impulses. It ends up coming from an out of control mindset. So it triggers the participants in these studies to engage in unhealthy eating behaviors. So the research suggests that it can be more difficult to control your impulses when you end your mental health, when your environment around you is stressful, cluttered or feels chaotic. So that's what this particular research study found. So I'm going to summarize those five and then give all of us a little hope and a couple of tools to help with this scenario. Increased stress levels, difficulty focusing, increased procrastination, difficulty in relationships, and challenge with impulse control. Those are the five minute facts on what clutter does to us. Now ultimately what I'm describing is a lower quality of life that clutter is causing it leads to a nearly constant feeling of frustration as we all struggle completing our daily tasks or finding what we need or not getting distracted by all the other things. However, there's this little simple rule, and it's called the 2020 rule. And it can be done so easy with anything around us. And this is the rule. If there's anything that we want to get rid of that we're hanging on to, just in case we want to have that extra 10 post it notes, just in case, if there's anything that we truly need, we can replace it for less than $20 in less than 20 minutes from our current location. So if that thing that we think we're keeping because we might need it, just in case, use the 2020 rule. Get rid of it. If you know that you can replace it with 20 bucks within 20 minutes from your current location. Easy peasy. Done and done. And the next one is called the 121212 rule. And what happens with 121212 is that you locate 12 items to get rid of. Maybe it's in your fridge, maybe it's the junk room or junk drawer, or maybe it's in your child's room or your room. But 12 things that you want to throw away, 12 things to donate, and 12 things to be returned to their proper home. Everything has a home. So that is an easy, easy trick, an easy tool to be able to declutter. 12, 1212 and the 2020 rule. Okay, before we dive into any of your personal questions on fitness, health, nutrition, injury, ask anything that's relevant to the clutter. So for you, I'm going to pose the question to you first. What's the one area that you wish was completely decluttered? What's that one area? Pop it in the chat or unmute yourself. The one area that you wish was completely decluttered? Is it the junk drawer? Is it the fridge? Is it the garage? Is it the closet? The hallway? The hallway. What goes in a hallway? Is it a front entryway? The hallway, as it has the most traffic and therefore has the most impact on mindset. Powerful. Okay, so the hallway, because it has the most traffic and impacts the mindset, is this hallway leading into the home? Yes. 300 pairs of kids, shoes, roller skates, hats, coats, mail, and more and more and more. So as soon as you walk in the home or as soon as you leave the home, you are bombarded with the stuff that is going to your brain and saying, here I am, deal with me. Here I am. Deal with me. That's powerful. Okay. And Paul Says that in general, because we moved last year, most areas are in a decent spot. And it's more that we need to stay on top of the clutter building. Yes. So right now we have unpacking to do from traveling. Exactly. And. And the entryway for the garage could use some work upstairs, downstairs. Can't walk through the house without using it. The hall closet as well. Okay, so this is where those 12, 1212 rules or the 2020 rule will become very powerful. And chances are it might just take 20 minutes of deciding whether those 300 pair of shoes still fit those small feet. And that might do a big wonder right there. Okay, any other questions on decluttering? If not, we're going to move on to injury, fitness, health, nutrition, Any of the things that you. Optimal performance. What do you got? Questions, Questions, bring them in. Otherwise we go to questions that have been previously submitted. Okay, what was the 121212 thing? The 121212 for decluttering was get rid of 12 throwaways. So get rid of them. Throw them in the garbage. Completely get rid of them. 12 things to donate and 12 to find their home, because chances are they don't have a home or they're not properly organized. So it's 12 things to actually throw away, 12 things to give away, and 12 things to designate a home where they can be optimally used. That's the 12, 12, 12. And the 2020 was 20 minutes from home. You can repurchase that very thing for less than $20. So don't keep the crap that you don't use. Get rid of it. All right. Okay. What are the other questions? Health, mindset, performance. What do you got? You got injuries. You have nutrition questions. What are the things that are burning for you personally that we can address right here and now that normally would be a hefty consulting price. What do you got? Nobody has a question for your health or your performance. Oh, I know you do. Unmute yourself if you're not. If you're not shy. Oh, here they come. All right, 50% torn tendon. Got braces, got exercises and a brace. What else? What tendon? Where on your body? Elbow. Elbow tendon. How is it done? How is it torn? Don't know. Okay, okay. So that could have been a long term thing that was building up that the. The easiest answer and the easiest thing for you to follow. And everyone can. Can follow this. And the MRI says it's an old injury, so it's probably been torn over time and is using pain as your guide. And chances are in these Scenarios we tend to work through. It's like, oh, it just hurts a little bit. I'll keep going. It just hurts a little bit. I'll keep going. That is one of the scenarios that keep it inflamed and keep it aggravated and can actually cause greater problems like a greater tear or pulling from the bone, which ends up, meaning you end up getting bone spurs. So that's the kind of thing that you can use pain as your guide. However, it, if it is at the. I'm looking at your arm. You said you pointed to an area. I'm looking at the lateral epicondyle. The lateral epicondyle is a common attachment spot for wrist extensors. So you have wrist extensors, they're doing this action that is the common attachment. One of the things you can do is called a chopat. And all that means is that you put a band around your arm, right around that spot. And all it does biomechanically is it changes the main pressure point from where the attachment is. Now, I could be wrong, and your MRI and your physician are going to know more. But if, if the attachment, if it's from the attachment spot and that's the main tear, then if you put a little strap that has a bit of pressure and a physiotherapist will know exactly what this strap is, then it can put some pressure on a different attach a different spot before the attach and help you not have as much pain and allow the spot that has pain to decrease in inflammation and be able to heal. So the physiotherapy, they're going to give you the exercise, but some of those exercises might still be painful, but sometimes that strap can just help in some of the most problematic movements so that the pressure isn't coming always on that one attachment spot on the lateral epicondyle. So I threw out a lot of terms that may sound foreign, but that strap, a physiotherapist would know exactly what that is. It wouldn't be used all of the time. It would just be used at those times where you might need it the most, when you're most active through your hand and wrist. Because when you're active through your hand and wrist, that's when it puts a lot of the work down on the attachment for the wrist extensors. And, and lastly, you know, you've got a lot of movement through there. Just some, some gentle massaging through there through the tight areas can help also release some of the tightness that are causing some extra pull on the tendon. I know that's a lot of information, but I hope that makes some sense. And I think that gives you a step that can support the healing and the function for that particular injury. Okay, Another question. Go ahead. You can unmute yourself if you'd like.

Of course. So it's. Thank you. Because you said, oh. And I'm like, yeah. So I. A couple of weeks ago, I don't know. I don't know when I did it and how I did it, but I went to pick up Sam the other night and my. The pain just. I just literally dropped him. Fortunately, I was picking him out of a bed, so I dropped him on the bed. It. It's between there and there.

Okay.

I think it. I think it's my bicep, but the bit that's hurting, the bit that feels stiff is the tendons or the ligaments or the. Something actually below the elbow. But I think the bicep is the problem. It doesn't hurt when it's. When I'm like that. It doesn't hurt when I'm like that. But if I was to try and drag a 1 kilo weight with my arm half flexed, it's agony.

So there's a very specific movement with a muscle called the biceps brachii. And what it means is that when you're doing that bicep curl, but you're also doing what's called supinating, which means putting your palm up. When you were picking him up. Was it. Was it bringing your palm up specifically?

Yeah, he'd have been lying in my bed when. When I went to bed, I'd have reached down to do that to get him onto. So I could take him to his bed. So it'd be exactly that. And it's from. I can actually feel it's from there to there.

Yeah.

After there, it's fine. It's that first bit, 20 of it.

I would. I'm going to suggest there's just two key muscles in that area with that. That elbow area, and one is biceps brachii, and the other one's brachioradialis. And I would suggest that one of those two likely biceps brachii, because it may have been just a subtle movement of supinating, which means putting the palm up while you're using your elbow, bicep curling while you're picking him up. That probably did a little. We strain in that. In that movement. You might have been cold, he might have wiggled, just done a little unexpected movement. And unfortunately, as we are older than 35, then our tendons are not as pliable and stretchy as they used to be, so they end up being a little more likely to have a strain. So, so the, I mean, the thing you're going to do if it's achy, ice it. But ultimately that one, if it was an acute mechanism, by picking him up, you're just going to wait until it's calmer, you're going to travel, you're not going to see him for a bit next time you pick him up. By then, I would guess that it's probably going to be better by then, but in the meantime, those types of things.

I can't currently like, carry a cup of tea.

Yes. Okay.

It's the, the no weight bearing.

Yeah. If it's at all engaged and typing, that kind of thing, opening a door, what else functions that's fine.

Yeah, it's literally as soon as there's any weight on that.

Yeah. So your timeline and this happened how long ago?

I think it happened when I was last in the States and then it became. I became acutely aware of it when I picked up Sam last week.

Okay, so it's been how long, how many weeks?

Four, three. Four.

Okay, so. And is it getting better? Staying same, better, worse, staying the same, staying the same. Okay. Usually that timeline and staying the same are two key clues that I use to go, okay, usually a soft tissue injury is going to be getting better, better, better over that kind of timeline, four weeks, you're going to notice that it's slightly better, more better, more better. And then you're going to feel, you're going to feel like it's almost fully completely healed. That's usually how a soft tissue injury acts when it's lingering and feels about the same and very intense that way. That's where it can often be something like either a tenness attachment or, or it can be some of the connective tissue in between because it's not healing as quickly. And tendons, ligaments, connective tissue don't have as much of a blood supply as muscle tissue. So if it's muscle tissue, it's usually a pretty clear, oh, there's some swelling. It gets better, better, better over time. It's got lots of blood flow. But when it's something like a tendon or a ligament or connective tissue, they don't have as much blood flow, so they usually linger a whole lot longer. So if it's still lingering in another four weeks, you travel for a bit, you're going to know if it's still exactly the same that's when you would want to see. Okay, is there something I'm missing? Was there some sort of little rupture somewhere or something that needs more attention? So if it's really sharp and just as bad in another couple weeks because you're about to travel, then that's where you've got to go. Okay, give me an mri, let me see what else is going on, and go into the painful process of the system.

Perfect. Thank you.

Yeah, no problem. Okay, let's take one or two more questions. Health, food, exercise, training. What do you got? Bring it. Bring it. Okay, so here's a question. If you don't have a question right here. How many of you add sugar to your coffee? Sugar to your coffee? Two No's. One. Yes. Okay, how many of you.

I'm gonna assume you're including tea in the question.

Tea and coffee? Yes. Okay. Alenis says no. All right. Okay, this is good. This is good. How many of you add any sort of sweet or sweet thing after your lunch? So some sort of sweet thing after lunch? No. Sometimes. Okay, we've got some. Sometimes, rarely. Okay, how many of you add some sort of sweet thing after dinner? After dinner. So it could be a dessert, could be just a bite of a chocolate, could be something like that? Yeah. No. Okay, Rarely. How about sometime in the evening? Some sort of sweet. Ben, Sometimes or no? Okay. Okay, this is key. This is interesting. Okay, so how many of you avoid gluten? Okay, Elena's avoiding gluten as of today. I'm avoiding gluten for as long as it takes to deal with an illness that I have, and it is far more challenging than I expected. Okay, how many of you limit the amount of nuts, seeds, or legumes? Anybody limit nuts, seeds, or legumes? Okay, Elena eats those a lot. So do I. I eat a lot of seeds. I. I make granola with seeds and nuts. I cashews and almonds. Every single day. I use nuts in my baking, seeds in my baking, all of those things. So on the type of plan that I have to follow for the type of autoimmune disease that I've been diagn with, I have to cut out all beans, all seeds, all nuts, all dairy, all eggs, all anything dairy, butter, you name it. All flour, all gluten and grains. So what's left? That's the question. What's left? So even potatoes are out, red peppers are out, tomatoes are out. Now just consider this for a second in how we tend to eat. However, what I've learned is that there are A lot of foods that are contributing to the inflammation that I have with the autoimmune issue that I've been diagnosed with, and really giving it. Giving my body the best shot at decreasing all of the inflammation, including rheumatoid inflammation, thyroid inflammation, all of those things, then. Then the inflammation goes down. So Elena says, I have a similar diet to you after testing for food sensitivity. So it's limited. A pool of foods. And the concept is, is that once the inflammation down is down, then it's more likely that you can reintroduce some things. However, for people who are getting inflammation from gluten and certain foods, that they may be limited or excluded for a very, very long. A long time. And Peter suggests we live in this space due to Liz's allergy to nightshades. And nightshades can be very. A very big contributor to inflammation. So nightshades, it's an unusual one because they are the things we associate with as being very, very healthy. So potatoes, peppers, red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, some foods that are seemingly healthy and fantastic. And ultimately they are for a lot of people and for some people, especially those who have a genetic marker for specific autoimmune disorders, so rheumatoid would be one of them. Then they can be very problematic. However, a lot of people can reintroduce them or have issue, have success with them at another time when all that inflammation and the symptoms are down. So these are interesting things that are becoming more and more prevalent in our time because of the modification of the foods, because of the massive impact the type of gluten that we now consume has, which wasn't the same 200, 100 years ago. Were you going to say something?

Yeah, I was just gonna. Something for you to look into. A friend of mine a while back was a baker, and I haven't proven this, disproven it, researched it, but it was a very interesting perspective. He said that the majority of people that think they have a gluten allergy do not have a gluten allergy. Problem being the commercial bakery will prove their bread around six to eight hours, which means that the yeast is still active when it's. When you're consuming it. Whereas a small batch or a craft bakery will prove their bread for up to 48 hours. So by the time you eat craft bread, for better words, all of the stuff that you would react to has been worked through the process. So it's just a very interesting. I'm not saying, obviously your condition at the moment is very specific, but for most people, like most people do not have a gluten allergy. They have an allergy. Commercial crap.

Yes.

That they eat on a regular basis.

And that's where a lot of people. So a gluten allergy is a very, very rare thing. And that would be a celiac disease kind of scenario. And what you're describing is absolutely true. And also the strains and the varieties of wheat that are used in Europe are very different than the strains and the modified varieties of wheat and other grains that are used in North Americ. And that is a big, big contributor as well, in that people end up being impacted by a much more substantial form of gluten impact with what most North American diets are consuming. And personally, I don't eat a lot of breads. I don't eat a lot of. I eat very little. But for those who are having inflammation from it, it doesn't matter how much of it is, it's any exposure to it. So it can be a very challenging.

Yeah, sorry, Liz. With the nightshades. Tomatoes are a nightshade as well. So seasoning powder in a burger. So literally a three grains of it is enough for. For one occasion for me to have to take us to the emergency room.

Yes.

And because it's not a stated recognized allergen like soy or peanuts, whatever, it can be anywhere. So I just. Yeah, it's just literally the smallest amount of it and your body goes.

It sneaks in everywhere. Yeah. So it can be just as as detrimental as poison for many, many people. So that's, that's really powerful. Okay everyone, we're going to be very aware of all of our time and I am very grateful for you for bringing your questions. Next month we will have a new topic for our 5 minute facts and bring in your questions. It can be on anything related to training, injury, all of the things. Although we work mostly with businesses and high performance leaders, we know that this side of of health, wellness, it is so critical for performance. So keep performing your best, keep taking back great care of yourselves and have a beautiful rest of your day. Bye everyone. If you enjoy listening to the Empowered Team podcast, you'll love being on the Empowered Team. The Empowered Team is our group coaching and accountability program where we provide the tools, skills and community for you to grow your self mastery as a leader and optimize your results alongside other leaders. The Empowered Team runs year round to learn more about our leadership consulting for business and our Empowered Team group coaching. Head to www.theempowered.ca empowered learn more that's www empowered. Learn. More. We can't wait for you to join us. Let's go.