What's in Your Wallet?

I can’t think of a worse combination than a rainstorm, rush hour, and Boston drivers. Even so, that little combo is exactly what flummoxed me the other day. It’s not that I don’t enjoy getting caught up on the latest bumper stickers. “Honk if you want to see my finger” may have been my fave. It’s just that after 2 1/2 hours of inching along, my nerves were shot, my eyes were tired, and the left side of my ample backside was sore.

When I finally arrived at my destination, I still had a Sleeping Booty. I reached back and immediately realized what had happened. I had spent my quality morning drive time sitting on an oversized wallet. Unfortunately, it wasn’t bulging with Benjamins. It was simply filled with gobs of stuff I had accumulated over the years.

Later that day, I hefted the leathery lump onto my desk. It towered some 3 inches high. I couldn’t just turn the other cheek. It was time to act.

I began sorting my wallet’s contents into three separate piles:

1. Keep. These were the essentials I didn’t want to leave home without. Examples: Driver’s license, ATM card, photo of Martha Quinn.
2. Hold. These were important items, but ones I didn’t need every day. Breaking these out on occasion would be fine. Examples: Credit card, frequent flyer cards, foreign currency, stamps.
3. Toss. These were items that had long since outlived their usefulness. Old receipts, a sandwich punch card from a restaurant that had gone out of business two years ago, photo of Nina Blackwood.

This purging process got me thinking about how easy it is for us to unconsciously accumulate needless things over the years. Lately, I’ve been thinking about time and how there never seems to be enough of it. Could I examine my regular habits and time expenditures in light of these same three buckets?

Indeed. A few quick findings from my life:

1. Keep. Exercising - I’ve been working out fairly regularly, and it feels great. I definitely want to continue to make time for heart and health.
2. Hold. Thinking about the future - I’m naturally wired to have a future orientation, but I’m also prone to spending too much time on what might be (good and bad). Better to spend a smaller amount of time dreaming and planning while maximizing the amount of time I spend in the here and now.
3. Toss. Frivolous web browsing - I find that the web’s greatest power – the hyperlink – is also its biggest pitfall. I’m too-easily distracted by a catchy photo or headline. These often lead me on a series of trivial pursuits. Trivial Pursuit, of course, having been created in 1979 in Montreal, Canada. (Damn!)

Carrying excess items in my wallet and in my daily routine both led to a minor pain in my butt. Fortunately, I found that a few minutes of reflection and a willingness to let go have restored a bit of order. Now my wallet is a bit leaner and meaner, and I’m more focused and effective as well. I just hope the changes I made last longer than my photo of Downtown Julie Brown.

Try it for yourself and see if you have similar results. Go ahead and reach for your wallet, handbag, or murse. You might be surprised what’s in there. I urge you to press on and do the work of thinking about other parts of your life and where you can toss things that are simply unnecessary.

You and I have big plans, so we have to travel light in order to reach our destination.

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Make a habit of tossing outdated behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes that aren’t consistent with the life you now want.