Making Time to Clean Up

National CleanUp Day is an annual event celebrated every third Saturday in September. It’s an entire 24 hours devoted to taking care of our world by picking up trash and preventing plastic from destroying our planet. It’s garnered a lot of attention over the years with events all over the country. As a company, KHM Travel Group has hosted our own National CleanUp Day activities in local parks near our Corporate Office as part of our KHM Cares committee.

I was happy to join the crew a few weeks back to assist in cleaning up our corner of the world. As we walked the winding trails, we didn’t come across heaping piles of trash or litter thrown all over. In fact, it was remarkable how clean the park already was. But as we looked closer, we started to notice little problems here and there. With our garbage bags in hand, we were able to pick up those small pieces of trash. After a while, we accumulated enough to call our efforts a success.

What we experienced that Saturday in the park is a lot like some of the business and communication challenges we face. On the surface, there aren’t glaringly huge problems that stop us from getting our work done every day. From the outside perspective, sales are up, and things are going smoothly. At most, we may run into annoyances in our conversations and to-do lists. When faced with those issues, we can easily step over them and continue with our day … just like those people who littered or walked past the trash did before our clean up.

It’s easy to feel like things are going great when your path is free of large obstacles. But what about those smaller pieces of trash that we come across? If we just leave them there, eventually those little problems combine into bigger issues. As time goes on, they can build up and impact more people.

What I’d suggest for you to do is pause and take care of the little things here and there that need to be picked up. Whether it’s responding to an email that you’ve avoided in your inbox or finally making much-needed updates to your website, don’t discount the power that the “little” things can hold. You may have to dig a little deeper to see them, but once you do, you’ll be glad you didn’t leave them behind for the next person to find.

We recently had a meeting with our leadership team where I challenged everyone to work through—not around—opportunities and conflicts. I’d offer the same advice to you as you’re navigating your work or personal relationships. Don’t ignore the unpleasant; tackle it face on.

And just like the annual CleanUp day, take time out of your normal routine to tidy up your space—from your own backyard to your workspace to your mental state of mind. It’s amazing how much better we are when we eliminate the clutter in our lives.