Watching the show may inspire you to tackle the clutter outside your home, too. Once you are trained to notice disorganization, you start to see that mess is everywhere.
Marie Kondo: get rid of anything that doesn’t spark joy
Consider the messiness in jobs: Colleagues can be sloppy, desks can get cluttered, unread emails can pile up, and disorganized management can tell you one thing and then mean another.
Even if your job does not spark joy, there are ways to apply Kondo’s methods to your career to make each day a little easier to bear.
1. Before you can do, you must visualize
Each episode of the show starts with Kondo asking her messy clients why they want to get tidy now.
Before you clear out your desk and delete your inbox, consider why you want to get organized. Do you feel like you spend more time writing emails than actually doing your job? Does looking at your to-do list stress you out? Your intentions will help you commit to actually sticking to your word.
“How do you want to feel when you walk into the office?” is a question to ask yourself, said Jenny Ning, a professional home organizer and Kondo’s first U.S.-based employee.
2. Streamline your stuff
Kondo recommends storing similar items together. To figure out what should stay, commit to intentionally discarding all paper that doesn’t have a clear purpose, suggested Kristyn Ivey, a certified KonMari consultant. She recommends three categories.
“Store paper that needs action, paper you will need for a limited period of time and paper you need to keep indefinitely,” Ivey said. “Try to organize your archives in simple, high-level categories. For example, ‘Active Projects,’ ‘Administrative’ or ‘Reference Materials.’”
This applies to digital “paper,” too. Your tidy desk does not mean your work is done if your emails are a hot mess.
3. Pay attention to your feelings about jobs
Above all, the KonMari method teaches you to notice and be honest about how you are feeling about your environment. These are emotions that may not be encouraged in an unfeeling office but are necessary to be aware of if you want to find and keep a fulfilling career.
The things that do and do not spark joy can be clues for career development, said Tricia Fidler, a certified KonMari consultant. “‘Why don’t I like this particular assignment?’ Keep asking why. These questions can lead you to areas that do spark joy,” she said.
Ning took the lessons in Kondo’s book to heart and quit her finance job to commit to her ideal vision of her life. The method taught her to confront feelings about her career head-on. “Honestly, I felt like a robot. I’m much more in tune with my feelings [now],” she said.
She advises people in joyless jobs to recognize and respond to their own emotions.
“The point is not to feel guilty about the potentially ‘wasted years,’” she said. Instead, employees can reframe that self-blame into a more positive answer: “Now I have the motivation to look for what is actually interesting.”
4. Focus on your needs first
In the first episode of the show, client Rachel comments on her husband’s beloved old shirt with, “When’s the last time you wore it?” Kondo gently reminds her to focus only on her own pile of clothing.
That’s a prioritization lesson you can apply to your own career. “One thing that is very fundamental in our method is taking care of yourself first,” Fidler said. “Many work cultures are finger-pointing. ‘It’s their fault.’ ‘It’s my boss’ fault.’ ‘I have to share a cubicle with someone I don’t want to get along with.’ Similar things happen in the home all the time.”
Fidler advises employees to focus less on the mess of their co-workers and companies, and more on actions they can actually take to feel in control of their careers. You may not be able to change your boss, but you can make adjustments to get the career you actually want.
5. Be grateful for the lessons
Inevitably, careers are filled with meetings, colleagues and jobs that do not spark joy but you still must endure. On the show, Kondo said the goal of tidying is to learn to “cherish everything that you have.” Throughout the season, she asks people to thank items they are letting go in an exercise of appreciation.
Training yourself to recognize what you have each day instead of obsessing over what you do not have can apply to jobs, too. “Even if it wasn’t a happy thing, you did have an experience with it. It might have helped you learn something about yourself, which is not always easy,” Fidler said.
Be grateful for the lessons in the tedious job under the bad manager, and that acceptance may then help you let go of your debilitating guilt, anger and regrets around those harder lessons.
6. Harness the power of stuff
The KonMari method is not about throwing away everything you own but about being aware of what you most want to keep.
In this way, your most sentimental items that survive a KonMari purge can be a source of strength for you to see when work gets hard. In her book, Kondo says a space that feels good and comfortable to be in can be a “power spot.”
Make your desk a personal power spot with cherished items. It could be a picture drawn by your kids, a trinket from a loved one or a certificate that makes you feel proud and accomplished, Fidler said. These personal power spot items can serve as a reminder that this is your world and “you have the power to make it what you want it to be,” she said.
If you only do one yoga pose after a long day at work, make it a downward-facing dog, a holistic pose that stretches and strengthens many parts of the body. To come into the pose, move into an inverted "V' shape. With hands outstretched in front and you, lift the hips and ground the feet (at about hips-width apart) into the floor. Ground all the fingers into the floor and point them forward, bring your attention to the breath as you enjoy the stretch for 30-60 seconds. "It helps you lengthen and strengthen muscles in the body," says Vidya Bielkus, certified yoga teacher and co-founder of Health Yoga Life. "It reduces tension in the shoulders, relaxes the neck, and lets a little more blood flow get to the brain. You're also able to really stretch the legs, so if you're sitting all day, the legs are getting inactive." The pose is also great for stretching out the wrists and hands, which may become sore or tired from hours of typing.
Mountain Pose (Tadasana)
Counter a long day of contracting the back with this powerful back and chest-opening posture. Come to a comfortable standing position with feet hips-width apart, bring your hands up over your head with palms facing forward and thumbs hooked as you bend gently backwards and breathe deeply. "This is a powerful pose to free up tight chest muscles," Bielkus says.
Fish Pose (Matsyasana)
Fish pose is an excellent tension reducer, and can also be therapeutic for fatigue and anxiety, according to Yoga Journal. To come into the pose, sit up on your hips with legs stretched out together in front of you and toes pointed. Bring your hands under your hips and lean back to prop yourself up on your forearms. Then, lift the chest above the shoulders and drop the head back to the ground behind you. Breathe deeply and rest in the pose for 15-30 seconds. Fish pose "releases tension in the neck, throat, and head, helps stretch the chest muscles and opens up the lungs," Bielkus says.
Standing Forward Fold (Uttanasana)
A forward bend provides a soothing feeling of release -- making the pose therapeutic for stress and anxiety -- and with the added arm bind, this standing forward bend variation provides a deep shoulder stretch as well. Stand with your feet at hips-width distance, and slowly bend forward from the hips to come into the forward bend. To take the strain off the lower back, bend the knees slightly. Then, try adding an arm bind to stretch the shoulders: Interlace your hands at the lower back and stretch the arms over your head and hands towards the ground in front of you. For those with tight shoulders, hold a belt between your hands, allowing the shoulders to get a deep but less intense stretch. "By binding the hands, you also allow the arms to stretch and tight shoulders to relax," Bielkus says. "After sitting all day, it's a great idea to turn your world upside down and bring some blood back to the brain while getting a great stretch for the legs."
Cat & Cow Pose (Marjaryasana & Bitilasana)
Cat-cow tilts can be an effective headache reliever, in addition to opening up the back and stretching the spine. Start with hands and knees on the floor in a tabletop position with a neutral spine. On the inhale, round the spine and curve up into your cat pose (pictured above). On the exhale, arch the back and lift the chest to come into a cow pose. Repeat three to five times, focusing on the breath. "It also helps bring the neck back into the position over the spine -- people tend to protrude it forward, and this pose brings the vertebrae back to homeostasis," Bielkus says.
Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)
This pose helps to open the hips and ease sciatica discomfort that can be made worse by sitting for long periods. Sit up tall with the soles of the feet touching and knees spreading open, bringing the feet in toward the pelvis and clasping your hands around your feet. Flap the knees up and down several times like butterfly wings, then sit still and focus the weight of the hips and thighs into the floor, easing pain in the sciatic nerve. "The sciatic nerve starts in the lower back and runs down both leg, and sciatic nerve pain can occur when the nerve is somehow compressed," Bielkus says. "Long commutes and sitting for long periods of time exacerbates it."
Slow Neck Stretches
To counter neck discomfort from staring down at a keyboard or phone, Bielkus recommends a few repetitions of yogic slow neck stretches. Sitting in a cross-legged pose, lean the head to the right and extend the left arm and hand toward the ground until you feel a deep stretch on the left side of the neck. Breathe deeply and hold for a few breath cycles, repeating on the other side. You can also try standing in Mountain Pose and stretching the neck to one side, gently pulling with the same hand. "This can also easily be done standing anywhere, even in a cubicle," she says. "It eases neck tension and strain."
Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)
"This pose is an accessible back bend for most people," Bielkus says. "It lengthens the spine, opens up the chest and counteracts sitting hunched over all day." Lying on the floor, put your hands on the ground slightly in front of you and tuck the elbows into the chest. Push up into your hands, lifting into a slight backbend and drawing the shoulders down. Turn your gaze upwards, and try not to take any tension into the face or jaw.
Half Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
The hips can get tight from long hours of sitting. To improve flexibility and range of motion in the hips, and open up the chest and shoulders, try a half pigeon pose. Start on your hands and knees in a tabletop position, sliding the right knee forward and left leg back, as pictured above, trying to bend the front leg at a 90-degree angle. Sit up tall, and on the exhale, hinge the chest forward and bring the arms out in front of you to feel a deep stretch. "A half pigeon is great for opening up the hips," Bielkus says. If you're particularly tight in the hips, try rolling up a blanket under the hips and sitting upright, and then gently hinging forward.
Child's Pose (Balasana)
"Child's pose helps us turn inside and slow our minds down," Virayoga founder Elena Brower recently told The Huffington Post. The foundational resting pose in many yoga classes, the soothing Child's Pose can help put the mind at ease while also gently opening up the back, hips and shoulders, according to Bielkus. Sit down with your legs folded beneath you, toes touching and knees spread apart from each other. Drape your chest down between your thighs, bringing your forehead to the floor and either extending the arms out in front of you or resting them by your sides. Breathe deeply and rest in the pose for as long as desired.
Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)
"This pose opens the hips and groin and is very calming for the mind and body," Bielkus says. Happy Baby Pose is accessible even for beginners, but still provides an excellent stretch for the hip joints, which can get stiff from too much sitting. Lie down on your back, draw the knees into your chest and grab your feet from the inside, pulling them down so the knees extend on either side of your torso. If the stretch is too intense, grab behind your thighs. Try to bring the hips down to the floor. Breathe deeply and rock gently side to side, returning to stillness at your center for 30 seconds.
Sitali Breathing
This cooling breath is the perfect antidote to a long, stressful day. "It releases tension in body and mind, and helps us relieve stress and anger and brings us to a more balanced and clear state," says Bielkus. To perform this refreshing pranayama exercise, sit in a chair or on the floor in an easy crossed-legged position with your eyes closed. Stick your tongue out and curl up its outer edges. (If you're having trouble tongue curling, try your best and form a slight “O” with the mouth). Inhale through the mouth, letting the air pass over the tongue, feeling a cool breath, and then exhale through your nose. "Continue long rhythmic breathing for three minutes," she says. "You'll feel totally refreshed!"
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