A Lesson in Tidying Up at the Web Summit

It's Day 2 of the Web Summit and things are hectic. It's absolutely packed, for one thing; everywhere you look important-looking people are busy doing important-looking things. We're all rushing from stage to stage in order to catch our favourite tech gods in action, but the schedule is tight. More pressingly (and rather ironically, might I add), the Wi-Fi signal is all over the place: as I write this, I'm cross-legged on the floor in a corner of the Society Room taking advantage of a pocket of connectivity.
Chaos aside, today's speakers really are brilliant. While the big names are high-ups from companies like Facebook, Microsoft and Tinder, the smaller stage presenters have just as much to say.
I've just finished watching Marie Kondo, the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The book has sold over four million copies since its publication in 2011 and earned fans the world over. In it Kondo describes the importance of organization, which can be easily achieved with what she calls the "KonMari Method."
As she describes it, the Method is a no-fail guide to decluttering your life and subsequently solving all your problems.
"By tidying up your life you will come to know exactly what you want to be," she said. The Method has three main steps: tidying up in one go, sorting items by category instead of location and asking yourself if an item "sparks joy."
The key to the Method is in this third step: if something doesn't "spark joy" in your life, then you simply don't need it. The pile of receipts that you've saved "just-in-case?" Toss them. That photograph of you and and your ex-boyfriend that always makes you sad when you see it? Trash it! There, don't you feel better already?
This simple mantra can be applied to all manner of life situations: hobbies, work projects, relationships, etc. If you're going to get rid of all your physical clutter, why not eliminate the mental mess as well? As Kondo emphasizes, happiness is all about prioritising what's important to you.
Kondo's big news was that KonMari Media is releasing an app in 2016. "My mission is to tidy up the world!" she announced. With the app, users will be able to download tidying checklists and connect with other KonMari enthusiasts. Eventually, she hopes to launch certification courses to help people become KonMari Consultants and subsequently spark joy in the whole world.
Hey Web Summit, you know what would spark joy in my life? Working Wi-Fi.
But I digress.