Whether you want to lose weight, save for a dress or put down a house deposit, you need to work backwards from the goal. And the best way of doing that is by writing down the steps you’ll need to get there. Peter Walsh, author of Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? (Simon & Schuster, $11.68) says he’s had so much success helping people clear their clutter because he focuses on clarity of purpose. “The first step is to define the life you want. If you can do that, you’re halfway to getting it.”