Your Tidying Journey| How to get from problem to solution quickly!
Big tasks can leave us with feelings of overwhelm, as if going on a winding road. But there is a way to fix that!
What’s the fastest way to get from point A to point B? A straight path. But sometimes it really doesn’t seem that way. We may be facing a task that we don’t want to do or know how to go about it. Good news! There is a solution and it’s only requirement is that you take action. Let me share this with you!
A Note on Procrastination and Overwhelm
So you have been postponing cleaning your house, organizing your closet, decluttering the garage, etc. It can be very overwhelming imagine working through something that makes us feel uncomfortable. The thought is so discouraging, so we procrastinate and play games on our phone, or suddenly feel like doing our favorite hobby, etc. STOP!! There is no need to feel overwhelmed because we are not going to do EVERYTHING all at once. We can get more done if we break our tasks down into smaller, easier tasks and focus on one small task at a time.
Making a list will allow you to free your mind of burden. Rather than keeping all thoughts in your head, you have it on paper, and can easily prioritize and create a successful plan!
Make a List
Let’s take out a sheet of paper or “notes” on the smart phone and make a list of all the things that need to get done, then break larger tasks into smaller tasks. Prioritizing the tasks from hardest to easiest. Now let’s look at our list. What is the most difficult task? Let’s say its “cleaning the bathroom”, everyone’s favorite room to clean (I’m being sarcastic). Is the bathroom the dirtiest room in the home or is there another part of the home that needs more attention? What part of the bathroom makes it the most difficult for you? Perhaps you do not like the idea of scrubbing the toilet? Ah ha! Have we just isolated the thing that we really are trying to avoid? What if all a long this was what really bothered us and cleaning every other part of the home wasn’t really as stressful?
Analyze
Weighing out the pros and cons of tackling cleaning the bathroom first vs. cleaning something else first got us more motivated to clean the bathroom. How does the bathroom actually look? Does it only need to be straightened up plus scrub the toilet, or is there more needed? This can help us decided realistically how much work there really is. We may start to get a clearer picture of what to clean and instantly feel motivated to start.
Breaking a larger task into smaller tasks creates instant relief, brings solutions to light!
Divide and Conquer
I once heard a funny expression at a business conference that always stuck with me, “How do you eat an elephant?” Oh m goodness, what a strange question. But the woman said, “One bite at a time.” This expression describes the feeling of overwhelm when facing multiple tasks. That is what we all face regularly in life, isn’t it? So how do we “Eat an elephant?” or attack the overwhelming task? One… bite (or step)… at… a … time!
This is what tackling complex problems look like. Taking the task and dividing it into smaller tasks, then focusing on accomplishing one small step at a time. If we begin on a task, only to realize that there is another task greater than that one, stay focused and write down what new task popped in our heads. We will get beck to that task when we finish what we started. Stay focused on the current task at hand. Finally, after cleaning the bathroom, we think, “hmm that wasn’t so bad!” We feel invigorated and proud of our accomplishments! So much better than starting and stopping every time a new thought pops into our brain, isn’t it?
Make It a Habit
Each time you accomplish an important task you are progressing further into your tidying journey! During this journey, you may start to notice habitual tendencies, which will lead us into finding ways to shortcut or incorporate systems. Yes, efficiency! That we will discuss on another blog.
If you are ready to take action and prefer to tidy with a professional organizer, see powerful results, save time and money, and organize your home click here.
Making a list and creating plan is like turning a winding road into a direct straight path.
