Peace of Mind Organizing

Building on success

15 June 2010

As I’ve written about before, I’ve had some success in recent years in creating some really meaningful habits. For example, I now automatically clear my desk at the end of each workday. That allows me to hit the ground running in the morning and helps me keep my head clear about what I need to do. I used the Don’t Break the Chain method to help me build that habit.

I’m also in the process of creating the habit of keeping my email box lean. I try to get it down to 15 message or below and when I do email my email accountability partner, Aby Garvey. That’s been a real boost to productivity and I’m not losing things in my email.

The latest success is creating the habit of properly putting away my clothes at the end of the day. My whole life I’ve tended to take off my clothes and put them on the bureau or on a chair or couch. When I was kid, I’d just leave them on the floor.

There are all sorts of problems associated with that, including, of course, waking up to a mess. In addition, it meant that I couldn’t re-wear clothes that I otherwise could; the clothes would get wrinkled sitting on the bureau. If I’d hung them back up, they’d be okay.

So in April, I put my mind to keeping that bureau clear. I used the Don’t Break the Chain method. Rather than using www.dontbreakthechain.com I printed out a blank calendar for the month of April, posted it near the bureau and marked a big red X every time I put away the clothes I could re-wear before bed (and threw the dirty ones down the laundry chute). As usual, not breaking the chain was really motivating. And now, a couple of months later, it’s pretty much effortless.

The thing about any daily habit is that if you do it every day, there’s no accumulation to overwhelm you. This is true of dealing with (postal or e-)mail, running the dishwasher, wiping down bathroom fixtures, cleaning off my desk. These were all daily habits that I’ve managed to develop in the past. And now I can add putting away my clothes at night to the list.

Do you have any daily habits that have helped your life run more smoothly?

Tagged with: clean bureau, clean desk, don't break the chain, habits

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