Peace of Mind Organizing

Just do it

9 November 2010

I had a Nike moment this weekend. My husband and I had a small dinner party on Saturday. He’s the cook (he’s even been to culinary school) and when he puts his mind to it, great things happen in the kitchen. My job when it comes to dinner parties (in addition to providing sparkling conversation) is to get the house in order and do the table.

I’ve been very busy lately and am a naturally messy person, so some clutter had accumulated in some hot spots. I was thrilled that we were having people over, because it gave me a reason to clean up. Naturally, I put off cleaning house until Saturday. With guests arriving that day, I was finally motivated to put my nose to the grindstone and put everything away (well, there was some stuff that needed to be thrown away). And then I actually cleaned the house.

I hate cleaning house, especially for the sake of cleaning. I’d much rather do it for a fun reason, like the impending arrival of dinner guests.

So what was my Nike, “just do it” moment? It was down to crunch time, guests were going to arrive that evening and the house needed some focused attention. And it got it. I was really struck by how piles that had lingered on a desk in a common room (not my work desk) for months disappeared when I put my focus on clearing it. A lot of that stuff ended up in my office—I put it all away the day after the party.

I see this in my clients all the time. They have clutter (or non-functioning system) that’s been bugging them for ages, but they haven’t done anything about it. They just put up with it. Then they bring me in, focus their energy on it, and in a short space of time, it’s dealt with.

I know I’m guilty of thinking about doing stuff, fussing at myself for not doing it, and just generally wasting time and energy over clutter or problems without actually taking action. That is so ineffective and, often, counterproductive.

Instead of worrying about how I’m going to do something, or where I’m going to find the time to do it, I should just do it. Focused energy is amazing.

I’m thoroughly enjoying my clean house. (And fabulous leftovers.) I’m happy to report that that desktop is still clear!

Tagged with: clutter, clutter clearing, focus, motivation

Comments