Hi everyone,
Today, my blog post is all about the different reasons people have that either hinders effective organisation or prevents them getting organised altogether!
I’ve compiled a Top 10 list of reasons and with each one I offer suggestions that might help with these issues! I’ll be discussing 5 reasons this week, and the next 5 next week!
Let me know if you find yourself in any of these reasons!
REASON #1: Feeling overwhelmed
100% of my clients ask me to help them for this very reason. It can be such a debilitating feeling – overwhelm. You are surrounded in clutter and feel really disorganised and you just have no idea where or how to get started.
What to do:
I know you probably told yourself this already, but the best way to start getting over feelings of overwhelm is to just get down to work.
Keep things in perspective and don’t look at everything you need to do. Ok, you feel the entire house needs some order, but don’t keep looking at the entire problem. Bring the focus back to you and what you can do today to get started.
Pick a relatively easy room that needs your attention. Pick a corner of that room.
And get stuck in. Remember, as I’ve mentioned at the start of my Organising Series in March, you need to have all your supplies to hand and your need to set time limits.
And once you have a room or a part of a room started, maintain it regularly.
If you want to clear the clutter and become more organised, then you have to do a bit every day. Don’t get swallowed up looking at everything you need to do. Divide it up into manageable chunks and keep ticking away at it daily.
Eventually that feeling of overwhelm will reduce and you will start to feel a little more in control of the organisation of your home.
REASON # 2: Procrastination
Very often things are not as bad to do as we think they’ll be and they don’t take us as long to do as we think they will.
Procrastination is the enemy of organisation. Everyone procrastinates every now and then. But constant procrastination is really just putting off the inevitable.
What to do:
Getting into the habit of writing a To-Do list will help with this. A lot of procrastination has to do with feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start. By writing down what you need to get done, it will get it out of your head. Instead of saying to yourself “I need to do that” it will focus your mind on when you will do it.
If you can’t get to a job immediately, then write it on a To-Do list. Instead of ignoring it completely, acknowledge it in some way. Either get the job done, or write a reminder and detail next to it when you will get to it.
As NIKE tells us….Just Do It!
REASON #3: Indecision
Deciding what to keep and what to throw out can be very difficult for some people. It can make getting organised a real challenge and can cause great anxiety. I have seen some people really struggle with just not knowing what to do with their things and I don’t envy them these feelings.
I know starting my business, I’ve had to make a lot of decisions. And I’m the only one that can make them. Sometimes I’ve just wanted to go watch TV & pretend I didn’t have to make these decisions. The thing is though, that in order for our lives to keep moving forward, decisiveness is what’s required. Most things in life involve choice and risk. You might make the right decision but then again you might make the wrong one. And if that happens, you just have to do something to turn the wrong decision right.
What to do:
- Energy Highs:
Only de-clutter at times when you have the energy to do so! None of us can do anything when we’re tired – especially making decisions!
- Time limits:
If you are finding making decision tough, only do it in short bursts. De-clutter for 30 – 60 minutes max and then reward yourself in some way. If you know you have to get the job done within a certain time, you might be quicker with your decisions.
- Phone a Friend:
Ask a friend to come along on your organising journey. Their opinion on that 1970s hawaiian shirt might make the decision making process easier for you and might actually be fun!
REASON #4: I can’t let go
Our possessions give us a lot of comfort. And when they go it can be quite upsetting for some people.
We are out of our comfort zone and sometimes it’s really not a nice place to be and can bring up some intense feelings.
This is why some people develop hoarding habits. Because they just can’t part with their things. In some ways their possessions give them control and comfort.
What to do:
When you are starting out on your organising journey and you are facing into having to sort through a lot of stuff, begin by throwing out things that are easy for you to deal with.
Letting go of items such as things that are beyond repair, out of date research articles, old toiletries, discoloured containers etc, really should be no brainers and should be tossed out quickly.
By starting with easier items, you’ll get used to throwing things out.
For harder to part with items, try some of these tricks:
- Write about it:
Writing is a great way to sort out our feelings and emotions. So if throwing things away is troubling you, maybe it might help you to write about it so as to try and figure out why it’s difficult and how you might make it easier on yourself.
- Hide it:
Place item(s) in the attic or shed etc for a few months. If you haven’t missed it or needed to use it during that time, I think it’s safe to let it go.
Remember that, aside from sentimental items, most things nowadays can be replaced if you throw something out and find afterwards that you really need it. Chances are though, that you won’t!
REASON #5: There’s not enough time!
This is a “which came first” scenario – get your time organised or get your space organised?!
I can tell you it’s ‘get your time organised’ that needs to be looked at first. Once we look at where our time goes and how we spend it, we are able to use it better. I can almost gaurantee that if you organised your time, you could organise your home or work space – because you can schedule in time to do so!
And that’s the key with organising. You have to make time to do it – to stay on top of your clutter and organisation. In this very fast paced world that we find ourselves in, this is often easier said than done!
What to do:
- Create organising routines:
Start to incorporate organising and de-cluttering into your day and week. Just like making dinner or ringing your mother, a bit of organising has to become part of your day if you want to have a more organised home.
For example, you may:
- Do a 15 minute clear up of the living room floor just after the 9 o’clock news every night.
- Get up 20 minutes earlier each morning & make sure the bedroom is in order before you go out to work.
- Assign a half hour every Sunday evening to file away all the paper that came into your house that week.
- Assign every Saturday morning for one month to de-cluttering the spare room
Make sure whatever you decide to do, that you do it regularly and always at the same time so that it becomes part of your schedule. Eventually you will do it without thinking.
In order to live a calmer and more fulfilling life, it’s important to keep track of where your time goes and why.
So there’s 5 reasons why some people struggle to get organised. Next week, I’ll discuss 5 more including … what to do if you want to get organised but your partner or family doesn’t and what to do to maintain organisation once you achieve it! Stay tuned!
And let me know in the comments here or over on facebook why you find it hard to start organising and what you do to overcome that?!
Happy Organising!
Sarah
