Measuring Your Small Steps

I have learned that there are predictable times when I feel as though I'm losing the clutter wars.

Back-to-school is one of those times.

I move from lovely, leisurely downtime slowly into planning time, only to find that planning creates piles. Soon, I have not only the inevitable unfinished summer projects to attend to, but new layers of papers and materials piling up, prohibiting access and adding to my to-do list.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Take small steps.

That's just what I did in this post from 2018 (same time, different year) which is (I think) still good advice in 2021.

Then:

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know I live by taking small steps and finding non-threatening approaches to digging into organizing projects. I often set a timer as a means of getting started and/or devoting some time to a project that needs to be done, or I choose a certain number of items to pick up and put away in an effort to make a small difference (take small steps!) when time is limited.

Last weekend, as I was trying to balance too many projects in too little time, I felt a constant cloud of stress engulfing me. I'm listening to a great book, The Upside of Stress, in which author Kelly McGonigal takes a new look at stress and how we can manage it instead of vice versa.

It occurred to me that the cloud that was enveloping me had to do with all of the things I was leaving undone as I zoomed in on the "get ready for the semester" tasks. I'd already promised myself that after fulfilling one morning (school-related) obligation, I was going to devote the rest of Saturday to tasks that would leave me at my family's beck and call. My daughter was leaving to go back to school on Sunday, and I did not want to spend her last day home with my eyes glued to a computer screen and my nose buried in textbooks. This meant that any tasks I took on needed to be of the "drop it and attend to someone else" variety.

Enter ten small things.

Often, when we're feeling stressed out, it's the little things that get to us. The dishes that need to be washed, the checkbook that needs to be balanced, the laundry that needs to be folded. These small things pile up to create a mountain that is perfectly surmountable if only we have nothing else we're supposed to be working on. (HA!)

So what if I chipped away at the mountain?

After an impromptu lunch with my daughter and her friend (delighted to be invited!), I ran a couple of errands with the girls. When I got home, I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote "10 Small Things" at the top before throwing in a load of laundry.

And then I wrote "1. Towels (laundry)" on my list.

Thing #1.

Finding things to fill the list wasn't difficult (but getting them all done took longer than I expected). Everything was necessary, but nothing was the kind of task that made me crabby if someone interrupted me because they needed something. And, at the end of the afternoon, I could probably find ten more things that still needed to be done.

But I had my list to prove that I'd been busy. I'd made progress. I'd accomplished something.

If you're thinking that this is a lot like my backwards to-do list, you're right. The difference? I (randomly) chose a set number of things I wanted to accomplish. I could choose any ten things that crossed my path, but the object was to tackle nagging tasks that contributed to that cloud of stress swirling around me like Pig Pen's dust in a Peanuts cartoon.

The combination of actually accomplishing ten things and having written proof was a powerful one. Despite the fact that more back-to-school prep loomed and my daughter was still leaving in less than 24 hours, I felt less stressed at the end of the afternoon.

Often, it's the little things that drag us down. Getting them out of the way frees us to concentrate more fully on the bigger things, which means they get done more quickly and efficiently.

Every little bit helps.

geralt via Pixabay

And now:

I haven't pressed "10 Small Things" into service lately, but I have approached the mounting piles in my office with similar tricks. Pick up (and put away) 10 things before leaving the office to make lunch/eat dinner/call it a day. Whether it's things or tasks, checking them off our list is both rewarding and motivating; so is seeing the final product, whether it's clean laundry or clear space.

At the end of the day, we often berate ourselves for things left undone. 

When's the last time you congratulated yourself for what you'd accomplished?

Taking Charge When There's Too Much to Take Charge of

Thursdays are the days the week begins to catch up with me any week, even when I've figured out the school/life/writing/blogging balance for whatever semester (or stage of pre-semester prep) I'm in.

I have not yet done that.

Until we can make the world stop when we do, feeling overwhelmed from time to time is inevitable. Knowing what to do when that feeling strikes can help us to take charge and feel a little less out of control. For me, this "take charge" approach includes:

Taking baby steps. When it's all too much, we start feeling the need to slay big dragons. Unfortunately, the pressure to get it all done at once, even if it's self-imposed, only contributes to that feeling of too much to do in too little time. Putting one foot in front of the other and taking one thing at a time can create a sense of accomplishment as we erase all of those little tasks from our to-do lists, one by one.

Prioritizing. As we approach each of those small tasks, it's important to ask ourselves if the baby steps we're taking are leading us in the direction of something that must be done now or something that can wait. While we have the luxury of mixing it up when we're not in a time crunch, we need to focus first on the here and now when we've hit the panic button. When we're overwhelmed, baby steps that make progress on a project due in two weeks may be less useful than the ones we take on the stuff that's due tomorrow.

Using the plan. In an effort to find shortcuts and super solutions, we often get in our own way. When this happens, we need to stop, step back and assess the plan(s) we have at our disposal. If they work on a day-to-day basis, they might just be the life raft we're looking for when seas get stormy. Choose the most appropriate plan and put it into action. Even a semblance of a plan can help us feel less out of control.

In a few weeks, I will have settled into a routine. Until then, it's one baby step at a time.

Favorite Back-to-School Tools

It’s that time of year again: back to school. I’ve been doing this for long enough that I know exactly what my go-to tools are for getting ready, and for when I’m back on campus.

Getting ready:

My laptop (which, sadly is at the Apple store, awaiting a new battery);

Large sheets of unlined paper for large-scale planning and a project notebook with wide margins for the details of planning;

Imagination. This may sound silly but both planning and organization improve when we step outside the box and look at things from new angles. 

Once I’m back at school: 

A clipboard for rosters and day-to-day notes and reminders (what else would you expect from a girl with an I need to see it personal style?)

A planner, which doubles as a lesson plan book. I’m so sold on the importance of planners that I require all my freshmen to have one. Which one? That’s up to them because one size doesn’t fit all :-)

A sharpened pencil with a good eraser because mistakes are part of the planning process.

How about you? What are you using to capture new ideas and keep things organized as we draw closer to fall?

OBS FAQs: Can I Have More than One Style?

 

Drop and run. Cram and jam. I know I put it somewhere.

I love stuff. I need to see it. I love to be busy.

I think I'm all of these! Can I have more than one style?

This is perhaps the question I get asked most often! The answer is yes. Organizing by STYLE is predicated on each of us having two primary styles: a personal style and an organizational style. As regular readers know, my personal style is I need to see it and my organizational style is drop and run.

But...what about the others? Can we have more than one personal style or organizational style? Can we be a little bit of all of them?

That answer is also yes, but the key phrase is "a little bit." While it's not unusual to have a dash of this and a little of that, most of us typically have one personal style and one organizational style that rises above the rest. It's what I call our "default setting." The thing we revert to most often. The thing that, if we corral it and use it in our service, can be our organizational North Star.

How do we figure that out?

Look around. Focus on not just what frustrates you, but what's working as well. When things get hectic, I pile. Some of the piles are a result of simply putting something down before racing off to the next thing (a little dash of I love to be busy flavoring my drop and run). Other piles have been purposefully designed to be visible so I don't forget to do the things in those piles (my I need to see it personal style taking center stage, as usual). Technically, that works, but it messes with the clear space I love.

So, what works better? Clear drawers. Labels. Color coding. Open file bins (topless, if you will). These allow me to put things away, but not completely out of sight. Tucking all those to-do items into a brightly colored file folder with an equally bright sticky note labeled "to do" and laid on top of my laptop? That works. And it looks a whole lot better.

What about the drop and run part? Finding the right tools helped there, too. When I made it as easy to put something away as it was to put it down (hello, open file bins and easy-to-access clear drawer units), it was easy to put things where they belonged instead of just dropping them anywhere. 

So, what's frustrating you? Overstuffed containers? (Hello, cram and jam organizational style!) Things stashed in "safe" places? (Welcome, I know I put it somewhere organizational style!) Too much to do and too little time to organize? (It's my I love to be busy friend!) Plenty of containers, but none doing the trick? (Those with an I love stuff personal style can love containers, too!)

Now, step back. Start with successes. What spot, drawer, closet or location is well-organized? Why is that? How can you apply that same idea to a spot, drawer, closet or location that's not working?

Our primary personal and organizational styles can be the main dish, but our other-style tendencies can add a little spice. Who says that I know I put it somewhere organizational style tool has to be boring? Toss in a dash of I love stuff and choose a unique container to designate as your "safe place."

Want to know more about styles and containers? Go to the blue bar at the top of this page and click on "Charts" to find out more. Oh, and if you're still looking for some tips on organizing with kids as we head back to school, click on "Organizing with Kids." From there, you can click on whatever looks most interesting and/or applicable.

When we stop looking at organizing as an insurmountable task and consider it a puzzle to be solved, the whole process becomes easier and, dare I say, fun? It's not always fast or painless but, when we do it according to the rules that work for us, it's a whole lot easier.