Over the past few weeks, I’ve been chipping away at a re-organization of my office, a task that was kicked off by my trying to find a home for a single discovered object. As I write this, I’ve created enough clear space to make me feel as though I’ve made progress, but the remaining piles remind me there’s still work to be done.
One pile in particular silently rebukes me every time I walk into the room, and rightfully so. It has mostly been gathering dust, as well as having things added to it in order to consolidate everything that still needs to be sorted. I looked at it this morning, winced, and said aloud, “This pile overwhelms me.”
And then I had a thought. But what if it didn’t?
That sounds silly, I know. I can’t possibly take a pile from overwhelming to approachable just because I want to.
Or can I?
This is where the “T” in STYLE comes in: take small steps. I don’t have to do it all at once.
I just have to start.
A favorite organizing game (yes, I play little games with myself to get stuff done) is to choose a set number of items to be dispensed with. “Dispensed with” means they can’t just be moved from one pile to another. I can do that, but those items don’t “count.” Once I’ve removed the designated number of items – sometimes it’s 3, sometimes it’s 5, sometimes it’s a single item every time I walk past the pile – I can walk away.
Or, I can set a timer. Give it five is one of my favorites. When the timer goes off (after 5 minutes), I can walk away.
The thing is, most of the time, I don’t walk away. I keep going after the timer goes off or after I’ve met my designated number of items because what’s overwhelming isn’t the items themselves, but the pile.
Wait. Isn’t that the same thing?
Sort of. But almost always, taken one item at a time, the pile is less intimidating. And, I can choose which items I dispense with. Today, for example, I uncovered a piece of mail – an advertisement – that I’d kept for no reason I can recall. That was an easy one. It went directly to the trash where it needs no further attention.
Another of my favorite tricks for dispensing with piles is flipping the pile over and starting at the bottom. (I can’t take credit for this one – I learned it from an HGTV show). The bottom is typically where the oldest items live and the oldest items are often the easiest to make a decision about.
In January, I wrote about a project I couldn’t get started on. In that case, I was dealing with a bigger, more abstract task and I needed to decide which “pile,” if you will, to start with.
The thing is, when it comes to organization, both the projects and the piles can feel overwhelming. And, when we feel overwhelmed, we often get stuck. Projects gather dust, piles remain untouched, and we feel frustrated.
Whether it’s a project or a pile, finding the small step that works for you is key. Small steps provide us with a way in, give us momentum, and reduce the size of the task. Even better, they can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed that can loom even larger than the task itself. Once we puncture that balloon, the job gets easier.
While it might seem silly for me to pick up a single item every time I walk past a pile, it feels manageable. It’s a small challenge that tests my creativity – which item can I find the right home for? – and helps me feel as though I’m making progress.
At least as long as I don’t add anything to the pile in the meantime.
Wouldn’t it be easier just to bite the bullet and sort the pile all at once? Maybe. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with some piles – at least not for me. If it were, I’d certainly have a lot less clutter to deal with.
I love to organize – I find it fun – but I know most people don’t feel the same way. If you don’t share my love for this particular pursuit, that’s okay.
But it’s all the more reason to make a game out of it. Especially when the piles start silently rebuking you.
