True Confessions Wednesday: Beat the Clock

True Confession #15: I'm a beat-the-clock kind of organizer. I don't mean that I quickly scramble to put things away when company's coming (although that does sometimes happen). Instead, what I mean is that I've learned to use small pockets of time to my advantage. While this doesn't work well for major projects, it's great for making progress in smaller ones. In fifteen minutes or less I can zap a pile, return homeless items to their homes, make the bed, put away a load of laundry....

You get the idea.

Sometimes, these pockets of time arise between activities. Other times, they're a way of making a dent in an otherwise daunting task like cleaning the basement or overhauling a closet. These short bursts can be an organizing session unto themselves, or they can be the start of something more, nudging me to complete a task I expected only to start. Either way, they often lead me to replace clutter with clear space which is the ultimate prize in the organizing game.

Admittedly, not everything in life can be accomplished in fifteen minutes or less; some tasks call for a longer commitment. But while I wait for that elusive block of time to arrive, it's nice to know I can chip away at tasks a little at a time.

And end up with clear space to boot.