15 minute organizing

Ok so many organizing gurus out there say you can get organized in as little as 15 minutes a day. Sounds like another one of those miracle exercise programs, doesn’t it? “All it takes is five minutes a day to the perfect butt!” Yea, sure.

But what do they really mean? I have told several people that they can work on a space for as little as 15 minutes at a time and feel like they have made progress. Let’s face it though…if you really want to wrap up a project, you need to put more time into it.

For big endeavors you will have to spend MANY 15 minute intervals doing what you could accomplish in just a few short hours. It takes time to get in a rhythm, and constantly starting and stopping the cycle doesn’t yield major results.

Focusing on a small task for 15 minutes is much different. Think of it as, “I will clear this coffee table in fifteen minutes”, or “I will got through three files in fifteen minutes”.

If you truly want to accomplish a larger scale project, designate a time and commit several hours to it. You will then see noticeable results and feel satisfied with the work you have accomplished.

I'm AWAKE!

I often get caught up in the past. Isn’t it easy to bring yesterday’s baggage with us into today? Sometimes I might even check baggage from months ago…It could be as simple as criticizing myself for making a turn that sent me on a ten minute detour to dwelling on an honest mistake I have made. What I don’t often look at is the mental and physical drain it takes on me to focus on the negative. If I dwell on what I can’t change in the past long enough I have little energy or motivation to conquer today. I try to catch myself in those situations and take emotions to a positive plain. And what do you know…I am more productive that day. I only am guaranteed this moment anyway. I notice with many of my organizing clients they bring “organizational failures” into a new project. They talk about a fool-proof tip that failed, how their family doesn’t keep things organized after they fix a room or about their own perceived ineptitude at being organized. While the root problem and unsuccessful attempts are instrumental in helping a client overcome current problems, dwelling on things that can’t be changed from the past de-motivates them. If bursts their balloon of energy and desire to succeed. Part of my job as the organizer is to encourage them and guide them through the journey. On the flip side success takes individual motivation, too. I was listening to a presentation at a business networking meeting last week and the presenter was talking about how her little daughter gets up every morning. Very first thing she will get out of bed and in her pajamas run to the top of the stairs. This little girl will then take a wide stance, throw her hands up in the air and shout, “I’m AWAKE!” What a great, clean start to the day. What would happen if we left our criticisms of our past mistakes at the door when we took up a new project and approached it with a fresh start?

Modeling organization

I want to share a quick story with you.

I was organizing with a client a while back. We were working on her upstairs craft room, trying to take it from a space without a defined purpose to a child-friendly room her kids could use to easily work on all their projects and models. Throughout our time together that day her young son worked along side us as I asked, "So John*, what is this toy? What is this paper? Do you use it? Need it?"

His mother began to make it a point to ask herself and him those questions as the day moved along and I gradually removed myself from the purging process that afternoon and into the planning of the final room layout.

After a while I realized that John had gone missing. His mother and I were working alone now. I took a break to see if I could locate him to ask him a question about a plane model he had not taken out of the box or used yet. I heard some activity in his bedroom and headed that way.

I got to the door and peaked inside. There on the floor were two piles, with John in the middle. He was carefully and thoughtfully sorting his belongings and school papers into what he would and would not keep. Wow.

I left his room and absorbed a very important lesson. Organzing skills can easily be taught to anyone around you. And your personal example is the best way to do it.

*Name changed for privacy