Golden Windows
Have you ever found yourself in a place of heightened productivity and/or organization? It may be realizing you’ve recently made multiple trips to the donation center, had the sudden urge to purge a closet, or the unexplained need to buy a new planner and allllllll the accessories. Whatever the behavior is that reveals itself and sparks a feeling of “wow, why am I feeling like this?” might be the result of being in or entering what Lisa Woodruff of Organize 365 calls a golden window. A golden window is a span of time where the stars seem to align perfectly and your energy, productivity and desire for organization is at it’s peak.
5 Ways to Combat Task Paralysis
Your family just left the house and you have an entire 3 hours to yourself at home on a Saturday afternoon. Ahhhh the things you can accomplish! You can rest! You can cross some things off that never ending to-do list! You can maybe even nap!! You have been looking forward to this window ever since the last time it happened 6 months ago. But as soon as that door closes and the house is quiet, that brain that has been so looking forward to getting! things! done! is stuck and that clock keeps ticking while you scramble to figure out how to move forward. It’s like you have 2 flat tires at the bottom of your legs.
Invisible Family Load
You’re driving to work and remember you need to schedule a dentist appointment for your oldest child. You also decide you should check your family’s passports to make sure they are far from expiring as you have an international trip coming up. On top of that, you are trying to decide if you can figure out dinner with what you have at home or if you should swing by the grocery store on the way home. You sigh and think about how your tween is doing at school - the day after a “horrible” fight with her best friend. Sound familiar? Especially if you are a woman, this might sound familiar to you. You might have seen it called “mental load” or some other variation. Regardless, I’m sure you are immediately reminded of the fact that many women these days are burdened with an invisible burden of to-dos, responsibilities, and feelings that we manage, usually without second thought.
Why I Love the Dump
So why? Why would a person enjoy a place where things go to die? While I do not love the idea that we as a species are filling these sites with items that could otherwise be reused, recycled or repurposed, I do find beauty in the act of letting go. Being able to appreciate what we have and know when we are no longer in need of something is a great place to start when trying to take control of our home. Just because you have something doesn’t mean it’s valuable or useful to you anymore. Our things don’t define us.
National Get Organized Day is Friday!
If there is a national Eggs Benedict Day (there really is!!) why can’t there be a national Get Organized Day?! I love that this exists for a few reasons. First, it gives me yet another excuse to write about organizing. Second, it gives me pause to re-look at the why behind it. Do we need to get organized? Why should you get organized? What does it even mean?
Making sense of it all
ADHD is Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Symptoms might include: a hard time keeping track of things (keys for example), not being able to focus on jobs, activities, conversations, and tasks for extended periods of time, talking too much, not being able to settle down/sit still, fidgeting, difficulty waiting, and more. As you can imagine, these symptoms often result in a disorganized mind which can lead to a disorganized home.
