Daily Habits

We all have those areas where stuff tends to accumulate - a desk, counter, or the floor. If you let it pile up long enough, it can become daunting and getting it back into order can seem impossible. If you were to successfully tackle your piles (a topic for a future post), you would then face the challenge of keeping them them from reforming. Before taking on those intimidating piles, first take aim at forming new habits so that you will be better equipped to keep things neat going forward.

The key to forming new habits and sticking to them is to be honest and realistic about what you can expect from yourself. It’s generally unrealistic to expect yourself (or anyone else) to put something away immediately after using it. No one wants to do the dishes as soon as the cooking is done, they want to eat the delicious food that they have just labored over. And the moment after walking in the door is for changing into sweatpants, not for making sure your coat is hung up and your keys are back in your bag.

I believe a good habit to start is to spend 5 to 15 minutes a day putting things away. For me, the best time for this is between getting home from work and eating dinner (but after changing into the aforementioned sweatpants). This then gives me a little peace of mind to enjoy the rest of my evening, knowing that there aren’t crucial things I am going to forget about or misplace. The best time for you, though, may be right before bed, or just after waking up in the morning. If you have a strict schedule, you may know exactly where to fit it in, but you may need to test out different times to figure out when you are most likely to actually do it (not just when it fits most aesthetically into your calendar).

Once you pick a time, set a reminder on your phone or leave a sticky note where you will definitely see it. There are things that I have been doing daily for months that I still use reminders for. It serves as a prompt to get something done, rather than solely as a way not to forget something.

Here are some suggestions for specific things you might spend your minutes doing:

• Open and Sort Mail - immediately trash/recycle/shred any junk mail; put any action items in a relevant place where they will get done

• Put dirty clothes from the day in the laundry basket, hang up/fold and put away any clothes that can be worn again

• In the bathroom, put away extraneous bottles and accoutrements, wipe down the sink, hang up towels

• Put away shoes, hang up coats, fold blankets

• In the kitchen, put the day’s dishes in dishwasher, rinse/soak dishes that need to be hand washed to make that process easier when you get to it, wipe down counters

Start with one or more of these suggestions, but also take a few minutes and really think about the place(s) where your stuff most frequently accumulates. What are the most common things you drop there? When are the times you are most likely to leave things on the pile rather than dealing with them? Work from there to think of realistic and small tasks to try out that would help you combat your piles.

Even 15 minutes is not a significant chunk of time out of your day, but if you are willing to focus that time on straightening up, you will be amazed at what a difference it can make!

Let me know if you decide to try out some new habits or if you would appreciate some more specific guidance tailored to you - I’d love to chat about it!