So often we just keep doing what we have always done. We make piles of work, mail, memos, bills labeled URGENT, ON- HOLD, SAVE and TRASH. We watch these piles grow rather than attack them one at a time. Frustration grows. The tasks just seem too massive to attack. We can’t even decide which pile to tackle first because stuff in the urgent file no longer feels urgent! What is going on? We tolerate this process unconsciously. We may be experiencing something like mental clutter which not only slows us down but drains our mental and physical energy. Have you found yourself in this situation once or twice?
What enabled/ motivated you to eventually act in the past? How about sharing your thought or solution with us? I am open to any solution you might have since mine are not helpful for decreasing my clutter. A time management idea I once read, suggested never putting a paper down from your hand after you read it without putting it into some form of action.
I once read another suggestion to put each piece of paper into one pile. This did not seem like a good suggestion to me. Later as I thought about it, I saw that by doing that each piece of paper was given equal status. What that suggestion did for me, is that it prompted me to find bills requiring quick payment, and keeping those on the top of the file, tied with a paper clip on the top of the pile and kept me working through the pile, after I paid those bills.
Another idea I read, labeled additional boxes TRASH and RECYCLE for completed work. Those labels helped my process because it separated throw away trash from recyclable. I love the thought of recycling so I became motivated to fill those boxes.
Further division was a box labeled ACTION to replace the URGENT box. That box gave me energy perhaps due to its newness and felt less office-like.
Hopefully, you can now take action and end toleration.
What have you learned about yourself from reading about this topic? Can you offer us any further suggestions? Just consider how you may help every reader of this blog.