074 | Removing Obstacles
I am breathing a deep sigh of contentment at what I’ve accomplished in my office over the last few days. It took a mindset shift to make it happen.
The shift from “I have to clean my office—again” to “I am making room for my life and business to function in harmony” gave me the boost I needed to fully tackle the nagging, seemingly minor issues that that have contributed to a persistent state of disarray in this space.
This mindset shift impacted my process by:
Upping the stakes. It was no longer just an “I should” triggered by long internalized messages about what a properly kept house should like like (“What will people think if they see this mess?!?!”). I could see a ripple effect of benefits that made it worth taking the space from 80% to 99% done.
Giving me a vision of what I wanted to be able to do in this space—namely, put clear boundaries around my work time and use the defined time for more focused productivity so I can be more present to my family at other times.
Which helped me more easily:
Identify issues and behaviors contributing to the disarray—especially around how papers are processed and stored mid-project.
Release things I had been keeping “because I might use them” when I know I’m not actually going to use them.
Rethink the layout of where things live when I’m not using them. I purged and reorganized the drawers. I rearranged some books to make space for a hanging file system for current projects in my office instead of the closet. I put an “in process” tray under my computer monitor to contain mail that requires me to take action.
Fix a few things that were simply irksome and so sucked mental energy. I figured out a better anchor for the cord of the charging station I created. I washed the coffee stains off my favorite felt butterfly coaster. I corralled the chords under my desk for a less cluttered appearance.
These are details that may seem pedantic, but sometimes we cultivate sanctuary by removing even small obstacles to the kind of space we want to create.
What space would you like to better serve the way you want to live?
What obstacles need to be removed to make that happen?
