Capacity blocker: disorganised
On this journey of increasing capacity, I can pinpoint several “capacity blockers” in my current life that detract or hinder my ability to do life well. One of those is disorganisation. I never used to consider myself disorganised and even considered myself very obsessive with some things. I have had to open my eyes to the reality that this self concept of being organised is in very limited areas and I have a strong tendency to lack organisation. This has never been more apparent than since becoming a mother and dealing with “pregnancy brain” and seeming relentless tiredness. Some days my brain seems completely incapable of focus and completing tasks (or remembering them in the first place!). Being disorganised and having a disorganised house leaves me spinning though. I feel unsettled inside and sometimes can’t quite figure out why.
Conversely to knowing I am often disorganised, I also recognise the drive to tick off tasks on a checklist, achieve and produce. This is often to the detriment of relationships, rest and sanity. I wrestle these two extremes within me on an almost daily basis but then maybe they aren’t on such opposite ends of the spectrum as I first think. My disorganisation often comes from a feeling of overwhelm at all I need or think I need to do. I dislike not putting my full effort and standard of excellence into what I do. Hello perfectionism.
My participation in Hello Mornings (check out the button in the side bar or visit their website for more on that) got me thinking about being more planned but also not going overboard. They have a section in their workbooks for each study where you list your 3 Most Important Tasks (MITs) for the day. I liked this concept of focusing in on what was actually important and putting a small number on it. I won’t lie and say that this is an easy task for me! Kat Lee from Inspired to Action who developed the workbook has also released a planner that I LOVE! I wrote a whole post on it here so won’t go into much detail but it really has given me the flexibility and variety of daily layouts to get my head more focused while cutting down the overwhelm. I’ve been using the project planning pages for various projects I have on and feel so much more on top of everything. Breaking down larger things into smaller tasks is so much more achievable than leaving it all for the last minute because I can’t face it or forget what needs to be done.
Click on the button below if you are interested in checking out this planner. (affiliate link)
I have also been trying to get my house less cluttered and more ordered. You may not be able to tell if you came over today because most of it is still far from what I want it to be but baby steps are happening. It often feels like an uphill, solo battle with my hubby and daughter not necessarily sharing my enthusiasm or vision of where some items are to be kept but that’s family life! My house has been a massive source of pain and growth for me in recent months that I will unpack at a later stage.
Getting organised and not letting disorganisation be a capacity blocker for me is such a huge work in progress. Some days are great, others not so much!
Feel free to share some tips on how you stay organised without getting too obsessive or overwhelmed!
This post is part of a series called “My journey of increasing capacity” written as part of the Write 31 Days challenge. To read other posts in this series please click on the button below, in the side bar or on the Write 31 Days 2015 tab at the top.
There are hundreds of other writers doing the Write 31 Days challenge on a vast array of topics. Check them out here.
