I used to be very messy. I would leave my clothes on the back of a chair until I had nothing left to wear, I cleaned every once in a while, and books lived on the floor. Then when I was 18, I moved to Ireland to study for a year and I found myself dealing with a lot of anxiety about the future, myself, the family I was living with. And I started being very organized, as a way to control my environment. Having an organized and clean room gave me peace and also took away procrastination: all I had was to sit down and study.
There’s a cool book and blog named The Fly Lady. Her idea is " put on your shoes, fix your face, shine your sink and start your day. It’ll make you way more efficient". There are times when we are a bit lost: we want to change jobs, or maybe we lost our job, we want to lose weight, go back to school, find a romantic partner, we need a change but we don’t know how to get started.
I find that having a routine during those days, like bed time and a wake up time, keeping our things organized a few minutes every day, helps a lot getting started with the tasks. It gives me some time to prepare mentally for what lies ahead and it takes away the anxiety that a messy room can bring. It is hard to focus on writing a resume when the bed is undone and the laundry hamper overflowing.
So maybe, before you get start on this big journey, do a little spring cleaning, write down some of your goals, breathe in… and take this first step!
If spring cleaning isn’t enough, reach out for help, call your good friend, or a life coach. Invest in yourself and give yourself the tools to be successful!