The last couple of months, things have piled up on me: emails, tasks, random notes, a bunch of browser tabs with things I’m interested or need to do, financial stuff, etc.
For the past week, I’ve been allowing myself the joys of getting organized. It’s beautiful, and I just had to share with you.
Let me say a few things first: you don’t need to be organized all the time, or at all. This isn’t a “should” to add to your list of things you’re not doing. Also, there isn’t one way to do this, and my way isn’t the “right” way. Finally, this is about joy, not torture.
How can getting organized be joyful? Here’s what I’ve been noticing:
- I’ve started to feel lighter
- I’ve been feeling more settled
- I have been able to focus more, when I want to focus
- Sorting through things and putting them in order is deliciously fun
- It quiets my mind
- When things are sorted, my love for the world flows more easily
Now, you can get these things in many other ways — but getting organized can be one way! Let’s explore.
The Journey of Getting Organized
Let’s say things have piled up on you, like they have for me. The first thing is not to make that some kind of judgment, but more to ask yourself, “What would be really nice? What would I like here?” For me, what came to me was, “I’d like to sort things out!”
Once you have that intention, then it’s a matter of creating some buckets, and starting to sort. Where will you put things? Find some tools to capture and organize.
Then roll up your sleeves and get started. Start to sort things a bit at a time. As you do so, please do it with a sense of reckless play! Think of how a kid can dive into a toy chest and toss things around recklessly — that’s what you’re doing, except in reverse. You’re tossing toys in your toy chest with abandon and delight! Please don’t make it torture for yourself.
When you start to do it, it will seem like the piles will never get smaller. That’s OK, because you’re having a delightful time! Don’t focus on the end result, just play! Do it for 10-15 minutes at a time, several times a day. You have those times — just check social media or watch Youtube/Netflix a little less today.
Do this for several days, and things will start to feel more sorted. Now there are some empty inboxes and the like that might be in sight — when I got down to the last 7 emails, I knew my inbox would soon be empty. What a thing of beauty! Of course, it won’t stay that way, but the deliciousness of racing towards something so lovely is a joy in and of itself.
At some point, you’ll start to feel much more organized. Maybe 5 days in, maybe a week. Enjoy that feeling. It comes and goes, like warm sunlight in the transition between winter and spring. Eventually the warm light will bring blossoms, and possibly hay fever. This is the life of getting organized.
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