Have an article of clothing in your closet that looked good in the store but that you hate wearing because it's somehow wrong in a way you can't quite identify? Why is it still in your closet? How about the refrigerator? Have some old condiments or a hunk of old cheese that you haven't tossed out yet but that make you feel like "there is nothing good to eat in the house" every time you open the door? Just clear out a bit of dead energy. Same with that old stack of unread magazines and junk mail. You are not obligated to go back and read anything that has been sitting around untouched for a year or two before you toss it out or pass it on.
I recently lost a five-year history of e-mails for my business before switching to a more reliable web host. Problems created? None. Very minor inconveniences for about 48 hours. Minor. And this was my livelihood. You have a lot of latitude here.
What does tossing out an old blouse and some stale Gouda have to do with getting your office clean and your taxes done? Nothing and everything. When your environment is draining you because of all those little pockets of dead and stagnant energy, it will be nearly impossible to build the momentum you will need to approach tasks you dread. Have you ever gone to check the fridge while procrastinating on setting yourself to a task, only to have the thought "there's nothing good in here" come to mind? The fridge checking and the thought did nothing to add to your productive momentum. It's okay to start doing work in an area unrelated to your goal. Energy is energy. Once you are able to build it you can start to direct it.
Think thematically and integrate. Integration is far more powerful than discipline. Consider what is important to you in your life and what you value most. What does having a clean office really represent to you? What would it mean to have all your bills and paperwork filed? What would be significant for you in committing to getting out your canvas and paints? Rather than thinking of the activities and the outward signs of productivity, try to identify the themes that underlie them.
Consider your personal definition of success. For example, several of the business owners I work with are able to name a financial goal that represents this. A common benchmark is making a six-figure income. It never fails that when I ask someone what would change in their lives if they were making that wage, they confess that much of what they are tolerating in themselves and in their environment would no longer be acceptable. One woman said, "I wouldn't slouch and my desk would be clean." What does slouching have to do with one's checkbook? For her, there was a whole image of success she became aware she was not embodying. While she may have had work to do before the money would start to come in, her posture and the self-respect coming with improving it was something she could work on immediately.
Article comments
1 - Kathy
Excellent article!! This is most motivational piece I've ever read, so thanks!
2 - Laura
Glad to be of service Kathy! Feel free to kick around the rest of my articles here as well as at my blog for more on this and many other personal development topics.
Happy surfing!
L
3 - christiana
wonderful article!
4 - Margaret Horn
Well-written. I'm tired of reading blogs with grammatical errors (excuse my sentence fragment) and stylistic problems. Some of the article seemed mere rhetoric; in other words, you were comparing apples to apples. However, what you're suggesting is kind of a mind gymnastics (shift the way you're thinking), and perhaps that works for some readers. I certainly don't want a six-figure income. I guess I'm the artsy-fartsy type. I'm also chronically ill, which is one of the reasons I never get anything done. I would be interested in seeing an article on how to be productive when ill! I liked that you referred to Twyla Tharp. (Margaretsstrangeworld.net)