🤍 Dear Procrastinators,
Many may misunderstand you, but not me!
Ever since procrastination became a trendy word, it’s been so misused. So let’s make one thing clear for those non-Procrastinators reading…
Procrastination 👏🏼 Does 👏🏼 Not 👏🏼 Equal 👏🏼 Laziness!
And honestly, we all have some tendencies to delay what could be done in the moment. Nobody is perfect!
🤔 Why am I prone to Clutter?
One of the main reasons clutter accumulates in your home is because you’re constantly seeking that next opportunity.
Why fold this laundry now, when I could:
- Start making dinner earlier
- Tidy another room while no one occupies it
- Scroll social media (we’re all suckers for little dopamine hits now!)
- Finally relax after a long day
- Meet up with a friend for lunch
- Feel more motivated tomorrow
And the list of excuses goes on and on… doesn’t it?
For those who are always on the go and already headed to the next big thing, it’s easy to keep avoiding a task.
Especially when the task is perceived to be difficult or boring!
But as with anything in life, it’s very important to be able to focus and be productive.
Instead of viewing tasks as “difficult” or “boring,” just try to think of them as tasks. Plain and simple. This will help you to see the joy (not dread) in the process of decluttering and organizing.
You must accept that avoiding things is not doing you any favor. It is only contributing to your mile-long To-Do list and clutter that’s crowding every possible space – including your mind.
🥊 Confronting the Clutter
“The greatest amount of wasted time is the time not getting started.”
– Dawson Trotman
To Procrastinators, the rest of the population seems to run on some sort of magical motivation.
You’re constantly questioning and comparing yourself to people on social media, in real life, and on TV.
“Why can’t I just wake up one day and find the motivation has stuck?”
This “magical motivation” that everyone but you seems to have is – listen carefully – a facade!
We are all pushing ourselves every day to do the things we don’t want to do.
But as with most habits, it is possible to overcome procrastination.
The first step is being able to identify when you’re procrastinating. Despite procrastination being an active choice, we’re usually on auto-pilot and don’t even notice when it happens.
This may look like filling your day with low-priority tasks, re-reading important emails but not making any decisions, starting a primary project and immediately leaving to make a coffee, etc.
After you’ve familiarized yourself with identifying your negative habits when they arise, choose to DO something about it.
It’s too easy to dwell in self-pity and I do not want you to get stuck there!
The reason you’re procrastinating is probably because you’re not organizing your day.
Each night before bed, try to draft a to-do list for the next day. This way you’re not completely winging it when the day arrives. There is also no excusing your lack of productivity based on a lack of planning.
Need some more incentive? Promise yourself a reward for completing ALL of the tasks, and follow through!
And if a to-do list is not really your jam, check out some scheduling and time-management apps.
Another tip is to figure out when your most productive times are during the day. For example, do you work better in the morning? Or the afternoon?
Remember: if you can get through a bigger, daunting task right away then you’ll have the rest of the day for more enjoyable tasks.
✨ Living clutter-free: Is it for me?
Many Procrastinators have turned a new leaf!
It just takes some dedicated, focused, good-old-fashioned work.
Procrastination is nothing new to our generation. In fact, it’s been around forever!
The Greek poet Hesiod, writing around 800 B.C., actually cautioned not to “put your work off till tomorrow and the day after.”
So as much as this might seem deeply ingrained in us… that also means we’ve been studying how to battle it for a verrry long time!
To begin understanding your own personal struggles, you need to really be honest with yourself when asking these questions:
- When I start tidying up but stop halfway, what emotion is telling me to stop?
- Is it frustration? Am I confused about the direction I’m going in? Is it sadness, anxiety, or fear?
- Am I unsure of how to organize certain items, or which way would be best?
Procrastinator, I see you reading this doubting if you could ever change. Maybe you feel like you’ve tried all these tactics and nothing sticks.
Nothing may be sticking, because you haven’t forgiven yourself.
A very heavy weight carried on the shoulders of Procrastinators is self-guilt. It’s always easier to beat yourself up about “failing” something than it is to have compassion for yourself.
All the times you’ve felt you’ve let yourself or others down due to your delaying tendencies, forgive.
Your work tasks that have come long overdue because you’re scared to start, forgive.
The organizing projects you’ve started and abandoned when they get too overwhelming, forgive.
And from forgiveness we can rise to acceptance. Once you’ve truly accepted that procrastination is a very real problem, then we can begin real change.
📤 How to start Clearing the Clutter
Speaking of abandoned organizing projects, here’s a few ways you can get through them!
Starting with one section at a time, break it down into little parts. You can then focus on one part at a time.
If you still procrastinate on the task after breaking it down, then break it down even further. Soon, your task will be so simple that you’ll find yourself thinking it’s too easy to not begin now!
Here are a few more ways you can start today:
- Tackle a large project with a very small first step
- Plan your day the night before and set reminders for everything
- Minimize all distractions
- Implement a routine for putting things away
- Research professional support
Keep in mind that procrastination means the delaying of decisions.
So when you catch yourself about to delay, 🛑 and tell yourself NO! You can do it!
I believe in you and I know you can do this. It’s not easy to start, but once you do one shelf or one drawer, you’ll gain momentum!
Let’s begin with rating your level of commitment to getting your spaces organized:
On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to edit, declutter, and organize the space? (level 1 is not committed at all, and level 10 is 100%, fully committed)
Download these free organizing assessments to track your progress in all areas!
Ask yourself these questions when deciding what you will keep, donate, or no longer need:
- Do I honestly love it?
- Do I use it weekly, monthly, or yearly?
- When was the last time I thought about this item or used it?
- Do I realistically need this item in my life going forward?
- Did I even remember I owned this?
- How many duplicates of the same item do I have?
- What would be the worst possible scenario if I donated or passed it on?
- In what situation would I realistically need or want this?
- What would I like to have more space for?
- Have my job or hobbies changed and it’s time to let some things go?
- What keeps me awake at night or gives me stress and anxiety?
- Am I committed to scheduling time, effort, and/or money to fix or repair this item?
🏆 Invest time into YOU
Procrastinator, I want to tell you how proud I am you’ve read all the way through these strategies to the bottom!
By not saving it for later or skipping it entirely (when you know that reading it will do you some good!) just proves you’re not a Procrastinator at the core! 👏🏼👏🏼
So let me know, does this feel attainable for you?
You will feel so much better after clearing just a couple piles! Remember to start with the biggest piles or the ones that bother you the most in order to create a dramatic, visible result right off the bat.
Comment below and tell me about your next organizing goal as a commitment to yourself!
Set a reminder in your phone to follow up in a week and let me know which strategies worked for you! Or maybe you’ll have a new tip for me?
Excitedly waiting to hear all about your progress!
Need more help with decluttering?
I created the How to Organize Your Household Papers course to help walk you through the decluttering process. It includes sections on foundational organizing skills, setting up filing systems, creating household systems, and more bonus videos to make sure you’ve reached your goals.
For further details on the course and to purchase, go here: