Clearing our Clutter Puzzle
Some of us are highly organized and do small tasks as they are presented. But, for the majority of us, we experience an internal debate on doing a task. Responding to a task with a ‘I’ll get to it later’, we soon find our surroundings piled high of clutter. Overwhelmed, we put our body and mind through much unnecessary stress. To help clear our clutter puzzle and thus give us back our sanity, there is a productivity hack called the one minute rule.
Created by Gretchen Rubin, this genius one minute rule is as follows: when we are presented with a task that can be completed within a minute, we push ourselves to do it right then and there. There is only one exception to this rule. When we are already tasked with something, we should keep with the task at hand until it is fully completed before beginning a new task. In this manner, we will not be surrounded by a bunch of tasks half completed.
If we find that we are already organized, we can use this one minute rule to tackle bigger tasks. But, for the rest of us, Marisa says to begin with small tasks, such as putting a cup in the sink after using it or picking something off of the floor and then move on to bigger tasks. To help guide us to applying this rule in our life, Marisa says to look around our surroundings and notice the things that seem to irritate us every single day and begin there.
Thinking of what irritates me every single time I see it, I know where I need to start. I have opened mail stored in an area that once looked organized, but has quickly become a sore sight to look at. My desk is another matter. Moreover, I appreciate learning the exception to this rule as I have often begun a task and allowed myself to get distracted. Before I know it, that one task that should have taken only minutes to complete has turned into hours. Feeling behind, I put my body and mind through unnecessary stress. To keep my body and mind clear from unnecessary stress, I will focus on the task at hand until fully completed and then move on. To focus and thus be present on the task at hand, I’ll use my breath as my guide. Anytime something comes up that distracts me, I’ll remind myself that my body is breathing and connect with it. Giving myself that split second to connect with my breath, I’ll kindly say to myself and/or others that I’m already busy and that I’ll get to it when I’ve completed the task at hand. As I just came up with this idea, I can already see the benefits of in my mind’s eye. For starters, I’ll be more on track to accomplish what I set out to do rather than being pushed and pulled here, there and everywhere. This will help keep me in a flow state where my intuition guides my every move rather than my rational mind overthinking everything. Not overthinking everything, my mind is open and free to sense that anything is possible, because in reality, truly anything is possible! In this way, I’ll be able to sense any new opportunities that may come along my day! Thank you, Marisa! 🙏🏻❤️
