“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy…”
Are you feeling the ‘ease’ of the summer season or are you feeling stressed out by your never ending ‘to-do’ list? Maybe you’re stressed out because of your unwritten list of expectations of yourself… your list of should’s!
Recently I’d been feeling a lot of pressure about my should’s. I attended a presentation by Anne Newell at a Women In Networking event and subsequently bought her book,”The Myth of Time Management: The Simple Formula for Finding the Time You Need to Do the Things You Want to Do”. Within a few days I had the good fortune of going on a writer’s retreat with other business owners and I read the book in less than a day.
My perspective about my lengthy ‘to do’ list immediately changed and I still feel much less pressure about all of it. And I’ve experienced a profound attitude adjustment regarding my relationship with time.
One main point Anne makes is about finding where your passions, talents and habits all converge. Here’s just one example: I love to organize, I’m good at it and I work at it weekly. What’s one of yours? There are so many more great concepts in the book; I recommend reading it before the summer is over!
| “Limited Edition” is good enough |
 I know of several elderly people who used to take great pride in their immaculately clean homes. Some of these same people wonder what the fuss was all about now that their aches and pains prevent them from doing things they would otherwise enjoy. I think they wore themselves out doing things that may not have been that important in the first place.
Some of the best advice I received when I was pregnant was ‘good enough is good enough’ and ‘pick your battles’. I took both of them to mean there’s no need to strive for perfection in all areas of your life. So I chose the places that deserved the highest standards (in my parenting it was always health and safety) but lowered my expectations accordingly in other less important areas (like having my toddler’s clothes match or the ‘clean plate’ expectation). Overall that approach significantly contributed to saner living during those early (and busy) child development years. Regarding achievement, especially for women, we’ve asked ourselves for decades: Is it possible for us to ‘have it all’? You know what I mean, ladies, don’t you? Well, I believe we can have it all but maybe not everything all at once. You can have your career and your marriage and your home and your children and your vocation and your hobbies and your leisure… but some of the biggest lifelong goals may have to take turns and happen sequentially, not all simultaneously. So, if you don’t have the time or energy (with or without toddlers in tow) or if you’ve never learned how to (efficiently or sufficiently) clean your home, my advice to you: LTD: Laundry, Trash, Dishes. If every day you do something in each of those three areas, you won’t get backlogged and you’ll always have: 1) clean clothes to wear On the flip side, if any of those areas gets backed up, the old saying is definitely true: ‘it’ll take a lot more energy to catch up than to keep up’. As far as additional cleaning goes, have a mini routine once a week for the other major tasks: (Windex, dust, vacuum, bath & kitchen) and subsequent routines for monthly, quarterly and yearly chores (contact me if you need resources for these routines). But above all, consider your priorities (especially when you have young children) and don’t make yourself crazy trying to live in a museum when your home is really meant to have that ‘lived in’ look. The opinions expressed herein are those of the person writing this newsletter for the sole purpose of recommending a saner approach to living for clients who may be tackling these tasks themselves. These opinions in no way reflect the kind of high quality cleaning methods the Send In Maureen team utilizes when we clean your home or office… perfection is our default position. đ |
Just one more resource… Are you familiar with The Simple Truth inspirational mini-movies? “212 Degrees” and “The Dash” are just a couple of my favorites. They provide the perfect internal lift on a gray or drab day. The website allows you to watch the brief movies for free but also offers a multitude of products for sale (great gift ideas).
(See all the websites for today’s resources in the Quick Links section in the above left of this newsletter.)
And remember, being organized is just another way of being prepared. With simple and sustainable systems in place, you can prepare your home for guests, prepare your office for productivity, prepare your life for fun and relaxation! But don’t forget to…
Leave a Reply