Anti-Multitasking-Challenge

We are so used to multi-tasking that we actually go into withdrawal at the thought of focusing on One Thing at a time. Even though science has proven how unproductive, yes, even conta productive it is. 

Allow yourself to be "in the present moment".

Here is a list of Single Tasking Reminders to help you on your own single tasking challenge:

• Eat breakfast without reading a book / newspaper / going online / checking your phone or even talking by speaker phone.
• When you take public transport - simply sit and observe. You don't always need to be distracted by a book or by music. When you drive, be fully aware- don't drift off on clouds of thoughts.
• Watch a movie from start to finish without doing other things. 
• Listen to an album all the way through without doing something else. Watch a TED talk completely through with having it run in the background while you are perhaps cleaning. Yes, even though these are just words!
• Connect with the people you speak to - don't think about what you need to say next, just listen and react to what needs to come through. Your relationships will bloom!
• Carry around a notebook and write things down should you feel like you will get distracted.- don't pop off and do whatever tasks grab your attention.
• Start your day with some mindful rituals. Do each thing one at a time.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes and divide your tasks into 25 minute intervals. Take a 5 minute break after every 25-minute unit. Some tasks might take longer, so break them into these time blasts. This method, called the Pomodoro time management technique,  works well to help you focus.
• Declutter your desk so that you don't have any distractions there.
• Switch off your phone for a day on the weekend and detox from technology.
• Allocate one day of the week to cleaning. Don't use it as an excuse to be off-task
• Slow down your evening with Evening Power-Down rituals. Give yourself enough sleeping time.
• Have only one browser window open at a time when you are on the internet. Shut off all notifications!

The Great Purge 2017

It is spring and we are feeling new energy and are full of motivation to get our lives back in order after the hibernation of winter. So we get ready for Spring Cleaning or the yearly purge of our STUFF.

Stuff has a way of filling existing space, unless we purposely stop it.

Instead of considering whether enough space is available for something, consider the costs to keeping the item. Sure, using “valuable real estate” in your home is one. But there’s also the cost of maintaining the item, cleaning it, time and energy spent moving it around, and possibly most importantly – the mental clutter it creates. It is distracting you, even if you aren’t aware of it. Even if something is in a labeled box bought specially from the Container Store, yet it’s something no one in your family actually needs, it is creating mental muddle.

So set those things free. Let someone else have them. You won’t read most of those books (again), use the 4 sets of extra sheets, measure with the other measuring cup sets in stainless steel and plastic, play with the old games that were fun years ago. Let someone else enjoy them – you have new mountains to climb, exciting adventures to discover, other books to read (that all fit into one Kindle!), fun toys to play with that are more in tune with the children’s ages, etc.

If you are a Flea Market nut, your abode is probably filled to the brim with things you enjoyed buying but serve no purpose and have no privileged trophy cabinet. Some things never see the light of day because they are under a pile or hidden away in the basement, closet or garage.

Mental Clutter Be Gone!

What if you keep it “in case” but you never actually need it, and you die with the item still in its packaging? What’s the worst thing that could happen if you let it go?

When I did my first purge several years ago, I was getting ready to move. So I didn’t really notice the difference. Now that I’ve been doing the Great Purge every year since, I’ve noticed an odd phenomenon – having such a sleek, slimmed down apartment is so easy to care for, yes, but I feel odd with all these empty shelves! It reminds me that I don’t really need an apartment this big. Well, it isn’t huge but it certainly feels roomy now.

So now I have to avoid filling the flat up again.

If I am interested in something, I generally buy all the books and materials I can find. Even a professional doesn’t need all of the stuff I procure! I really need to buy only the basics and not always whole sets of things.

I have stayed interested in painting but I will never be able to use all the paints I’ve bought. My place would be full of pictures stacked against the walls. Well, that’s the case already. I wanted to try watercolor pencils so I bought the deluxe set of over 100 pencils. At least I restrained myself after a soft pastel course last week and refrained from buying anything except two pieces of paper. Ta-DAA!

I have at least 1000 books still adorning my walls, even after selling over 1000.  Yet I mostly read the ones in my Kindle (It’s easier to hold in bed or carry in my purse.). And no one has purchased anything from me on Amazon in over two months.

I purged my clothes, shoes and purses so I am set for 2017. The place is really easy to clean because there is no clutter to move.

So my goal for the Great Purge of 2017 is my old seminar stuff. The materials I’ll never use again because I teach other subjects now. The hundreds of articles I wanted to read to be Amazingly Informed. The transparencies for use with overhead projectors. Who uses those things anymore?!

Even if you have several kids and a messy partner, or especially then, keep your things down to a minimum. Then they don’t pile up so badly.

Good Luck with your Great Purge!