30 Days of Piano

I have started a new challenge for the Fall 2017 semester. My goal is to play piano for at least 15 minutes a day for 30 days.

Not a total failure

If I had to rate my success with my 30-day Organization challenge, I'd give myself about a 5 out of 10. That's an F. I've always been an A student, so I am not accustomed to this type of self-evaluation.  Oddly, though, it doesn't feel too bad. Here's why:

Although I didn't do 30 organization projects in 30 days, I did organize more than I would have otherwise. My desk, my laundry room, and my daughters' craft organizer are all still in good shape. There's still this:

And this:

The craft room is still a mess overall, but parts of it ARE better.

However, oddly, I subconsciously seemed to revisit several of my past 30-day challenges. I've started meditating again; not daily, but a few times a week. And two semesters ago, I attempted a writing challenge with similar lackluster results. My goal was to revamp a picture book manuscript into a chapter book and send it off to agents. While I did work on the manuscript, I ended those 30-days with only a partial revision and no attempts to query agents or publishers.

In the last month, however, I have sent off that same manuscript (now complete) to 4 agents, and I submitted it to a "work in progress" grant competition. If I get chosen, my manuscript will be put shown to several editors and agents actively looking for new projects to publish. I've already gotten two rejections from the agents, but even that rejection feels BETTER than just sitting on my work and lacking the motivation to do anything about it. I've even started meeting a friend (and fellow writer) once a week to sit at a coffee shop and just write together. So I'm practicing accountability with my writing.

I don't like failing at anything, even something I dislike such as cleaning. So it's hard to admit that I simply lost the challenge. But in a roundabout way, I feel like it helped me get my priorities straight. The clutter can wait; life is short, so I should focus on the goals that mean the most to me.

How did your challenge go?

Multipotentialite-ism

As a usually motivated and accountable person, I have trouble figuring out why these organization challenges are so difficult for me. This isn't the first one I've tried. And despite doing a bit better because I actually completed some organization projects, I still didn't reach my goal of 30 projects in 30 days. I fell far from it. In fact, I didn't even think about organizing once a day, and on the days I did, I made excuses that I totally believed for not completing anything even remotely organization related.

Why can't I prioritize getting organized?

Well, there's the whole "clutter fosters creativity" thing (or is it the other way around...creativity creates clutter...?). But I stumbled across this TED talk (because I make my students explore and integrate this resource into their blog), and I think there's a link between the idea in this video and my inability to get organized. Bear with me now... In this talk, Emily Wapnick introduces the idea that people can be "multipotentialites." If you break down the word, you can understand the meaning. She argues that our culture starts encouraging specialization from a very young age (What do you want to be when you grow up?), and yet, some people just aren't wired for specialization. Wapnick relays her own experiences diving into a subject she feels very passionate about, only to get bored and/or distracted by another area of interest. She mentions insecurities that stem from this lack of commitment to one field or subject. She goes on to explain that there is room for people like us--multipotentialites--because we often come up with interesting ideas that stem from unconventional intersections of the many interests we pursue.

This reminded me of another time I had that "a-ha" moment about myself. I was watching MythBusters Live and Jamie Savage, the bouncier, chattier, funnier of the two main hosts, was talking about how he is a "generalist" not a "specialist" and how that characteristic fits him well for a job that requires him to throw himself into an investigation for a short period of time. A specialist might not be able to think outside the box the way he does when trying to bust myths that range from peeing on an electric fence (do you get shocked or not?) to catching a bullet with your teeth (is it even possible?).

Anyway, what does this have to do with organization? I'd be willing to bet that specialists are neater than generalists (or multipotentialites). To me, it makes logical sense. A specialist can focus a whole career on a single-minded goal. When I say specialist, I think about the pediatric heart surgeon who operated on my daughter when she was three and a half months old. I remember that when we consulted with him before the surgery, he told us, "I know this is very stressful and scary for you because it is your tiny little daughter. But what I want you to know is that I do this all the time. This is what I am trained for. This is what I do. She will be fine." His specialization brought me comfort and he was right, my daughter is now a tall, active, healthy 7 year old.  My hypothesis is that specialists that can focus years and years of training which lead to years and years of doing the same job can also better focus for a few hours to organize their desks, their homes, their stuff. On the other hand, people like me--whose brain is torn in many different directions and passions at all times--have trouble focusing on what it takes to set up systems to keep books organized by title or mail sorted by level of urgency. Furthermore, since I am bouncing between a varied and ever-changing schedule of commitments and hobbies, I find it difficult to make time for something I don't enjoy doing and that I find difficult to focus on.

What do you think? Do you agree that there might be a connection to my multipotentialite-wired brain and my habit of clutter or do you think I'm just making another excuse to avoid cleaning up?

Another Success

Before I had kids, I taught at an alternative middle school in Portland, OR. I had a fabulous boss (the school coordinator/principal) who was very supportive, but also trusting enough to allow her employees to find their own way. At one of my teacher evaluations, the subject of my desk came up. My teacher's desk was stacked with binders and piles of ungraded work and teaching resources. Likewise, the shelves behind it were covered with books and binders and folders all askew. I don't have a picture of that desk, but I do have a picture of my current home office desk...which will give you an idea of how I roll.

This actually looks pretty good...better than normal, to be honest.

Anyway, when my desk came up I immediately started to apologize for the mess. But my boss was quick to wave her hand, as if to disperse the unspoken false promises that I would clean it up. She smiled at me and said, "It doesn't bother me because you get stuff done on time and you aren't disorganized in your mind. If you can continue to perform well and find what you need when you need it, I don't have a problem with how your desk looks."

Take a minute to think about that piece of awesome and rare leadership.

Now back to the issue of my desk. My boss had brilliantly landed on a truth about me...I'm disorganized on the exterior, but in my mind, I keep things in order, at least enough to hit deadlines and get work done efficiently. I might temporarily misplace things in the clutter, but I rarely lose them. My default setting = cluttered. Any attempt to clean up my work spaces are short-lived. On the other hand, I do have my limits. I prefer when my surroundings are clean, but my personality is too scattered to consistently keep things that way. I blame my busy life, numerous hobbies, lack of time, and hurricanes of children.

Perhaps a bit of clutter isn't a huge problem. In fact, it can even have some benefits. According to some research, a cluttered environment can encourage creativity and a break from conventional thinking. In fact, this article supports that and even shows the very messy desks of renowned creative minds like Einstein, Mark Twain, and Steve Jobs. So while I'm not necessarily comparing myself to those geniuses, I am saying that I appreciate the validation that clutter isn't all bad.

Still, in light of my chosen challenge, it was time to clean up my desk. The piles weren't serving any purpose but to take up space and stress me out. So I hit it hard and got the desk cleaned up. It might not last, but it's fun to look at in the meantime.

 Just don't look in the drawers or cabinets...okay?

S#!& Sandwich

A friend of mine posted this article on facebook. If you're wondering why I'm taking the time to read articles about finding your life purpose...well, that's for another post.

Anyway, this outlines 7 interesting questions to ask yourself that might help you hone in on your purpose for life. Obviously, it's going to be different for everyone. The very first question is:

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE FLAVOR OF SHIT SANDWICH AND DOES IT COME WITH AN OLIVE?

The author, Mark Manson, is asking readers to decide what kind of difficult, challenging, stinky, messy crap they are willing to slog through to fulfill their dreams. If Fred wants to be an Olympic swimmer but doesn't want to get into the pool more than twice a week...well, that's a shit sandwich Fred isn't willing to eat. If Tammy wants to be a politician but weeps every time somebody disagrees with her, she won't get past the shitty sandwich to enjoy her dessert.

I once had the idea of opening a bookstore in my small town because, sadly, we don't have one. I visited the local organization that helps with the education and establishment of small business owners. I had lunch with the very nice and honest owner of a bookstore in a neighboring town. I even called the rental company advertising a vacant space in the center of town. What I learned along the way is that the day in and day out of owning a book store requires a lot of tax code, spreadsheets, inventory lists, and budgeting. What I wanted to do was plan events and read to children and set up pretty displays. I wanted to be a positive force in the community, but as soon as I picked up a book about creating a business plan, I literally fell asleep at the coffee shop. I was focused on the goal, not the process, which does not encourage follow through. I decided that the bookstore shit sandwich wasn't a flavor I could stomach.

So how does this relate to my organization challenge? Well, I don't like cleaning. When I was little, my mom would send me up to clean my room and I would come down with our dog dressed up in cabbage patch kid clothes. She'd send me back up, and I'd come down to show her my latest lip-sync routine...that I had just been practicing when I should've been cleaning. Eventually, she or my much neater sister would come in and help. It wasn't that I didn't want a clean room...I just couldn't work out the process of how to get there. All the little steps led me to distraction...thus the dancing and dog costumes.

I'm dealing with the same issue as a 39-year-old woman. I want a clean craft room. I want an organized house. But the shitty sandwich I have to eat to get there is just so, so huge and gross, that I can't bring myself to take but tiny little nibbles at a time. And while I feel satisfied at my progress...like when I cleaned my laundry room...there are so many other better-tasting sandwiches out there, I find it hard to convince myself to spend my spare time nibbling away at this one. 

Maybe I'm just making an excuse. Maybe I just need to suck it up and gobble it up. I will try...right now, in fact...and I will report back.

In the meantime, what's your favorite (or least favorite) flavor of shit sandwich? Tell me in the comments.

I couldn't find a picture of a shit sandwich that I was willing to put on my blog, so I went with this. 

So Many Socks!

I won't lie; my efforts have been inconsistent at best. I have had one major success, however. I tackled and cleared up my laundry room. Even with only 4 people in my household, we produce A LOT of laundry. I suppose it's because we are all very active. In one day, I might go through an outfit for working out, another for riding horses, and yet another for being presentable at my job or at my kids' school. Add in towels and sheets and jackets (oh my!), and you've got a 3-ring-circus of a laundry room that ends up looking like this:

All those baskets are full of misplaced laundry...single socks, random scarves, pieces of outfits I just never got around to properly sorting. And the little organizer hanging on the right? That could be a totally useful space, but instead I've stuffed it with mismatched socks, clothing I need to store or give away, and other miscellaneous problem articles. It's like when my mom used to ask me to clean up my room and to do so, I would sweep everything into the closet and close the door. No, my mom wasn't a sucker. She figured it out. But I'm the mom now, and I don't have anyone telling me to get things into their proper places. I do have my limits, however. And I believe the research that shows that clutter can cause stress and negatively affect your psyche.

I finally decided I'd had enough and that it was time to tackle the laundry room. I won't go into the details of the long, tedious process that ensued, but I will leave you with these statistics.

LAUNDRY ROOM CLEAN UP IN NUMBERS:

Number of partially filled laundry-baskets: 5
Number of hours spent on project: almost 3
Bags of clothing donated to Goodwill: 1
Socks found under my oldest daughter's bed: 11
Percentage of surface area of washer and dryer covered before clean up: ~90%
Percentage of floor space visible before clean up: ~50%
Number of single socks left after all the baskets were sorted: 42!!!

Yep, you read that right...42 unmatched socks for a family of four. And this doesn't even take into consideration the fact that I paired up different colored socks of the same size and style--luckily my kids are still young enough to think that having 2 different colored socks is funny and not unfashionable.  But still...what do you do with 42 single socks? The thrifty side of me tried to justify keeping them for crafts or as dust rags. I also considered stashing them in case their mates showed up in the next cycle of laundry. But then I reminded myself that that mentality is how the whole mess got started in the first place.

So guess what I did? I threw them all away! All 42 of them! And then I put some other trash on top to minimize the likelihood that I would go back in and rescue them. See:

That's my trashcan with all the socks on top. Let me tell you: It was one of the MOST satisfying actions I have taken in a long time.

And now, every time I pass the clean, white, cleared-off laundry room, I find a bit more motivation to tackle the other problem areas in my house. Now if only I could find the time...

New Semester, New Challenge

If you aren't familiar with the concept of 30-day challenges, check out this TED talk. I show it to my students every semester because it's a short introduction to the idea. I also encourage them to look at lists, such as the one below, for ideas.

I tossed around many ideas including 30-days of writing, meditating, or cutting out sugar. I settled on one I know will be very challenging for me: 30 days of organization

The idea is that I will make a list of 30 small projects in my house and try to tackle an average of one a day. At the end of the 30-days, my spaces will be de-cluttered, re-organized, and more efficient. While I'm not a super messy person, I'm certainly not a neat freak, and with 2 kids, 2 dogs, a part time job, multiple hobbies, an active social life and a busy volunteer schedule...Clutter Happens! Piles gather on counter tops, clothes get thrown into laundry baskets, and half-finished projects get stashed on the craft table for indefinite amounts of time. My goal is to de-clutter and put some new systems in place to minimize the accumulation in the future. It sounds difficult and tedious, and when I have precious free time, I know it'll be hard to convince myself to spend it cleaning. But I've set the goal and I will give it my best.