Small Steps...Lead to...Success!

What causes a stall in your life—then, what inspires you to move forward?

Kathie England, Professional Organizer and Coach, and owner of Time for Success, recently reviewed One Small Step Can Change Your Life, by Robert Maurer, at a National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Oregon Chapter meeting.

Her summation intrigued me.

I purchased and read this book, and now it’s my favorite book about changing behavior and achieving success…using six small simple steps.

The goal of the book is to “…change your life without fear, without failure.”

It takes a small amount of time to read and yields a practical way to overcome inaction.

Paperwork Past Its Prime

Paper, in some form, arrives daily in most households. True?

Advertisements, bills, junk mail, magazines, donation requests, and newspapers are received by mail; documents are brought home from work and/or school; and business cards, fliers, and pamphlets are collected at business networking meetings, expositions, and trade shows. Upon arrival, the tendency is to lay the paper object on the nearest chair, couch, desktop, or kitchen counter with the intention of taking care of it...later.

Sometimes, years may elapse and many miscellaneous papers lie around, multiply, and may spread into other rooms. Eventually, the time is right, or an occasion arises and the paper finally gets some attention. Hours upon hours are needed to sort, review, and dispose of the amassed paper collection. Recently, I helped a client process decades’ worth of papers, and inspired me to write this cinquain poem:

Papers

Many Saved

Reading, filing, recycling

Stack up, clutter minds, cause disorder

Toss!

Quick Steps Move You

Do you make to-do lists to tidy your home and complete work projects? I do. Finishing one job and crossing it off this list inspires me to do another. Each lined-off task moves me on to the next.

Some days...I don't make a list and would rather "shut the door" on an untidy room...and nothing more. Does that happen to you? If it does, my friend and fellow organizer Jill Viglione, owner of Embrace Your Space, suggests we: Take ten tiny actions.

These may be as minute as turning off a light in an unused room; putting away a potholder in a kitchen drawer, or rinsing off one dirty dish. Finish one, cross it off your mental list, and then complete another little chore...until you've reached your goal of ten. Taking care of each little job is a reward in itself; and it might inspire you to bring order to an entire room. If others live with you, invite them to join in the fun and share in the maintenance of your home.

You can use this method on any space, room, or for paper pileups. Try it! It's fast and it gets you moving!