Dear daughter, when we start thinking about how to declutter our life, several challenges appear. Here, I’ll give you some tips about how to overcome some of these challenges.
Like everything else in life that is worth it, decluttering brings us challenges. We need to be aware of these challenges and have a way to overcome them. Otherwise, our lives will remain cluttered, and with it, all the negative things related to a cluttered environment and a cluttered life will remain with us.
I don’t want you to have such a life, because I understand myself the benefits of a simple and decluttered life. I want you to experience it, and reap the benefits that come with it.
Below, I’ll discuss some of the challenges you might face when trying to declutter your life (which include your whole environment – home, digital, personal, etc.-).
Table of Contents
- Decluttering Challenge # 1: Procrastination
- Decluttering Challenge # 2: Emotional attachment
- Decluttering Challenge # 3: Where do I start?
- Decluttering Challenge # 4: This is overwhelming
- Decluttering Challenge # 5: I’m not motivated to do it
- Summary
Decluttering Challenge # 1: Procrastination
Procrastination is a big challenge to decluttering, as it is in many other areas of life. Like studying, reading books, exercising, investing, etc.
A big issue here is if you say to yourself: “I’ll rest now, tomorrow I’ll start decluttering”.
If this is how you feel, know that you are not alone. Many people feel like that.
However, some people make it (whatever the goal is, decluttering, becoming rich, financially free, etc.), and some don’t make it.
The difference is not that successful people don’t feel like leaving things for tomorrow, the difference is that they don’t leave things for tomorrow.
In summary, feeling like you are procrastinating is not a problem, as long as you do what you have to do now, instead of leaving it for tomorrow.
Tips
Here are some tips to avoid procrastination, I got most of them from the books I’m reading:
- First, think and feel the benefits of doing it. If you focus on the benefits that you will get, instead of focusing on how difficult it is to get it done, you will keep moving forward. Think about it, if all you can think about is how much you will sweat while doing this work, and how tired you will be, then the logical decision is not to make it. But you think about how good you will feel when you finish, how productive you will be because you are in a decluttered space, and all the other benefits, then the decision is easy, just do it.
- Set up small goals. You don’t need to finish right away. You can start by decluttering your closet, or even better, start decluttering half of your closet. Because this is a small task, you will be able to finish quickly, at least in one day. Then you will see the advance you made, this will motivate you to keep going, as you will start to see the benefits of what you are doing in a short time. This is in line with what is proposed in the book “Atomic Habits”. The author states that when you want to create a habit, you should start small, and grow at your own pace. It is easier to start exercising 15 minutes a day than 2 hours a day. After you get the habit of exercising 15 minutes a day, you can start adding time, for instance, adding 5 minutes a week. If you are consistent over a long time, you will get where you want to be. Saying that, remember that “consistency is the key!!”.
Decluttering Challenge # 2: Emotional attachment
This is a big one. We human beings are emotional by nature.
Did you know why we usually react, emotionally, to things before we even think about what is going on?
Here is the scientific explanation. Our brain works with electrical impulses. Every time we capture something using our five senses (vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste) an electrical signal is transmitted to our brain. The signal passes first through the limbic system, only after that, does the signal arrive at the frontal cortex. “Particular regions of the frontal cortex are responsible for numerous capabilities, most notably the performance of motor tasks, judgment, abstract thinking, creativity, and maintaining social appropriateness.” Source.
See, we first feel, then we think. Some of us don’t even get to the part of thinking because we already reacted.
Did ever happen to you that you found yourself in a situation where you knew that you shouldn’t have said something you said? Above is the explanation.
Being aware of this will help you think through any emotional attachments.
Think about what benefit will bring you to keep the thing, and what benefit will bring you to get rid of the thing. Think about it, don’t just follow your feelings. Think about what your goal is: more space, more light, more productivity? Does the thing help you get this, or is it an obstacle for you to get what you want? Then, make a decision.
Remember that these are personal decisions. Someone might decide to get rid of one thing while another person might decide to keep it. It all depends on you.
Decluttering Challenge # 3: Where do I start?
Sometimes we have a huge task in front of us and we don’t know where to start.
Here the solution is quite simple.
Just start! It doesn’t matter where, just do it.
Want to be a professional in any (or better, in every) area of your life? I read once that professionals are the people who don’t need motivation to do what needs to be done, they just stand up and do it anyway, motivated or not, tired or not.
Don’t overthink it, don’t try to find the perfect way of doing it, the optimal way. Just start!
Remember that perfect is the enemy of good. You don’t need to do it perfectly, you only need to do it well.
So, just start!
Decluttering Challenge # 4: This is overwhelming
After you start decluttering your life for a while, you can feel overwhelmed. This is an indication of how cluttered your life is/was. It is not an indication that you should stop.
How to go about it?
First, think about the benefits that this will bring to you once you finish. Visualize how you will feel, how good will be everything, and how productive you will become. Visualize all the stress leaving you.
After you do that, then set up small goals. Just take it, or plan it, as a marathon, not as a sprint. No one is pressing you to finish today. You are doing this for your own benefit, not for someone else’s benefit.
So, take your time, and set up your own deadlines, and small tasks.
Here are some examples of what to do if you feel overwhelmed.
If you are overwhelmed because of all the stuff you have in the garage, start decluttering one corner today, then tomorrow you move to the next corner, and so on.
If you are decluttering the kitchen, you don’t need to finish in one day. Start removing expired products that you are not going to use anymore. Then plan to declutter one shelve at a time, one per day. If you keep doing it consistently over time, eventually you will finish. That’s the main goal, to finish decluttering!
Decluttering Challenge # 5: I’m not motivated to do it
I used to think about many things in such a way, that if I’m not motivated enough I shouldn’t do it.
This was before I discovered that “lack of motivation” is just one of the reasons we give ourselves to procrastinate. Now, I think that I procrastinate because I tell myself that I’m not motivated, instead of telling myself that I’m not motivated and because of that will procrastinate.
So, don’t give yourself a reason to procrastinate. If you feel you are not motivated, just use your logical reasoning: you don’t need to be motivated to do something, you do it because you must do it, because of the benefits that will give to you.
Remember, the pros (a.k.a. successful people) don’t need the motivation to do something, they just do it because they must. That is all the motivation they need. Lazy people (sometimes referred to as losers) need external motivation to do something. If there is no external motivation, they stay in the same place for their whole lives.
Which one do you want to be?
Visualize it, and you will easily overcome this challenge.
Summary
In summary, any time you face a challenge while you are decluttering your life, think about the following ways to overcome it:
- Think, and visualize, the benefits that a decluttered life will have for you.
- Set up small goals that you can achieve in one hour or a couple of hours. When you achieve your goal, celebrate!
- Start with the end in mind. Why are you doing this? Do you want to have more space? To be more productive? To have a better life? Think and visualize it.
- Pros do what they must do, they don’t need external motivation. Just start!
Lastly, I want to give you one tip that most people forget or don’t even consider.
Ask for help.
There is nothing wrong with asking for help. We weren’t born with all the skills we have today. If you don’t know how to do it, ask for help. If you find yourself procrastinating, ask for help. A way that works for me is this one. I tell my wife what are my (small) goals for the week, and by the end of the week, she will ask me what I did. This makes me accountable for my own goals. Now, because I know I’ll be asked about it, that helps me to be on track with my goals.
This is just one way that you can ask for help. Not the only one.
Be creative!
Love you, Dad.