Wednesday, February 13, 2013

TIME and The Messie Mind

A Marine biologist once complained to me at one of my seminars that she felt she did not have much of a concept of time. Some things took longer than she thought they would and others took less time. Consequently, her planning was always off target.

That very week, a lady from Nebraska wrote the same thing. The reason this was so interesting to me was because it has long been a feeling of mine that my internal timekeeper did not work like most other people's. Actually, I usually pay little attention to time. When I have blocks of time to do certain jobs, I pay little attention to the clock. It is only because my husband does watch the clock and he keeps me moving along in my schedule that I don't get behind in more things.

One reason we seem to procrastinate many times is not because we have put it off so long; it's that we did not realize it had been "so long." I've found that bills can become overdue because the time passes so fast that the "due date" overtakes us. What seemed to be a date in the far away future, suddenly arrives! So, for us, time is erratic and hard to relate to on a consistent basis.

How can we overcome our disconnect with time? One way is to begin timing your usual activities. How long does it take to make the bed, unload the dishwasher, etc.?  Maybe you are planning to do a bigger job or project that will take significant time. Plan only to do that job for a limited amount of time and then, set a timer for yourself.  I have a handy little timer that gives me a 5 minute warning before the time is up!  Don't forget to include the time to clean up  and put back any tools and materials that you are using. Try it, you may be surprised.

So, if you find that there is still something not working out quite right in your organizational reform, it is at least partly because of TIME and The Messies Mind.
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Warmly,
THE ORGANIZER LADY® 
Sandra Felton
Founder, Messies Anonymous


2 comments:

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  2. With time I also struggle so I have found keeping active is always a plus. Do it now..if not you..who. If I really think I will be cleaning the kitchen all night and just want to go sit down, the timer helps. I say I will do it for 15 minutes. Then in 15 minutes hings have improved so much I tag on another 15 and maybe another and I am done! Well it looks great. I also play tricks in my head like if I don't get it done in 15 minutes someone will come take my family from me...or my boss is going to pop in for a visit, etc. This prevents me from obsessing to do over kill on a job I can and want to do quickly. I have been known to get side tracked looking for an old toothbrush to do some detailing. When there is an elephant in the other room. If you know what I mean.

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