Mindful Monday | Organizing is a practice

"Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine." - SHUNRYU SUZUKI

Zen is a practice. So is organizing.

They both require single-minded attention.

For Zen, that attention is focused on the breath.

For organizing, the focus is on stuff where it lives, what its purpose is, how much of it you have.

It helps to remember to breathe when organizing, especially if you get overwhelmed easily.

Take a quick scan around the room you're in right now.

Does it look tidy? Is everything in its home?

If things are laying around NOT in their homes, set a timer for 10 minutes and either put things back where they live OR gather up all the homeless items and put them in one container.

Now there's no more clutter except for the random items in your container.

So you get to decide where will these things live? Will they even continue to live with you?

If you can't find a home for these things, either because they aren't like anything else you own OR because you don't really need or use them, you can let them go.

You could try to cram them into a space that is too small for them, but that wouldn't be very "Zen" of you.

Start today by making a commitment to yourself that you're not going to waste another minute unnecessarily dealing with things you've got more important things to do.

Have enough of everything that serves you and nothing that doesn't. Make that your practice.

Keeping your attention on what enough is, is simple. Just like returning your attention to your breath is simple.

If you practice this on a daily basis you will be organized. Quicker than you can imagine. And if every day everything you own ends up back where it came from, you will stay organized. That's what a practice looks like.

There's probably nothing too exciting about it and that's the point. The real excitement happens when you are engaged in the things you love to do.

Don't expect organizing to be fun. Don't expect it to suck either. It is just another activity. Like brushing your teeth or breathing.

Keep it simple and keep it focused and it will soon be integrated into the way you look at stuff.

And that is exciting.