“Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly.”
I came across this quote one day on social media, and my initial reaction was to say that line of thinking was lazy. I didn’t understand because I sought out perfection at every turn, and in my mind, anything less than the best was failure.
But then I read further in the comments to find this quote that helped me understand.
“Doing 10 minutes of yoga is better than sitting for 10 minutes when 30 minutes of cardio sounds impossible. Picking up your clothes is better than never cleaning. Brushing your teeth for 30 seconds is better than not brushing them at all when 2 minutes sounds exhausting.”
The person then went on to conclude:
“anything worth doing is worth doing poorly because doing it poorly is better than not doing it.”
As a perfectionist, and an organizer, I needed to hear that. I think often we can get overwhelmed by finding the perfect container or absolute best possible way to organize it, and while those things are important, it’s even more important to get started and do something rather than nothing.
Being organized doesn’t have to mean having every kind of pasta in a neatly labeled clear container on the kitchen counter. Or an alphabetized pantry. Or even a rainbow color-order closet. (A tip of my hat to you if you have in fact achieved this! One day I hope to as well!)
Being organized, to me, is about having systems in place to keep yourself accountable and be able to lay your head down at night and feel at peace knowing that everything that needed to be done, was taken care of. Even if that meant reassigning a task to another day.
So if you find yourself overwhelmed by the idea of getting (and staying) organized, or don’t think that is even in the realm of possibility for you, just remember it doesn’t have to be perfect- just make a start. Stop waiting to find the perfect system and take a stab at it! Often we have to try a few different systems before we find the one that works best, anyway.
Here are some systems I do my best to use on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to do something when doing everything feels impossible.
Fold all the throw blankets before bed.
This is just nice to wake up to in the morning, and serves as a clean start for the day. If the living room is tidy each morning, then it’s easier to keep in control.
2. Set calendar reminders for certain chores.
If your recycling or garbage service comes on Tuesday for example, set a reoccurring reminder to take out all the trash or recycling on Monday night.
3. Clean out the car day.
Set one day a month to clean out the car. Calendar reminders work great for this too! With all the constant hustle and bustle of life, it’s easy for things we need to get lost in the shuffle. Keeping the car neat can help us keep track of all the sports equipment, shoes, and backpacks among other things.
4. Cup round-up.
Walk through the house and collect all the forgotten cups from the glass of water on the bedside table to the coffee that didn’t make it past the second re-heat. This will help minimize clutter.
5. Shoe Shelf
Create a designated shoe area and get in the habit of leaving the shoes by the door. This keeps them from turning up in the middle of the hall or under the couch and minimizes the inevitable getting ready where-are-my-shoes question.
These are just a few simple things to do that will help you to do something when doing everything feels impossible. I frequently tell clients that the hardest part is often getting started. Once that ball is rolling, it gets easier.
