quick follow up to last week. I had this come up with a client a few weeks ago. And I thought it was worth mentioning. Sometimes we think once we put in an organizational system we get to wash our hands of that part of our life and let it go. It has been my experience that that is never the case. Everything requires maintenance. The idea is to set up organizational systems that are super easy to interact with so that things get disorganized less severely and less rapidly. Thus, you will need to interact with that organizational system in terms of upkeep as little as possible. But nothing lasts forever.
I think that’s one of the reasons that we struggle so much with things that are constant and repetitive like laundry, male, bills that we can’t put on auto pay, shopping / food prep. I think on some level we get frustrated that these things happen over and over again, which is exhausting. But they still need to get done. So coming up with the system to get them done as efficiently as possible is the way to go. But really, everything in our life exists in that way. Possibly for super neurotypical people who put everything away exactly where it goes all the time life could be like that. But that sounds like both a fantasy and a nightmare to me.
I certainly can’t think of a single aspect of my life that doesn’t need maintenance and upkeep. I’ve got to go through the basement once in awhile because things get thrown down there. I’ve got to go through the paperwork in my office once in awhile. Even the linen closet needs a little love once or twice a year. But having good systems so that they need a little love once in awhile is actually a victory. Yes, it means admitting to yourself that everything will unravel slightly eventually and nothing is permanent. But that’s just owning reality. If you own reality, it frees you up to create the best and most efficient systems. So I wish you the best of luck systeming! And following up!