How’s everyone travelling this week?
No, this blog is definitely not about aliens or spaceships!
I guess I need to explain the title.
Many years ago I joined a quilting group and as most quilters do I had many sewing projects going at
the same time. The lovely lady who led the group made it a point every so often to set aside a day
for dealing with our UFO’S, UN-FINISHED OBJECTS. So, no not alien spacecrafts but projects we start
with great enthusiasm and with time the enthusiasm wanes and we end up shoving the project in a
cupboard full of other UFO’S. So, we made it a practice to take our half-finished projects to class at
least once a month and try attempt to reduce the pile.
It was a valuable lesson that I learnt and something I try and implement in all areas of my life to this
day. If I start something I try my best to finish it, whether it be an art project or a plan I’ve put into
place for my life, or a new course I’ve started. It has now become a good habit of mine to follow
through and complete what I start but this was definitely not always the case in the past.
So often we have a dream or a plan and in the beginning we’re all eager and keen but then as time
goes by and things get a bit difficult or challenging or we get too busy we tend to shelve our plans or
projects. So, they become UN-FINISHED OBJECTS and with time they tend to pile up. Which often
can lead to feelings of failure, despondency and cause us to feel overwhelmed when we see them
and the chaos that starts to surround us.
Over the years I have learnt that the more UFO’S that pile up the harder it becomes to deal with
them and complete them. Eventually they begin to weigh us down and gnaw at us and sometimes
guilt even starts to set in.
You know you need to finish them but you keep telling yourself that you’ll get to them one day.
I have a saying, “day one, or one day, you decide”!
If we don’t make a conscious effort to implement, “day one” of our plans or projects and see them
through they invariably become UFO’S.
You might be thinking so what’s wrong with having a list or pile of UFO’S?
Well in time the unfinished projects tend to pile up around us, cupboards become messy and full of
clutter. This clutter eventually starts to overwhelm us and we get into a cycle of shoving things in
places so we don’t see them lying around. Soon these places start to overflow with the clutter and
when we look again, we are surrounded by a constant mess.
A cluttered space is indicative of a cluttered mind. Eventually it becomes harder and harder to
distance ourselves from the clutter both physically and mentally. We start to feel overwhelmed and
it becomes more and more difficult to see a way out or to find a solution. Some become so
unmotivated that they end up in a constant cycle of procrastination.
Then there are those of us who tend to once again start something new just to try and make
ourselves feel better and motivated again. However, this just sets off another cycle of starting
something and not following it through to completion.
So just how do we stop this constant cycle of creating new UFO’S?
One thing I have learnt is that the completion of a task leads to a sense of accomplishment and
satisfaction. Over the years I found one way to motivate myself to complete an unfinished task was
to see which project or task was the closest to completion. I would then start with that task because
it was quicker to complete and I would see the results quicker. Seeing the task completed motivated
me to finish the next project and slowly I started getting through the UFO’S one task at a time. The
more tasks and projects I managed to complete the better I felt about myself. In time the clutter
improved around me and motivated me to become more organised. I learnt to allocate places to
neatly store all my supplies. I learnt to repurpose containers, glass jars etc. to store items neatly
without costing me money. I filed papers, patterns etc. neatly in files and the more order I created
around me the easier it became and the more motivated I became.
Seeing things neatly stored away and completed gave me a sense of achievement. This spurred me
on to start making it a good habit keeping things neat and tidy and completing things that I start. As I
got into a habit of doing this it became easier to keep it up. I also learnt to put things back where
they belong, the minute I was done with them. It literally takes a few seconds to put something back
in its rightful place. If we leave things lying around, they start to cause clutter again and then
something that would have taken a few seconds to put away has now become a task that will take
way longer to complete. When we learn to manage time, we end up with so much more time to do
the things that we enjoy.
So, something to consider is that as easy as it is to get into a bad habit, it’s just as easy to get into a
good habit. It’s really not that hard, all it takes is a conscious effort to make a start and as you start
to create good habits it just becomes easier.
Learn to set small goals at first so that they don’t overwhelm you and seem unachievable. You will
be amazed at just how easy it is to become organised and to stay organised once you are on top of
everything. When things are neat and tidy it saves time when you need to find something and you
don’t have to spend wasted time and energy sifting through piles of chaos.
Remember a cluttered space makes for a cluttered mind! So, keep your space clean and watch your
mental health improve!