31 Jul 2017

Are you so overwhelmed you are paralyzed?

 

As someone who helps people organize their homes, offices and businesses there are several things that people usually say to me when we first meet for a consultation or behaviors that they exhibit. First, they apologize again, again and again – this isn’t typical of them, they don’t like the situation they are in and they don’t know how to get themselves out of it. Then they apologize that they didn’t have time to clean up before I arrived.  And, when we have completed our first session they are always grateful for the help, regret that they didn’t seek out help sooner and most importantly they themselves recognize it’s not as bad as they thought! Of course I quickly reassure them that it isn’t nearly as bad as they think (trust me – it’s never as bad as you think.) I remind them that the first step to solving a problem is admitting you actually have a problem and finally, there are no hard and fast rules and all it will take is a little discipline and burning some calories and things will get better.

In a majority of the scenarios I find myself in as a professional organizer, most all of my clients have overcome the biggest obstacle when they have brought me in to help. Step one is overcoming the inertia that is preventing you from moving ahead and beyond the obstacle.

The paralysis is a result of that inertia holding you in place. It’s not as hard as you think to overcome the inertia and break past the barriers. So where do you start? You simply have to take the first step and the journey begins from there.

Rather than looking at the project as one big overwhelming project – think of it as a series of smaller projects. Tackle one small thing and then move on to the next. If you need, make a list of the small projects and prioritize them – are there certain things that it makes sense to do first? (try to keep some order and logic to them so you don’t find yourself undoing or redoing things.)

Break tasks down into things you can do in 30 minutes or less (I confess – I learned this one from my life coach and it’s amazing what I’ve been able to accomplish with this small shift in tactics.) When you have thirty minutes tackle one of these tasks – if you have more time, you might be able to knock a couple of items off the list!

Do you need help ending the paralysis? Contact us for a free consultation!

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