When I need to get a job done, I often start by clearing the decks.
In the mornings when I prepare a packed lunch, if there are clean dishes on the bench from the night before, I put those dishes away before I start rather than just sweeping them to one side in a big messy heap. If I’m going to fold clothes on the bed, the chore works better if the bed is made. When I’m under the pump with work, I clear away extraneous papers and the jobs they contain so I can attend to the single most important task of the moment.
It’s not only that I dislike working in a mess—it has to do with the brain’s visual processing. Everything is more complex when there is too much in your line of vision. Your brain has to process that picture, whether you consciously realise it or not. The cluttered view makes it harder to start, harder to accomplish and harder to clean up afterwards.
Having clear space is cleaner so that’s a good reason to get rid of the excess clutter. Even more important is the fact that when you have clear surfaces, your head works better. The items you need to use, and only those items, are all there perfectly visible in front of you. When you’re finished, you know which bits should be put away because you just keep putting items away until the surface is clear again.
There is something paradoxical about being surrounded by a plethora of stuff. You’d think that because it’s all there in plain sight you’d want to deal with it. But no, it’s just the opposite.
When the freezer is so packed that you virtually have to dismantle the insides to get to something, it’s pretty overwhelming. You’re probably going to take the easier option and leave it all there for another day. If the fridge is overstuffed, it’s sadly easier to have takeaway. If you virtually have to unpack the cupboard to get at an item, you’re much more likely to shrug your shoulders and walk away.
Cleaning is harder with a house that has stuff on every surface and spilling out onto the floor. Twenty things on the dresser? I don’t even want to try to dust. One object, beautifully placed? I can pick it up in one hand while dusting with the other. Easy, quick, satisfying.
It’s very gratifying being happy to start a task. Making lunch? Pull the one plastic container out of the fridge, put it on the clear bench and dive straight in, knowing the container has every fridge item inside it for that one job.
It’s so much simpler when there’s wriggle room in the fridge, when you can see what you need in the freezer at a glance and can pull it out without starting an avalanche. Sitting down at a clear office desk makes you more prepared to dive into your work. It truly is so much easier for your brain to work when it’s not being bombarded by the sight of teetering piles.
So if clearing the decks works so well, the obvious next step is to create a lifestyle where the decks are clear all the time. That may require considerable thought and preparation. It may mean clearing out. Deleting. Editing. Downsizing. The secret is to have a proper home for every single thing, and simply put all items away in their home when they’re not in use. Simple. Even if it takes a couple of months to implement, this has the potential to be life changing.
So now it’s time to stop thinking and do something about it. Prepare a green smoothie for energy, then start. Where? At the thing right in front of you. Hmmm. Looks like it’s the fridge, then …