There is a poem by Rudyard Kipling that begins, “If you can keep your head while all about you are losing theirs.” It’s the only thing I remember about the poem, but I’ve been thinking about how important it is these days to do everything in our power to “keep our head”—stay calm, sane and centered—when the world and the weather seem anything but. Maintaining order in the home, car, office and using your time effectively can give you a base of sanity. As I always say, when in doubt, clean out a drawer and do a few push-ups.
Start with a good purge. Whether you can take time out to clean out the whole house or can only afford to do a cupboard or closet at a time, get rid of all the extra stuff that you don’t want, don’t need, or haven’t thought about in years. Get rid of anything that is expired, tired or otherwise taking up physical and mental space that you can reclaim for sanity’s sake. As Brad Pitt’s character in the classic movie Fight Club says, “The things you own end up owning you.”
Organize the rest. Keep like items together—all art supplies, all camping gear, all tools, all office supplies, all paperwork, etc. Containerize these things and label the containers. Exceptions would be multiples of things you would use in different rooms. A pair of scissors in almost every room is fantastic. A lightweight but sturdy step ladder in every closet is super helpful.
Now that you can breathe, set your priorities. What can you delete from your calendar? For me it was a service club that required a long commute, expensive dues and a lot of hours without enough of the community service and fellowship I desired. Cutting that created room for activities that are closer to home, less expensive and truly feed my soul.
I added morning meditation, something I never skip. Sitting doing nothing for half an hour could easily be skipped in favor of something that seems more productive—answering e-mails or reading the New York Times for example. But if you noticed, the word about using time in my opening paragraph was “effective” not “efficient.” I have never felt more effective or productive than since I started meditating daily without fail. The whole day seems to fall into place in a calmer, saner, more centered way.
Doors—open or closed? When I was younger, I chose the “closed door” method of productivity. I shut the door on anything that might distract me; if it wasn’t relevant to my goals, I didn’t engage. Then as I became more confident that I had ingrained a good routine and was disciplined enough to expand my horizons, I started opening doors and saying, “Yes!” to more opportunities, people and activities.
You can decide where you need to close down a bit and where you can open up. When things get nutty or seem dangerous to your serenity and well-being, you can pull in and close down a little or a lot. Maturity and experience teaches us when to expand and when to contract, with spending, relationships, work, exercise and other things that require our resources. Be conscious of how activities and people affect your energy—if you start feeling really drained by something or someone, simply take notice and decide if you need to renegociate your commitments.
And don’t forget the push-ups.