House In Order, day 7

[cjsmith]

All my pictures from that one trip are in the albums. Still awaiting reprints from Rob.

The problem with getting something done from my To Do list is that my To Do list is infinite. I have absolutely zero motivation to get something ELSE done. It won't make a bit of difference.

Comments

[ambar.livejournal.com]

A quick thought --

if the only motivation is "get this off my list", and the list is infinite, you are right.

If there is motivation for the item itself, if completing it brings some coolness into your life, or gets coolness a step closer, that makes the infinitude of the to-do list irrelevant.

The ugly side of perfectionism

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

My To Do list -- at least the one I'm thinking of for this current "Get My House In Order" challenge -- is infinite because the goal is ill-formed. The list is a big pile of things that will, if all of them are done, allow me to say "I am organized! My house is clean and decluttered! My finances are under control! I know where things are!" To reach that goal... well, see, I'm a perfectionist.

Somehow I can be both pleased that my pictures are in an album AND completely unmoved in my assessment of myself as disorganized. I'm failing to recognize that the coolness is one step closer.

Re: The ugly side of perfectionism

[ambar.livejournal.com]

I don't have time to elaborate as I'd like, but if you drag out _Getting Things Done_ and work back through the "project visioning" stuff, you may find that a) it makes more sense now and b) has a lot of application w.r.t motivation.

What does "decluttered" mean for you on an emotional level? For me it means I can move through my house without feeling crowded or bumping into stuff. Maybe for you it means you can lie on your back on the living room floor and luxuriate in the feeling of space. Or in being able to look all around and not see any "visual nagging". Or...?

Re: The ugly side of perfectionism

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'll do that. (drag out GTD when I get home, that is.)

Defining the goal is important. Let's see: know where to find things quickly - check, already got that. No "visual nagging" - excellent subgoal, definitely don't have things that way now and I definitely want to. If "clutter" is "things that get in my way when I'm looking for something else", then organized and decluttered means none of that - I'll give myself a C on this and am aiming for at least a B+.

Visual nagging. I bet that's a huge piece. I'm less worried about most of my photos now that they're inside file drawers instead of in a giant pile on top of the cabinets. Finland didn't fit in the drawers, see, so it was out and visible, so... I like this thought.