The plan - short story
- I read a book called "Zen Habits" by Leo Babauta about how to effectively change your live and gain new habits.
- There is a lot of clutter in my house and for my first habit I want to learn to de-clutter.
And here it is (read the details below in "the plan - long story")
Start date: 8/22/2017
Specific habit: Declutter / Clean for 2 min every day (or more)
Trigger: when I see it (clean-as-you-go), dedicate time after dinner
Reminder(s): board in kitchen, post-it on bathroom mirror
Review dates: 8/28 and then weekly
Accountability: hopefully some twitter folks will yell at me lol, will ask my husband to hold me accountable
Commitment: doing this for at least one month without missing more than one day.
Asking for support: my husband
Potential obstacles: tired, busy schedule, things I need to ask my husband where they should go
Log: posting on twitter #dailydeclutter & weekly blog review
Mindful reward: clean surfaces and areas give a nicer atmosphere for any activity
Who will you share the plan with?
Twitter & blog followers, my husband
I will include cleaning in the de-clutter areas, because what good is it if there is no clutter but still dust ;)
There are a few more points that I may have to add later to the plan if I am not doing well.
The plan - long story
As mentioned above I had read the "Zen Habits" book and started a habit of push-ups last year. However, as I was told not to do I did not share this plan much and didn't really have all of the measures that Leo mentioned in his book in place to help if things get rough. So my habit fell apart as soon as the baby arrived.
A year later, I am re-reading the book and want to do this the right way this time. Differently than last year, I have picked another habit to go first though. With the help of a poll online I picked the de-clutter habit. I believe that this is the best one to start with because it will help with future habits.
It should give me space to do crafting, art and work out. Make the house more comfortable and inviting. And just give me a better atmosphere over all.
I have read a few more articles that I have considered also in the process. This article by Joshua Becker talks about more tricks to help with accountability:
https://www.becomingminimalist.com/accountability/
Accountability is very important to stick to your habit, which is something Leo also re-iterates a lot. I like the bit in the text about before and after pictures. I want to try and do this as much as possible.
But I don't think I will always be able to do this because I also love the concepts of this article by Leo (same author as "Zen Habits"), where he talks about the clean-as-you-go technique. That sounds very effective also because it is quick, happens right where ever you are and you won't feel much resistance by your inner child: https://zenhabits.net/clean/
I am starting this habit this week and have already done the surface pictured above.
Last but not least, I want to invite your guys to join my journey of de-cluttering. Please share your story and link with me if you do. I would love to see your accomplishments and feedback.
Labels: accountability, change, clean, declutter, habit plan, habits, minimalist, Zen Habits
