Assuming that at least some of this adulting catch-up shitpile is literal, physical cluttery shit, I highly recommend Unfuck Your Habitat. While I miss the early days of Sparkle!text and epic animated gifs on the site, there's a metric ass-ton of good advice and information about cleaning shit and keeping it that way. There's also explicit recognition that not everyone has the wherewithal to keep things immaculate all the time, and no blaming or shaming if you're one of those people who has a hard time with certain aspects of adulting. It's pretty awesome.
Aside from that, tackle the low-hanging fruit first--either the nagging stuff that's in your face and reinforces your negative self-talk whenever you see it, or the easier stuff that has a strong visual impact. So pick up the floordrobe and put it all in the laundry basket, or bag all the trash that's on the floor in your space and nothing else for now. Stack the random books next to the bookcase, clear the area immediately around your computer, or do one thing you've been avoiding, just to get it over with and out of your face. Even if that's all you do, you're likely to see and feel an improvement. Then celebrate your awesomeness and move on to whatever's next. I'm happy to cheerlead if you want! *\o/*
Another tip is to take micro-movements towards a larger goal. If you haven't done the dishes in a while, wash the top dish in the stack, dry it, and put it away. Then go do something else. Move the dirty laundry closer to the washer--it has to get there eventually in order to be washed, so that counts as progress. Or move 5 pieces of clean clothing closer to your dresser. Pay one bill. Clean one spill. You get the picture. And do it even if something else gets messy as a result--you'll get to the next mess later. Incremental improvement is totally a thing!
Creating a routine is also helpful because it builds a habit. Also, consciously create conditions that will make it easier for you to succeed. Fr'ex, if you decide to do a grocery run every Thursday after work, make a shopping list the night before and put it with your work stuff, block off that time in your schedule to reduce the chance of Grocery Time being sabotaged by Other Stuff, Do The Thing, and reward yourself meaningfully afterwards for having Done The Thing, you're more likely to do the grocery run the next Thursday evening, and the one after that. Build one new habit/routine task as a time, maybe one task a month. Entropy and inertia are strong forces, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. You have time for incremental improvements.
Another habit to get into is putting clean things away. Putting shit away is the last step in cleaning, and don't count your cleaning as being done until the clean stuff is back in the right place(s). Think of it as resetting your stuff, or closing the circle.
I hope this helps. I know this past year or so has brought a lot of changes to your life, and different challenges. You've got my support for whatever you need to do to make your life better and more awesome.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2014-06-08 05:21 pm (UTC)Aside from that, tackle the low-hanging fruit first--either the nagging stuff that's in your face and reinforces your negative self-talk whenever you see it, or the easier stuff that has a strong visual impact. So pick up the floordrobe and put it all in the laundry basket, or bag all the trash that's on the floor in your space and nothing else for now. Stack the random books next to the bookcase, clear the area immediately around your computer, or do one thing you've been avoiding, just to get it over with and out of your face. Even if that's all you do, you're likely to see and feel an improvement. Then celebrate your awesomeness and move on to whatever's next. I'm happy to cheerlead if you want! *\o/*
Another tip is to take micro-movements towards a larger goal. If you haven't done the dishes in a while, wash the top dish in the stack, dry it, and put it away. Then go do something else. Move the dirty laundry closer to the washer--it has to get there eventually in order to be washed, so that counts as progress. Or move 5 pieces of clean clothing closer to your dresser. Pay one bill. Clean one spill. You get the picture. And do it even if something else gets messy as a result--you'll get to the next mess later. Incremental improvement is totally a thing!
Creating a routine is also helpful because it builds a habit. Also, consciously create conditions that will make it easier for you to succeed. Fr'ex, if you decide to do a grocery run every Thursday after work, make a shopping list the night before and put it with your work stuff, block off that time in your schedule to reduce the chance of Grocery Time being sabotaged by Other Stuff, Do The Thing, and reward yourself meaningfully afterwards for having Done The Thing, you're more likely to do the grocery run the next Thursday evening, and the one after that. Build one new habit/routine task as a time, maybe one task a month. Entropy and inertia are strong forces, but this is a marathon, not a sprint. You have time for incremental improvements.
Another habit to get into is putting clean things away. Putting shit away is the last step in cleaning, and don't count your cleaning as being done until the clean stuff is back in the right place(s). Think of it as resetting your stuff, or closing the circle.
I hope this helps. I know this past year or so has brought a lot of changes to your life, and different challenges. You've got my support for whatever you need to do to make your life better and more awesome.