Reduce and Repeat

Part 2 of 5

“Go slow to go fast.”

Slowing it down is the second way to ease the side-effects of clearing clutter.*

Anytime a task becomes too overwhelming and threatens to stall your efforts or shut you down, take it as a sign to dial it down a notch. Reduce your clearing task and/or time spent on a task to something that feels doable and manageable (i.e. doesn’t elicit stress) and repeat the same or similar task, every day.

The R & R approach to clearing the refrigerator, for example, would be to clean, clear, or consolidate one item a day, beginning with the leftovers, moving on to the condiments, ending with the stuff in the freezer, every day for one week, or until the task is complete.

The R & R approach to clearing a behavior you’d like to change, like surfing the Web for example, would be to set an alarm clock for a specific time and stop when the bell rings. Reduce the time spent by one minute increments each day.

Be creative. There are infinite ways to dial it down.

Adjust any task as your stamina and desire increases. Remember, any feeling of overwhelm, worry, or stress would be an indicator that you’ve taken on more than you can handle, and suggests you reduce your range even more. No matter how small your effort, clearing or moving even just one paper clip or one pencil nub off a chronically messy desk every day with intention, creates a powerful energetic shift that can change your life.

Next up in the series: “Soak in Salt and Soda”

*This is the second installment in a five-part series on easing the side-effects of clutter clearing. Here are the other posts and their sequence to help you support a successful clearing practice:

• Press Pause, Step Back
• Reduce and Repeat
• Soak in Salt and Soda
• Refresh and Beautify with Water
• Do Nothing: Reflections on the Art of Non-Doing