Organizing can seem like such dull work, but it has rewards. Unfortunately, some of these rewards carry with them a means of distraction, a pitfall to the task at hand. They can come in the form of forgotten memories, long-lost toys, or even pieces of a figurative puzzle. If you want to finish the task, it is best to identify some of these pitfalls to stay focused. That way, when the organization is finished, you cannot only relish in the satisfaction of completing the task, but you also have a reward for yourself.
Memory Lane
Ah, memories; they hide everywhere and anywhere. They lurk in old photos and rest in precious keepsakes. We may store them in direct view for all to see or hide them away for only us to cherish. Sometimes these mementos lay forgotten and become buried amongst our other possessions. This is the pitfall, and about the time we uncover them, we instantly get lost in those old feelings again.
When organizing, this is a hard pitfall to avoid. Those emotions can pull us in; before you know it, the whole day is gone. To prevent this deep dive down memory lane, at the start, set up a bin to place these objects. When you finish, you can sit down, relax, and go through those precious possessions at your leisure.
Early Christmas
Oh, that feeling of waking up Christmas morning and running down the stairs to see an array of big and small boxes begging to be unwrapped. Organizing shares much of the same feeling as you uncover old treasures lying beneath the piles just waiting to be discovered.
While this is an exciting feeling and can make organizing enjoyable, it is also on our list of one of the pitfalls you want to avoid. That is, until later, when the project is completed. If you stop and think about how much time you spend looking over those treasures, you can understand how much time can be wasted. Let’s say you find a working drone you forgot about and take 5 or 10 minutes to play with it. You put it down, and 20 min later, you uncover one of those all-in-one tools. So you spend another 10 min opening it up and trying out the attachments you forgot it had. Rinse and repeat this about five or so times, and a full hour has passed when more needs to be done. What’s more, you are now on the tired side and running low on steam. While fun and exciting, this pitfall must wait until the job is done. Playing with those forgotten items is so much fun, but getting too caught up will only leave you feeling like you could have done better at the desired task.
Puzzle Chasing
I have to admit this pitfall has gotten me frequently. You have been searching for a few attachments for a project tool for months. You move a box to the left, and lo and behold, at the bottom is one of the pieces you so needed. That is not enough, though; you still need the bendy part, the guide wire, and the googly eyes. That last part is not so much, but you get the idea. You know the other components should be somewhere nearby. So you pick up and move this box to the right, that bin to the left, those random items onto another box, and so forth. The result is time wasted for a part you may still need to find.
The above situation plays out so frequently. It fails because you are working to get to the part instead of making the piece come to you. You are just shy of the proverbial needle in a haystack, depending on the size of the organization’s job. Stay on track and sort the items first to find the part. The idea here is that as you move things around and into their categories, the items you so desire will eventually be uncovered. Moreover, they will likely make their way over to that pile where the rest of the parts will be located.
Once that is done, once you have sorted the items to a relatable degree, then by all means, hunt away. Eventually, you switch to putting things into their designated spots, and then everything becomes visible.
Let’s Play
Now that you know what pitfalls to avoid, finish the task at hand, and you will have quite a reward.
