Spring Clean-up!

So, as a follow-up to the post about the Spring "melt-down"I'd like to talk about a little tidbit I borrowed from Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project. I started reading her book a month or so ago, and have since asked my book club to read it. I hope they are finding a few usable tips here and there like I am. In one of the first chapters of the book she offers a couple of suggestions that I have applied in my personal AND professional life. I am going to call this post the "Spring Clean-up!"

1- If there is a task that needs to be done, and it will take me less than 1 minute to do it....DO IT NOW. In other words, I am typically a procrastinator. Even tiny little tasks tend to get "put off" until later. I am making an effort at home and at school, to just DO those tiny tasks when I think of them instead of putting them off (and possibly forgetting about them). Responding to email comes to mind. Often I look at an email and think,"oh, I'll get back to them later." I am working on just responding right then. It makes me feel "lighter" to know I don't have a bunch of tiny tasks to complete when I return to work the next day.

2-The "evening" tidy-up. In The Happiness Project Gretchen (I feel like we are on a first name basis) suggests to spend a few minutes before you go to bed to clean up the kitchen or do a quick pick-up around the house. It makes a HUGE difference when you wake up to an uncluttered house. I am trying to do the same thing in my office/classroom. Before I leave, I spend 5 minutes, tidying up my desk and my classroom. It makes me feel organized when I walk into a clean room in the morning. Not to mention, it makes getting ready for "class" a whole lot easier.

Give these two things a try this week....see if it makes a difference in how you feel. I know these two simple changes have made an enormous difference for me!