Snowball of Success - The Discipline of Getting it All Done.

I got an email today from a gal that was finding it difficult to acutally put new things away as she brought them home.  It seemed easier to her to just put them in a drawer and worry about them later. For those of you who have joined me for seminars or webinars, or just chatted with me at a show or convention, I'm sure you've heard me say - "It's got to be Easy."  Easy is important, but so is feeling somehow rewarded for a task you've accomplished that you weren't excited to do.  Here's my response to the email:

Hi M -

 The discipline of actually putting things away immediately is the hardest part for many people.  You need to make it easy on yourself to put the things away.  I wouldn't suggest having empty pages in each section because they may never get filled up.  I would suggest using a designated space for empty pages, maybe one of your drawers.  Each time you bring home something new, you can go directly to that drawer, grab an empty page, put your supplies into it, pull the correct Spinder off the base unit, put the page in where it belongs, and replace the Spinder. 
  It will also help if you can find some "joy" or reward in following through with the step of actually putting things away.  I know this sounds silly, but sometimes doing something as minor as writing down on your "to-do" list that you are going to "put _____ number of items in your ScrapRack", then doing it, then getting to cross it off your list, can be really rewarding and motivating.  You could even just commit to an amount of time, write on your to-do list - "Spend 10 minutes putting Scrapbook Supplies in my ScrapRack."  There's something very satisfying about crossing things off, getting that feeling of accomplishment.  We often "judge" what is on our list, and only include major things or things we perceive as being "important", but putting a few truly "do-able" tasks on the list and then crossing them off generally motivates us to take on the more challenging tasks as well.

 I hope this helps.  Let me know how it works out.

Tif

My kids sometimes make fun of what is on my list, simple things like, "read the paper", listen to a "particular radio show," - They'll ask, "Was it really necessary to write that down?"  Well, at the end of the day if I have a list of 10 things and they are all crossed off I feel GREAT!  I feel good about 5 things, but the more I cross off, the better I feel, and...The More I GET DONE!!  It's a snowball of success.  Don't be afraid to count the little stuff, it all adds up.  If you think "picking up your kids from school" shouldn't be on your list, try not doing it one day and you'll find out how truly important that "mundane and simple" task is!!!  :-)

Tiffany