Hello Zen Organizers,
I hope you're well!
Today, I want to talk to you about a topic that's rarely covered whenever organization, organization systems or productivity are brought up, and which is their purpose.
I feel like many people have this flaw in their organization system. They are very organized. Their schedule, space, energy, relationships, everything is optimized. But the question is, what do this organization and optimization lead to? Do they lead to more time to focus on fulfilling projects? More time to spend with family and friends? More time to have hobbies? To get good nights’ sleep? To do volunteer work and contribute to our community?
If your organization doesn’t have a clear purpose, then it’s useless. You’ll probably end up using your free time on meaningless activities that don’t bring much to your life. Which, in the end, could potentially lead you to be dissatisfied with your life.
Don’t get me wrong, we all deserve to completely empty our brains and think about nothing from time to time. But is continually using our precious free time to watch TV or look at our social media news feeds bringing us closer to our desired life, to accomplishing our dreams, to nurturing meaningful and profound relationships with our loved ones, to making this world a better place, to becoming a better person?
I know that this careless use of my time eventually led me to be dissatisfied with my life because I felt like it wasn’t put to good use. I had so many dreams, projects, ideas, desires, but I wasn’t acting on any of them.
I wasn’t taking time either to reflect on what I truly wanted for my life. I was doing what was expected of me. But I didn't actively direct my life.
Sometimes, I feel like society pushes us to always be busy – doing useless things, for the most part – to prevent us from stopping and assessing our lives, and doing things that would truly make us happy and fulfilled.
So I urge you: strive to be organized and productive and to reduce the less meaningful tasks and activities. But with one goal in mind: making your life more meaningful.
I’m not an advocate of organization and productivity, so you can make more money or work more – unless that’s what makes you truly and profoundly happy.
I’m an advocate of organization and productivity in tasks, chores, activities that don’t bring you happiness and fulfillment. This way, you can dedicate your precious time and energy to what matters for YOU and what makes YOU happy!
So I'm asking you: do you ever take the time to assess your life? To see if your life is going where you want it to go? Does your organization system allow you to reach your goals? If you need help with it, you can also listen to my first podcast episode and download the worksheet that accompanies it.
Now that you know the purpose behind your actual organization system – or your future system, if you still have to put one into place – you can reap its benefits! Work on that side hustle you've been wanting to start. Spend more time with your family. Enjoy more free time to take care of yourself. Train for that marathon you've been wanting to attend for years. Life is too short to waste it not doing what you really want to do!
But remember, being organized should be a means to have more time for you and live a more zen life. It doesn't mean you have to be rigid and stressed if things don't go the way you planned them or that you have to organize every second and every inch of your life. It's important you find a balance that allows you to, yes, save time and energy and be more productive, but it should also allow you to be more flexible and less stressed.
In short, you should strive to be zenly organized!
And I hope the tips, tools, methods, strategies and advice I give here will help you achieve this state!
I wish you, as always, a zenly organized life,
Sarah
