Bad Decluttering Advice
A couple of months ago, I was flipping through an English magazine. The entire issue was all about decluttering and organizing for the new year. The funny thing was that I didn’t agree with a single one of the suggestions.
Take this one for example:
Bring a cluttered drawer with you to your favorite chair while you watch TV. When the commercials are on, you can declutter the drawer and get rid of stuff you don’t need! It’s win-win.
Decluttering is not something you can multitask during. If you really want to do a good job and get rid of stuff, your entire attention has to be on that problem area from start to finish.
I know that decluttering can be overwhelming and tough. So yes, certainly break it into smaller projects such as a drawer at a time. But do not distract your mind with other activities while you work. Music is okay. Anything with a plot (such as a TV show) is not.
Every time I start multitasking, I stop and ask myself one question. ”Will combining these tasks really save me time?”
Sometimes we just have an urge to justify relaxing activities. You can’t relax when you’re adding chores to the activity. You also end up dragging out that project. So there’s less relaxing and less accomplishment. Sounds more like a lose-lose to me.
Make sure that you are doing relaxing things when you’re watching TV or a movie. Sew a little. Flip through a magazine. Cuddle. If you need to “do stuff” while you’re sitting, don’t make those activities items on your to-do list. Make them other relaxing activities.
What are your thoughts on multitasking? Would you agree? Do you find activities to be faster or more enjoyable when you separate them? I’ll never forget the day Martin walked into the room to see me reading a novel and watching a movie at the same time. Hello unproductive and un-relaxing multitasking! Have your thoughts on multitasking changed over the years? How about your approach to decluttering time?
March 26th, 2010 at 8:06 am
Hmm. I both disagree and agree. When i want to organize a closet or a space, I pull up a movie or show on Netflix and have it playing in the background while I work on my project. I like having it on as entertainment, but at the same time I would hate to waste time watching the show and only organizing during the commercials!!
I find that I devote 90% of my attention to the project and only 10% or so to the show or movie.
The funny thing is that I love organizing so much that – to me – the project of decluttering or organizing IS the relaxing activity.
March 26th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Well I find that watching TV makes folding laundry or ironing go by a lot faster, but those are mindless activities. I don’t need to concentrate to do them. I also like to talk to a friend or my mom on the phone while I fold laundry. (I have little kids so I do lots of laundry.) But if I have a task that needs my complete attention (like cleaning out a drawer or going through that stack of papers on my desk), then I can’t watch TV. When I find time at the end of the day to sit down and relax in front of the TV, I usually fall asleep, which tells me I should have gone to bed instead.
March 26th, 2010 at 10:53 am
I’m like Jennifer above. I often flip on the TV when folding laundry or dusting or something else that doesn’t take much focus. I also like to have music playing throughout the day. I like the noise company, especially when cooking. For tasks that take a lot more attention like major organizing I don’t try to multi-task, but if it’s just sorting through junk mail or our “collect-all” pen/pencil/random items drawer multi-tasking is fair game. I will admit to TV watching while internet surfing though. :)
March 26th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
hmmm…you got me thinking and now I’ve realised that I multitask almost every time, except when I read a book or when I have to study italian and then I really do have to be focused.
I don’t think I’d done half the things I do if I didn’t multitask.
For example, ironing + movie, exercising + the young and the restless (I know, I know), house cleaning + music + talking to the phone handsfree, eating + House Beautiful, cooking + InStyle…..
Not to mention all the chores that are running at the same time….laundry, cooking, diapering etc
My husband would have a nervous breakdown by dinner time!
And he still complains….hmmm….
March 26th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
I was thinking that if you are the kind of person who agonises over throwing things out, it’s better to do it while distracted.
March 27th, 2010 at 4:47 am
Good points! I agree with tasks like folding laundry – that’s certainly something you can multitask during. And I think you should if the two things don’t interfere with each other. Like you don’t catch the show like you want or you take 5x as long to finish your ironing. That’s when multitasking seems bad to me. Thanks for pointing those things out to me!
Katie
March 27th, 2010 at 8:11 am
Katie,
One of my cooking favorites, David Lebovitz, just made a blog posting about his visit to Berlin. I immediately thought of you and wanted to pass it along. :-)
Here’s the link:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2010/03/berlin_germany_travel_food.html
Take care,
Stephanie
March 27th, 2010 at 11:34 am
Oh cool – thanks for the link, Stephanie! I love when food bloggers swing by Berlin. Makes me want to explore and make the week’s forecast of nothing but RAIN go away go away.
Katie
March 27th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
I see both sides, I think. I do prefer to focus on a potentially intense task, like decluttering, with no distractions. But with general picking up or whatever, I might do that during commercial breaks. As far as the article goes – I guess ‘bad’ decluttering is better than none at all.
March 28th, 2010 at 2:58 am
Hm, I don’t know. I think that could work for me. I don’t really concentrate on TV anyway. Maybe just a Sex And The City repeat, to take the edge off the decluttering.
I like the idea of bringing the drawer out anyway. I really need to re-fold a couple of my drawers, this could work for me!
(Hello by the way – Alice at Simply The Nest said I’d enjoy your blog – she’s right!)
March 28th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
I couldn’t agree more! Multitasking inventend evel men for a women ;-)) I refuse to do multitasking. I prefer to devote one thing per moment.
March 29th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
I think there are mindless tasks you can do while watching tv, like folding laundry, knitting, or hand sewing. However, I’ve found that too often multitasking just means I do a poor job of multiple things because I have no focus. If I’m going to declutter, I need to be in a focused mindset. Even talking on the phone hinders my ability to get rid of stuff, because I’m now not really thinking about it, so I just keep it.
April 7th, 2010 at 6:54 am
I read an article in the Atlantic Monthly a couple of years ago about how multitasking is proven to be easier for women to do, however, it also is proven to be associated with decreasing intelligence. Weird, huh? At the same time, I can say my brother, who was diagnosed w/ADHD, found that squeezing a rubber racquetball at his desk dramatically increased his ability to focus and sit still.
I think my view is that you just need to know your limits, lol! Somehow talking on the phone to a friend is crazy incentive for me to clean the house – at top speed! I have a few friends who are the same, so neither of us minds chatting on the phone while hearing the occasional wringing of rags or flushing of toilets, ha!