My house is a mess.


I hate it when that happens.


Because I’m the one who made it that way, and there’s no other excuse.


While I’m normally a very neat and orderly person, (I am a Virgo, after all) having a mess around is a clear indicator that things are moving too fast in my very quick thinking, creative mind.  Too much excitement for really good things happening gets energy all flowing, projects started – and a mess everywhere I go.   (Maybe you can relate?)


While it’s not a secret that I’ve been diagnosed with ADD, I think it happens to be one of the most misunderstood, mislabeled, misdirected and biggest excuses there is for not getting control of your life.   So you’re a creative thinker.  You forget stuff.  Your mind goes 100 miles a minute and your ideas spew out like popcorn in a kernel cooker.    All that means is you need new ways of being, new systems for making sure you’re productive, and a new understanding (and gentler compassion) of and for yourself.


I used to beat myself up alot when when I didn’t do things in the proper order, like the rest of the world.  I guess that’s why I’ve gotten so good at creating systems that will provide structure and simplicity so I don’t have to keep all that garbage in my head.  Anyway, looking out at my house right now tells me that my system for self care and down time isn’t working.


It’s simply an outer manifestation of my inner world.  In short – I’ve been overscheduled this week, moving quickly from one appointment to the next with almost no time in between.  Phone ringing, texts, emails, Skype, Twitter, Facebook – constant interruptions have put my mind into overload and increased my frustration factor by 100.  It doesn’t feel good.   But at least I am in control.


So here are the steps to take if this ever happens to you:


1.  STOP.  Now.  (Make space for 60 minutes of forced quiet time).


2.  Turn off everything that distracts you (email, phones, texts, skype, IM…bye bye!)  You’ll feel an instant sense of relief when you press “Off” or “Close”.   You can have one hour of undisturbed time.  The world will continue to function even if your phone is off.


3.  Spend your 60 minutes like this: Take the first 30 minutes to put on some quiet, soothing music, lie down and close your eyes.  (If you are prone to falling asleep, set an alarm.)  Imagine a big truck with a huge trailer.  Put your head in the trailer and dump all of your random thoughts into the trailer for later retrieval.  Clear your mind of the clutter.  Breathe.  Now imagine a big black movie screen.  On the movie screen appears the word “RELAX”  See it, hear it and feel it all over your body.  Take another deep breath.  Give yourself permission to have 30 minutes of completely undisturbed quiet time.


Now that you’ve cleared some of the internal clutter, use the second 30 minutes to pick up, clear out and throw away the external clutter.  Pick ONE place to have success (like the kitchen table).  Do not try to tackle the entire house at one time.  Pick one, clear it, pick another, clear it, etc.  Break it down into small, manageable chunks.


Once you do this, you’ll have instant momentum because you will be truly doing the thing that is most important that keeps you on track.


That’s all for today.  Gotta go put on some soothing music.  🙂   Don’t call text or Tweet me for at least an hour – I’m busy.