Perfectionism is not Compatible with
Organized Living
Perfectionism is not compatible with organized living. An
organized home is not a show home.
It is a home where people and stuff are under control, most of the time.
Nothing is ever perfect so your energy and your time will be wasted if you have perfection as a goal.
Control is the only achieveable goal you should have and even then you do not need to have 100% control over 100% of your life 100% of the time.
All you are trying to achieve in organized living is a reasonable amount of control over most of your life, most of the time.
This will help you to realize the
benefits of organized living such as increased productivity, less wasted time, and less stress.
There is nothing anywhere on these web pages that even remotely suggests that you need to be perfectly
organized all the time.
Having all your soup cans in the cupboard is a good thing but making sure
they are all lined up alphabetically might be a bit much? What is the risk of not having them in alphabetical order anyway?
Perfectionism often leads to procrastination. Fear of not getting it
just right will often make those prone to being perfect not do anything at all for fear of making a mistake.
Actually when you think about it this makes sense! The longer you delay doing something the less likely you are to do it wrong.
Precision is not the same as perfectionism
There can be no doubt that some things require precision. If you undergo surgery you want the surgeon to be very precise. You feel better
knowing that the airplane you are riding in has been built to very precise standards and all the nuts and bolts that hold the plane
together are going to do their job properly!
But in your organized home is it really that important that your
living room looks like a show room or is it more important that
your family actually lives there?
Precision is necessary when there is high risk involved for not getting it "just right".
But what are the risks if your home has a messy cupboard or two?
If you are trying to change or establish new habits in order to develop more control of your life and your stuff,
give yourself some leeway as you flex your new organizational muscles.
Don't get obsessive! Control is achievable without obsession.
Let go of perfectionism for a more realistic attitude. If you do not get it quite right all the time that is okay. There are no organization
police to charge you with an infraction and you will not have to go to
the "court of organization".
Organized living is not about how your home looks it is about control in your life. There is a big difference, as the following story illustrates.
The Perils of Perfectionism
Housework at 2 AM
Once I was conducting a class on stress management and the participants were discussing all the things they had to do and
how they might get this all done in the short 24 hours of every day. One woman complained that she could never get enough sleep
because she could not get the housework done. She was literally staying up until 1 or 2 am everyday doing housework!
Here is how the exploration of that issue unfolded
Me: "Why are you doing that?"
Her:"In case somebody comes over I want the house to look nice."
Me: "Who are your expecting at that hour?"
Her: (she paused for a while to think about it) "Well in case somebody breaks in or something."
This person was guilty of perfectionism. She was trying hard to do everything she thought she was supposed to do
without stopping to think about priorities like her health. Her life was so out of control that she had to
make up a silly reason for doing housework at 2 am because she really didn't have a good reason.
Sometimes you just have to say it out loud to realize how silly it can be.
You are not in control of your life if you are making make lists of your lists, or organizing your organizing products.
So what if you have a few messy closets or perhaps even a messy cutlery drawer?
The bigger and more important question is do you feel like you are in
control of your stuff or is it in control of you?
Stumble It!
