Doing the small things

in #work3 years ago

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I am on my second to last day of isolation due to Covid. I am still not bored of sitting in my room all day long. This isn't really that surprising considering that I was doing the exact same thing at home, for longer periods of time.

Anyway, sitting inside my room for 5 days has been okay with the exception of heat. You're probably aware by now that everyone has been experiencing some heat waves, and even when that's not the case, sitting in a poorly ventilated room the entire day, when the temperature outside goes up to 32 degrees, is not pleasant at all.

Another thing that's been happening is that a lot of things begin to accumulate in the room that aren't exactly... pleasant. Me and my girlfriend generate a lot of trash, a lot of messiness, and the order that the room had begins to fade with each day, unless we do something about it.

The good thing is that because I've been working in the kitchen for two seasons now, I gained a few useful habits, such as keeping things tidy around me. The secret is to always do the small things that are required casually, as you take care of other tasks, without setting time aside for them.

This is simple and obvious advice, but you only see the benefits when you start implementing this into your routine. The easiest way to do it is to "train yourself" to never pass by something that needs a few seconds of your attention without taking care of that thing. How does this work, exactly?

Well, for example, whenever I get up to go to the bathroom, I look around me. If I have an empty bottle of water near me, I'll take it and put it in the designated bag for empty bottles (we're in Germany, so we recycle them). Since we're both a bit sick, I also take any tissue that I find that isn't in the trash bin and I put it there. When I come back from the bathroom, I might take a cup or two that we've been drinking out of and wash them in the sink that we have in our room. I then sit back in my bed

This is just one example, but if you manage to train yourself to do this every time you stand up to do anything, your room will always look at least a little organized. It's just a much easier way to clean and put everything in the right place without having to set time aside for such things, without having to fight procrastination or laziness, without having to deliberately make yourself to do this work.

If I have to go out for any reason, assuming I'm not sick, I will also always take some trash with me to throw out, so that it doesn't end up piling up inside the room. I clean surfaces if I happen to be near them and they're messy or stained. I fold the few clothes that are usually thrown in the bed if I happen to be close to them. The list goes on.

There are, of course, tasks that are a bit more time consuming and require more attention. Folding all the clothes we have whenever we wash them and putting them where they belong for example. Properly cleaning the room, vacuuming and getting rid of dust, also requires more time, so it needs to be done separately.

Regardless, this simple strategy of taking care of small things that aren't the way they should be whenever you pass by them is extremely useful. It keeps your surroundings clean and organized, and it takes very little time and effort. In time, it becomes second nature, and you'll end up doing it unconsciously.

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Sometimes we think that these little things don't make a difference, and it turns out that they are the key to making time work better, to keeping everything in order and even to helping us in our mental capacity to see opportunities where others don't see them!

Exactly.

All the small things that I do around my room keeps everything organized and clean. The one tissue that is thrown in a corner or an empty bottle might not seem like a lot, but once I put them in the right place, the difference is quite noticeable. The same applies to my work - at times cleaning a surface or bringing an extra item into the kitchen doesn't seem like a lot, until I do one of those things and I see the difference.

Details matter, in organization, work, happiness, and a lot of other areas. We just have to train ourselves to focus on and pay attention to them.

Your content has been voted as a part of Encouragement program. Keep up the good work!

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