045. Overcoming the Organizing Mid-Project Slump

You've very likely faced this: you started organizing an important space in your home, and you were excited to finally get this done! You pulled everything out of the space, and started three piles: keep, donate, toss/sell. 

Then, a hours later, you're only halfway through, and...you REALLY don't want to continue! There's so much more to do!

This is called the Organizing Mid-Project Slump, and in this episode, I'm going to telly ou how to get through it and finish strong. You'll learn:

• Why the mid-point of an organizing project feels so hard
• Some simple quick-win strategies to regain your momentum so you can finish
• A 5-step plan to show you how you can power through that overwhelming middle
• And I’ll share some Mindset shifts that will help you stay motivated in future projects

Connect with me:

You can find me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fireflybridgeorganizing
Here's my website: https://fireflybridge.com

Call or text me: 305-563-2292

Email me: zeenat@fireflybridge.com

Transcript

Last week, in our NAPO online community forum, oh and I should explain that NAPO, N.A.P.O., is the National Association of Organizing and Productivity professionals. It’s our association of organizers and productivity specialists across the US, and some international members as well. It’s a group of a couple thousand professionals. And in our online platform, organizers share information, and they ask for advice and they give support to each other. So last week, on that platform a brand new organizer asked for some advice after a recent job. She wrote.

"I had a situation where I was doing a decluttering session in a children's room with a very high level of clutter. We were working on the clothes, and so I pulled all the clothes into the staging area. And we are talking about a ton of clothes.

I ended up having to stay for 6 hours so the client could go through it all with me, and so we could put things back in an organized fashion. Thankfully my husband was able to pick up my kids that day, or else I would have had to leave her with a big mess.”

And she also says, “In this case everything was all mixed up, and if I didn't pull it all out, I would not have been able to put it back in an organized way. We also did not have a next session planned at that time, because it was a few days before Christmas.”

Now she asked for advice for how to break down decluttering jobs like this to manage the process and the time.

OK, so I just loved seeing this question because this happens often. Now, our organizing community gave her ideas and feedback from the organizer’s point of view, right? But I want to look at this from the client’s point of you, YOUR point of view.

Halfway into organizing an area is when we can lose steam, we feel totally frustrated at the whole process, and give up on finishing.

So in this episode, I’m going to tell you: 

Why the mid-point of an organizing project feels so hard; 
I’ll give you some simple quick-win strategies to regain your momentum so that you can finish;
And I’ll go through a 5-step plan to show you how you can power through that overwhelming middle; 
And I’ll share some Mindset shifts that will help you stay motivated in future projects.

And so my hope is that by the end of this episode, I think you’ll have the tools and energy to get back on track and finally enjoy your beautiful, organized space. OK, here we go.

So let’s talk about why we lose energy halfway through a project. Now it’s not because we’re lazy, and it’s not because we’re bad at organizing. The truth is, this happens for a few specific reasons:

One of these is Decision Fatigue – At the start of organizing whichever area you’re focusing on, it’s easy, right? Pulling things out, making fast ‘yes or no’ choices. But after a while, all of those tiny decisions that you have to make about each and every item—keep, donate, toss— well it all starts to wear you down, it makes it harder to think clearly.

Another reason we tend to lose energy is that we’ve hit the Messy Middle Stage. This is the point where you look up and realize that half your pantry is all over your kitchen counters and kitchen table, and, wait! You still have to put all of this back INTO the pantry? So the visual mess in the middle of organizing can feel overwhelming.

And a third reason is Lost Momentum – At first, you’re fueled by the excitement and the possibilities of a wonderfully organized space, but that excitement fades. And suddenly, you’re halfway done, and finishing seems so much harder than starting.

And lastly, perfectionism kicks in. Maybe you were moving fast in the beginning, but now you start questioning: Is this really the best way to store these? Should I buy new bins? What if this system doesn’t last? And that overthinking slows you down.

Lots of people hit one of these and it can really feel like defeat. And in fact, people have told me that having gone through this once makes them so reluctant to take on organizing spaces that they find difficult, like the toys, or the garage, or even their own closets. So they put off organizing those spots, even though they know that clearing those spaces would have such a positive impact on their daily living!

OK, well, I’ve got three fast strategies for you to get moving again. These are ways to give yourself a quick win because sometimes all you need at that point is just that: a quick win to get yourself unstuck.

1. So, first try a Before & After, ok? All you need is to stop for a second and take a picture of the space you’re working on right now, while you’re in the middle, the space you’re emptying out or in the middle of decluttering. Then, if you have other pictures of that space, scroll back and see what it looked like before you started, or just think about what that space looked like when you decided to get it organized. Seeing that progress—even if it’s not finished—reminds your brain that you have made progress and it helps to boost your energy to keep going.
2. The second strategy is to step away for 5 minutes, go get something to drink, step outside into the sun, whatever. Then when you come back, set a timer for 10 minutes, and commit to one small task. It could be: Sorting a small stack of papers, or folding and putting away just one basket of laundry, or putting some items back into bins—don’t overthink here, just take that action, just do the thing. Action creates motivation. Once you start, momentum will kick in, and you’ll probably want to keep going after those 10 minutes are up. And if you don’t, that’s ok too. Take another 5 minute break, and then come back to it later.
3. Now the third strategy is to recruit a "Fresh Eyes" person. All you do is ask someone else to look at the space. A fresh set of eyes—it could be your spouse, a friend, even one of your kids—they can help you see progress that you might be overlooking. They might say, ‘Wow, it already looks so much better!’ and that reminder can help you push through.

Or they might say “Wow this looks like a big mess!” at which point you say, “Yeah, but I’m getting rid of the stuff that doesn’t belong in here anymore, so it’s gonna be a lot better when I’m done!” And often, just saying that to someone else really brings back to mind why you started this in the first place, so it can help you push through.

OK, so now that you’ve hopefully gotten a little kick, let’s make sure you actually finish the project without getting overwhelmed. So here’s a simple five-step plan that can help you close the loop and get that space looking amazing again, all right?

Step 1: is to pick one clear next step.

Instead of thinking about everything that you have left to do, focus on just one small step at a time. So for example: Only focus on putting all the books back onto the bookshelf. Or just decide what stays in this drawer, ok?

Step 2: is to eliminate the ‘Maybe Pile.’

If you have a pile of maybes, make a final decision now. This is undeniably the hardest thing for people to do, but this is where momentum counts. So give yourself let’s say 15 minutes to go through it, ok? The truth is that once the space is more organized when you’re done, you’re going to maintain it - at least you will if you’re working with me and following my process. And because you’ll know how to maintain it easily, you’ll find that you’ll continually be evaluating the stuff in that space. But now that it’s more organized, it’s going to be so much simpler for you to make more decluttering decisions, so there will be less maybe’s in the end, and you might be getting rid of more things, as time goes on. So this decision that you have to make now about getting rid of the maybe pile, these decisions are not final because you will continually be reorganizing a space. So as you go through and you’re thinking to yourself, “I’m not getting rid of enough of these maybe’s, I’m keeping too many of them,” that’s ok for now.

Step 3, which brings us right into Step 3, by the way. Because Step 3 is to use the ‘Good Enough’ rule.

In that messy middle, ask yourself: “Will organizing this,” what you’re doing right now, “will organizing this make my life easier?” If yes, then it’s good enough! Don’t let the need for a ‘perfect’ system stop you from finishing. Better is good enough.

Step 4: is to put everything in its place.

Challenge yourself to get everything back in its home, or in a new home if that’s what you need, before you stop. If you leave things out, they’re going to become clutter again. Remind yourself of that. If you leave things out, they become clutter again. So put things away. Remember, it might now be perfect, right? But put things away so that the space is good enough.

And Step 5: is to celebrate!

Take a final after picture and compare it to your starting point or even to your messy middle point, right? Again, the Before & After will cement in your mind that this was a good thing that you did. And reward yourself—light a candle and have a cup of coffee in the space, or share your progress with your mom or a friend, or even online!

Before we wrap up, I want to leave you with a few powerful mindset shifts that are going to help you avoid the mid-project slump in future organizing sessions:

So the first is, know that the slump is normal – Expect it, and then you won’t be surprised when it happens, and you won’t feel paralyzed by it.. 

The second is to Use the ‘Future You’ – Really visualize how amazing it will feel to walk into your finished, organized space. 

And the third is to remember why – Why did you start this in the first place? Were you looking for less stress? Or a peaceful home? Or did you want easier mornings? Keep that goal front and center.

All right, well, that’s your roadmap for pushing past the mid-project slump! Now it’s time to put it all into action.

So here is your challenge:

If you’re in the middle of an organizing project right now, pick one strategy from today’s episode and try it.

Are you going to try a Before and After? Or stop for 5 minutes to just reset and refresh yourself? Or will you ask someone to come and take a look with Fresh Eyes and tell them about what you’re doing and why, and what the results will be?

Feel free to send me a message or tag me on Instagram @fireflybridgeorganizing. I’d love to hear how it worked for you!

If you enjoyed today’s episode, please share this with a friend who might be stuck in the middle of their own project, ok?

Enjoy your week, and I’ll see you on the next episode.