Sock Drawer and Beyond

“From the moment you start tidying, you will be compelled to reset your life. As a result, your life will start to change. That’s why the task of putting your house in order should be done quickly.” – Marie Kondo

This week, I have spent 15 minutes each day creating order in one place/space. Under the sink. Paperwork piles filing. And after looking for the sock match one too many times, the sock drawer. Clutter and disorder enter over time, take root and expand both externally and internally. External decluttering is the path to internal decluttering too.

“When your room is clean and uncluttered, you have no choice but to examine your inner state.” — Marie Kondo

When we sort, clear the nonessential, discard and organize, we create space for clarity and discernment to put our attention, energy and focus on what’s truly essential.

“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”― Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Each day over the next week, work on decluttering one external space and reflect on what needs to be put in order inside too. A minimum of 15 minutes for each activity. 30 minutes per day for 7 days is a minimal investment to impact your outlook and gain new insight into what you want to be essential for you this year.

3 Things List:

1. Clear clutter

2. Create order

3. Spark joy

Start today and keep chipping away. One sock at a time.

“The best way to choose what to keep and what to throw away is to take each item in one’s hand and ask: ‘Does this spark joy?’ If it does, keep it. If not, dispose of it. This is not only the simplest but also the most accurate yardstick by which to judge.”— Marie Kondo

Mechanics AND Magic

“Creativity is an energy. It's a precious energy, and it's something to be protected. A lot of people take for granted that they're a creative person, but I know from experience, feeling it in myself, it is a magic; it is an energy. And it can't be taken for granted.” – Ava DuVernay

I get stuck. We all get stuck. Ruts, potholes and detours are a normal part of the journey. One way to get unstuck is to break the current pattern and get out of your head. If you are too close, step back. If you are too far out, zoom in. When tangled up in thoughts, move to action to see where it leads.

I land on the side of a lot of doing – the mechanics of things. I know that I need more magic, to wander and wonder each day amidst the need for order. It’s not a choice between right brain or left brain, work or play, action or reflection. We need more “ands” rather than “ors” to maneuver between opposites and weave both into our being. Clarity comes from both reflection and action.

When we enter the creative zone – the magic, there’s a natural ease, flow and space. We open up to mystery in the ordinary, see the same differently and enter the unknown with curiosity. Staying in the present invites and welcomes ideas, connections and insights as our preconceived notions and rules fade to the background.

When we put our guard down on order, allowing creativity to ensue, time stands still and rushing ceases. While I would have rather had something other than a pandemic to hit the brakes on busy, it certainly has put us all in a space where we have to think differently, challenge our assumptions and be open to what comes next since it’s difficult if not impossible to predict and clearly delineate the near future.

There is a comfort and certainty in mechanics. Structure helps make sense of the abstract and it can also bind us if we aren’t checking the validity of the systems we abide by. Frameworks of processes and procedures create efficiencies and consistency. It also leads to “check the box” living.

As we begin to reopen and re-enter the #otherside, we have an opportunity to create a hybrid for ourselves where we don’t go back and we dare to create something unfamiliar and new. We can integrate both magic and mechanics into our days to go deeper and find meaning beyond busy. To dream and then to execute on those dreams. To work and play. To produce and to do nothing. Moving between divergence and convergence. Right brain to left brain, and back again.

Design Thinking can help us redefine how we look at things, how we make old things new and fresh. There are five stages to the design thinking process.  

1. Empathise

2. Define

3. Ideate

4. Prototype

5. Test

We certainly have had a master class this past three months on empathy. While we are all in this pandemic together, those generous professionals on the front lines of health care and service businesses have been risking a lot serving the rest of us who have had the opportunity to work from home (albeit on nonstop zoom meetings).

While I’m not thrilled to wear a mask, I will to honor and respect others who have sacrificed more than me and have a different and valid perspective. That’s the heart of empathy. To understand there’s more than me and to allow others to express themselves as they wish. Empathy is one of the domains of emotional intelligence – where we move from self-awareness into outer-awareness and connectedness. When we allow diverse vantage points, we can expand our horizon to allow all voices to be heard.

Empathy and defining the problem create the baseline for new scenarios and possibilities.  There are several ideation methods that the Interaction Design Foundation outline:

1. Brainstorming – You build good ideas from each other’s wild ideas;

2. Braindumping – Brainstorming done individually;

3. Brainwriting – Like brainstorming, but everyone writes down and passes ideas for others to add to before discussing these.

4. Brainwalking – Like brainwriting, but members walk about the room, adding to others’ ideas.

5. Challenging Assumptions – Overturn established beliefs about problems, revealing fresh perspectives.

6. Mindmapping – Mind mapping is a creative and logical means of note-making.

7. Storyboarding – You develop a visual problem/design/solution-related story to illustrate a situation’s dynamics;

8. SCAMPER – Question problems through action verbs (“Substitute”, “Combine”, “Adapt”, “Modify”, “Put to another use”, “Eliminate”, “Reverse”) to produce solutions

9. Analogies – You draw comparisons to communicate ideas better.

Prototyping and testing allows for the new ideas to be put into action to see what works and what doesn’t based on user testing. When the design is vetted and tested, adjustments can be made followed by models, processes and procedures to operationalize and execute new ideas consistently.

Design Thinking weaves both “magic” and “mechanics” together to come to new understanding and framework to move into uncertainty creatively and with rigor. Let go of the “or” and embrace “and” along with “what if” and “why not.” Mechanics AND magic.

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” – Edward de Bono

Brush to Canvas

Ideas, inspiration and insights motivate, build confidence and make the case for action. They show us possibilities, invite us to dream and make way for that still small voice inside to be acknowledged and heard. The next step where we often stumble is execution, in operationalizing our dreams. Starting is a daily decision not a one-time activity. There are inflection points where we just need to jump out of idea gathering and choice overload into decision and action.

Over the past year, I’ve become more aware of my own limiting beliefs and narratives that have halted execution of my ideas, plans and pursuits. Busyness, saying yes to things that I should say no to, being a people pleaser, worrying about what other people think are a few narratives that I have given credence to and allowed them to be roadblocks to progress.

We need to create boundaries on what we let in so we can knock down walls that prevent us from moving forward. By exposing false narratives, we give ourselves permission to create new narratives, making execution easier as the answers become obvious, hiding in plain view.

“Every one of us wants to do work that matters — work that aligns with our personal values, talents, and passions. Work that makes a difference in the world,” states Ken Coleman, author of The Proximity Principle. There are three questions to ask yourself to activate the “proximity principle:”

1. Who do I need to know?

2. Where do I need to be?

3. What do I need to start doing?

The three enemies that we need to manage are fear, doubt and pride. When we breakdown the journey into actionable steps, we overcome fear, doubt and pride, moving confidently and imperfectly to the “mountain” of our choosing.

The path is made clear through consistent action, embracing a beginner’s mindset and ignoring our inner and outer critics. Through practice and effort, I am a better writer than I was three years ago but not as good as I will be in a year with ongoing application and execution.

If you are not sure where to start, Glenda Eoyang, Human Systems Dynamics Institute offers six practical steps on what to do, when you don’t know what to do:

1. Breathe;

2. List 3 things that you know for sure to ground yourself and 3 things you wonder to give yourself a diving board into the future;

3. Decide what you need to expand or contract – do you need more options or do you need to narrow to less options – divergence or convergence;

4. Explore tensions – will you:
   act or ask
   go alone or with others
   quickly or slowly
   now or later
   down a tried and true path or new adventure
   be open or closed
   join or leave

5. Do something! Anything!!  - action!

6. See what happens and then start again.

We convince ourselves that we need every step figured out before we proceed. While a plan, goals and deadlines are important, starting provides clarity and creates opportunities that define the path.

By putting “brush to canvas,” filling the blank page with words, we move from abstract concepts to concrete execution, doing it again, adjusting and then doing it again until we arrive home to ourselves.

Stop pondering and putting off. Pick up the brush and start painting. No more overthinking or being overwhelmed with all of the color choices. Put brush to canvas and start painting your own beautiful, brilliant and imperfect picture.

“If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh