"For now".... two of the most frustrating words an organizer can hear.
It seems unlikely that six letters could come together to
cause actual havoc, but we assure you they could.
Because what they represent is a refusal to make a decision or follow
through on a task. And the worst
part? We’re supposed to believe it’s
only temporary.
“I’ll just put this here for now….”
By making this statement, most people are trying to
convince themselves that later, presumably when they’re not busy, they
will take the misplaced item and triumphantly return it to its proper home (or
create a home for it if it’s a first-time thing).
Is this you? Tell
us, though. If you were to achieve the ever
elusive yet highly coveted state of being “not busy”, wouldn’t you want to be
doing other, more fun things??
The truth is that what you are really saying is, “I have
no idea where to put this and am too [tired, lazy, flustered, adjective-of-your-own-choosing] to find a ‘home’
for it.” And that’s where the chaos
starts.
One “for now”? Not
terrible, especially if you make it a point to take care of the task within a
reasonable time. But multiple,
unresolved “for nows” add up to clutter.
And with that clutter comes a loss of control – control over your space
and control over your things. Take a
look:
Noooooot pretty, and guess what? This pile didn't start out like this. It started with a “for now”.
No matter how much time you think you may be saving by
avoiding a task or situation “for now”, you’re only setting yourself up to lose
more time later on. Eventually, the pile
will get so out of control, you will need hours and hours to go through everything.
And you will be very, very aggravated.
So here’s what we suggest:
- Keep the “for nows” to a bare minimum, and only when you really can’t avoid them.
- Address the ones you can’t avoid as soon as you can.
- Take the time to find an easily accessible home for your things, and group “like with like”, so you minimize the times when you have to say, “I don’t have a place for this. I’ll just leave it here ‘for now’”.
- Finish the task! If you just deal with it now, or as close to now as possible, you will have more time to spend doing the things you love. Yay!
Ok, that’s all folks! We're done. At least for now….. J
