Welcome to the next decade! I hope you all had a restorative and joyful seasonal holiday.
“ May we face the coming year with the steady serenity of a tree – that supreme lover of light, always reaching both higher and deeper, routed in a network of kinship and ringed by a more patient view of time”
- Maria Popova
While our world feels cluttered and in a cycle of huge change, it is with gratitude that I begin this new decade.
I want to make January about looking at how we can manage our homes so we can all find the simple peace that sustainable, seasonally organised, grateful living can offer. Like all things, real change takes time.
It always seems that time is what most of us seem to lack - we live in a world full of overwhelming distractions.
So how can we all make more time to stop the distractions that prevent us from moving forward?
“ Chains of habit are too light to be felt, until they are too heavy to be broken”
- Warren Buffett
Our brains are always over stimulated, always tuned on. In fact, our brains reward themselves for this over stimulation with a surge in dopamine. This deluge helps to reinforce our actions and behaviours, sometimes making it hard to change our routines.
This can lead to unfinished tasks and to feeling dissatisfied within our home because of them.
So how do we change our habits? How can we stop the distractions and focus on our goals?
It takes our minds eight days to wind down from over-stimulation. After this time our minds start to wander to calmer distractions, such as having more time for ideas, planning and action.
“Not all who wander are lost”
- J. R. R. Tolkien
The recommendation in our over stimulated society is to have one-hour off per day, away from stimulation so your mind can wander.
Walking to work, having lunch in the park or having a bath in the evening are just some ways you can take time for yourself. Try turning off your screen and letting your brain work by itself helping lead itself to change.
TOP TIPS to stop the distraction:
- Whenever you can, put your phone down for an hour and let your mind wander
- Keep a note book with you to write down your ideas, plans and actions
- Make a list of the positive outcomes from your down time
- Reward yourself with a treat or a simple activity you enjoy as this encourages progression
- Try not to action anything new in this time. Don’t declutter, don’t do dry-January. Just focus on one-step at a time to stop the distractions.
Stopping distractions and therefore changing habits can lead to a new lifestyle and management of your home life.
Changing how you behave with the management of your home can directly lead to:
- Loving the home you live in
- Being proud to have friends over
- Creative boldness in showcasing ‘you’ in the interiors of your home
- Feeling in control of your day
- Seeing immediate rewards to how the family react to a more organised calmer home life
I see this as a common trend in all the homes I visit, when clients are stuck and don’t know how to move forward. A lot of the advice given especially in the new year resolution game, looks at temporary changes but clutter will come back in the house and your minds if we don’t get to the route of the problem first.
Next week I will discuss decision fatigue and how to combat the tiring process, so you feel in control to make peaceful, positive changes.
Enjoy your wander...
Love,
Olivia x