We have been known to hyper-focus on occasion. We could spend hours scrubbing the tile floor in the bathroom and not even realize where the time has gone. We are not a lazy crew. While scrubbing the floor we forget about the other things that need to be done in the house. As we stand back and enjoy our pretty, clean floor, we notice that the rest of the house has fallen apart while our back was turned or it was already trashed and we just hyper-focused so as to not have to deal with it.
We have the wealth of energy inside of each and every one of us; it just needs to be channeled for our good. This is why baby steps work so well for us. We take one task and hyper-focus on it for a month. Look at the kitchen sink, your very first assignment. I direct you to hyper-focus on it so that it will shine. This gives you that same feeling of accomplishment and a good place to start. I have directed your energies on a problem. You have tackled the problem and from now on will keep it shiny. This was my focus for the very first month of my transformation.
Are you beginning to see how all of this fits together? We take our sidetracked natures and use our ability to hyper-focus to help us accomplish our routines. We have an attention span that is about 15 minutes long. If the truth were known, everyone does. After this initial 15 minutes, you get bored and your mind starts to wander to other things. This is why we start jobs and don't finish. We are very good at this, but our perfectionist attitude beats us up until we don't even start something unless we have the time to finish it. So things just don't get done because of this stinking thinking. Do you see what I have done? I have taken that simple 15 minutes and instead of telling you to work until it is finished, I have given you permission to stop without finishing. We have alleviated this negative voice in your head that rips you to shreds each time you leave a job unfinished. You now have permission to stop and it is fine.
Many of us suffer from burn-out. Our ability to hyper-focus causes us to get sick and tired of the job we did. So much so that we may never do it again. Do you know this feeling? Housework is an ongoing process, and when we leave out major areas that need to be done — dishes, bathroom and laundry — we find that they begin to take on a life of their own. When we allow the laundry to get out of hand, then have to spend two solid days doing laundry. No wonder we don't want to touch the laundry for another two weeks. Then we have the same problem all over again.
Doing just one load a day or taking one bite a day will keep this problem from getting out hand. If I can teach you to do this, you will no longer feel burned out by a job.
So if you have to see immediate results, keep in mind that this is that perfectionist rearing its ugly head once again. We can channel this energy, too. For whatever reason that you need to see an instantaneously clean home — family is coming, divorce is looming or you are throwing a big party — I have a plan. It is called Crisis Cleaning 101: We do jobs in 15 minutes intervals and work our way around the home, all the while taking breaks and using fun techniques to guard against burnout.
I have adapted our talents to our advantage. It is all in how you look at a problem. We take what we are given and learn to utilize it to the best of our abilities.
Housework done incorrectly still blesses your family.
Marla Cilley, a k a FlyLady, is the author of Sink Reflections (Bantam Books Trade Paperback). For more help, please go to her Web site: www.FlyLady.net. © 2005