Your Space and Your Motivation
If you’re lacking energy and enthusiasm for your goals take a look around you. Is your space dragging you down? Or even, just parts of your space? How can you make nutritious meals easily if you are overwhelmed by hot spots of mess in your kitchen, too many (or not enough!) kitchen gadgets or not knowing what’s in your cupboards?
Your space can make a huge difference to how you feel, and what you get done. You can make a huge difference to your stress levels by making changes to your space.
Explorer, National Geographic fellow and New York Times best-selling author Dan Buettner discovered 5 places in the world where people live longer (the longest in fact) and better, “The Blue Zones”. Some of the key factors that these zones all shared that made a difference to longevity were linked to their space – terrain, architecture and physical items.
When you are considering what changes to make to your space keep your goals in mind. Your space should make it easy for you to do what you are trying to do. If you have to go through multiple steps each time you want to do the thing, you will be far less likely to sustain it.
You can create an environment that increase your chances of doing the thing by having your list of goals in sight. Vision boards are a great idea, any inspirational picture or quote that brings you right into the present and what action you can take right now. Our affirmation clings are great reminders of why you are taking the time, making the effort to be more active, so place them where you can see them clearly (without judging if the mirror is clean!). Even something as simple as a beautiful candle to burn while you meditate or study can make a difference to you actually getting it done.
Your space should reflect your goals and ambitions in life. “Every object or message you see leaves an impression in your mind. Impressions create thoughts, thoughts create actions and actions create results”. Place things around you that remind you of your goals and the actions you need to take each day.
Plan your space and your belongings to reduce choice and distraction. The more choice we have the less likely we are to make a decision. This means don’t leave ALL the things out to remind you to do them! You will feel overwhelmed and likely not be able to select one, or even prioritise. You might decide to leave one item to trigger an action (for example the candle for meditation) and once that is done, the next item is ready to smooth your way (for example your gym kit by the door).
Think about what you can automate that reduces the friction between you and your goals – get that veg box delivered to transform your eating habits, make sure everything has a place to make quick tidy-ups easier to do, when you put your laundry away pair your workout tops and bottoms ready to grab and go. Make good use of your settings on your phone to reduce distractions and to encourage productivity. Even just the layout of your apps can make a difference. Hide the distractions away (logging out of distracting apps is a good habit), bring the reminders and the apps related to your top priorities to the first screen and make them super easy to access. The 43 folders system is a great way to automate.
You can really lighten the load by letting go of some things. Clear out your wardrobe, your kitchen gadgets, books and old paperwork. Start gently and keep going. It can feel hard at first, these things can feel secure and familiar, but if you don’t stop you get used to the feeling of letting things go and setting yourself free to focus on exactly what you want.
The kitchen can be a source of overwhelm, especially if your eating habits are where you need to make the most changes. If you feel overwhelmed or stressed when you go into the kitchen to prepare food, you will seek comfort! Getting into the simple habit of clearing dishes and worktops (and make sure everyone else does too!) will help clear the way for you to get started. Reduce your gadgets, plastic boxes and take an inventory of your cupboards so you are reducing the choice and thinking involved.
Remember that clutter is stressful, and the body responds to stress with a surge of hormones that increase cravings and hunger. Stress reduces our ability to create plans we can commit to. You don’t need to go all in on the minimalism – mess, (laundry and dishes) is different to having the stuff you like around you. Reducing the stuff in your space will reduce your overwhelm.
By transferring a little tidying up or “space setting” into a daily discipline it can become a great “runway task” to lead into the more difficult action you need to take next.