Downsizing - The Goals Post

In my last post I let you know my home office was a mess. Literally. Too much stuff is crammed into four walls and the workflow doesn't exist. It would have been easy to simply state my goal as a clean and functional office. And that is the end goal. But that isn't a clear enough goal for me to be able to follow through on my intentions.

So I'm going to follow a process I learned a few years ago called the Results Process. I learned this process from a good friend, Nicole Z., who taught a program on the Power of Purpose through the Kairos Foundation. This process can be used when you are clear on your intentions and have a willingness to create change in your life. Those are powerful and important things -- clarity and willingness to change. I'm clear that my office isn't working for myself or my husband. I am clear that the state of chaos in the office is contributing to the state of chaos my mind is in when it comes to being clear on what needs to be done at home. It's also contributing to the state of my writing, which has been spotty at best.

In other words, the state of my office is a handy excuse for all the things I'm putting off and is a product of and contributor to the disorderly way I've been managing my home and my writing.

Now that I'm clear, I need to decide if I'm willing and motivated to change. To do this I may go through some reflection on the cost the state of the home office is having on my life. I may also have to confront the pay offs I've associated to the clutter and mess. Do the costs outweigh the benefits? In my heart, am I movitvated enough to change? This isn't just a change in the office itself, it's a change to my beliefs and behaviors. You read that correctly. When we change anything in our lives we are also changing something about our beliefs and behaviors. Until we recognize this, I don't know that real change will really happen.

Once I've done this, I can move forward. And forward means defining my results. The first step of the Results process.

1. Put into works exactly what I want to create -- an organized, simplified office containing only those items I need and a workflow that is easy to use by my husband and myself. Is also easy to maintain.

2. The result needs to be stated in a way that is concrete, time based and measurable. What I stated above needs some work because it doesn't match those criteria. I may have to break down my larger over all goal into steps -- By August 2nd, the items on the desk, file cabinet and floor will be sorted, and either purged, given away or filed/stored.

Why make it specific and based in time? So I can easily see if I have acheived my goal or not. With out a means to measure the goal, it becomes this wish or desire without action. Been there, done that. Tired of the lack of results.

So there you have it, my first goal toward my downsized office. I'll keep you posted, hopefully next week with pictures. And I'm going to discuss the Results Process some more.

If you have a goal and things haven't been moving forward for you, you may want to try defining your goal differently by making it specific, measurable and locked in time. I'm rooting for you!