No Loss of Enthusiasm: Build Motivation for Your Organizing Projects

Homework Assignment

For 2021, we’ve introduced a new segment tentatively called the “Homework Assignment.” We’ll announce a new title for this ongoing segment, as well as the results of our naming contest!.

Reboot Your Resolutions

Did you launch 2021 with a resolution about getting your home organized? How is that going for you? Studies have found that 80 percent of New Year’s resolutions crash and burn by the start of February. But we think that Clutter Fairy fans can beat the odds!

The homework for this week is to evaluate your decluttering resolution—or resolutions, if you made more than one. If you’re doing well, give yourself a pat on the back and tell us about your success.

If you’ve started to stumble, take a closer look at your resolution to see how you might make it more achievable:

• Are you having trouble with the size or scope of the project? Scale it down. Try redefining the project on a smaller scale. For example, instead of taking on reorganizing your home office, limit the scope of the project to one filing cabinet, or to one filing cabinet drawer, or to a stack of 10 folders.
• Are you unclear about what you’re aiming for? Take a step back, and write down one key goal that you’d like to achieve. Then write down two or three actions that you’ll need to take to move toward that goal.
• Is the timeframe of the project too overwhelming? No problem. That’s why The Clutter Fairy long ago started recommending “new month’s resolutions” instead of New Year’s resolutions. Scale the objective and the timeline down to a single month. Think about—and write down—what you hope to accomplish in February.
• If you didn’t make any resolutions at all, that’s okay, too. Take a few moments this week to reflect on your decluttering journey and share the next key goal you’d like to take on.