Forget Spring cleaning, it’s time to do an annoyance audit.
What’s an annoyance audit?
Great question!
I just made it up. 😉
But that alliteration makes it sound so fancy and official right?
Anyway- on to the magic.
You know those things that just annoy you so damn much every single day?
Not the big ones- like my back fence that is legit falling apart, and legit costs a billion dollars to replace right now (thanks panny wood prices!)…but the smaller things that drive you a little more nuts every. damn. day.
The things you are always running out of? (tampons, dish soap, toothpaste)
The things you can never find when you need them? (ankle socks)
The things that are all over the damn place b/c you have nowhere to put them? (my shoes, all my lovely shoes)
Or the biz edition:
The things you can never find on your desktop. (computer or furniture )
The things you do over and over (respond to the same email, the same question, the same training )
The endless emails back and forth to schedule a meeting or a phone call.
The notes you’ve written ALL over the place.
The flood of inquiries that don’t meet your budget minimum.
And the list goes on.
You know, ALL the little things that have you (or me) cussing up a storm, procrastinating, giving up, or just feeling so damn frustrated AND also mildly silly because they’re just not that big a deal.
The small things.
The things you now avoid due to sheer annoyance, or push to the bottom of your to-do list, or push to the next day, and so-on, until you finally get around to them, and then they drive you nuts all over again. It’s a vicious cycle.
So instead of spring cleaning (I hate cleaning! lol) let’s fix those things.
First the parameters:
These things should take less than 25 minutes or under $50 to fix.
Now take action:
Look around your house, studio, or office.
Make a list of your top 3.
And fix them right now- do what needs to be done.
Do it now.
Here’s what I did yesterday to fix mine:
I put all those things I run out of regularly on auto-delivery.
I ordered 15 pairs of the socks I can never find for my AM dog walk.
I ordered a shoe organizer for my closet.
Done and done.
Organize your desktop
Create SOPS
Get a scheduler
Buy a notebook
Update your website to reflect your prices
So look around. Audit that shit.
And then solve your biggest (little problems)
And a quick note on privilege / scarcity / stories / truths:
I want to acknowledge my privilege in being able to spend money to solve these particular problems this week. There have been plenty of times in my life where that would not have been the case, and if that’s your reality today, that’s that. It’s totally fine- it’s a temporary fact, not a character judgment.
I wish someone had told me that a loooooong time ago, because I felt terrible about myself because of my finances/debt for years. And I’m pretty sure that the reason I still run out of basic household items is because of the lack of $$ I had to ever refill anything before I was 100% out when I was younger…
And, that’s not true for me anymore.
So there might be absolute truth to the fact that you can’t spend money to solve your problems right now. Or your brain might just be telling you an old story that served you once.
Chew on that one- and then take action in any way that’s right for you today.
Don’t underestimate ease- you’ll get more done, and it will feel so much better as you eliminate these minor annoyances!
I’d love to hear about what annoys you AND what you just did about it- leave a comment or send me an email!
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