Then Again, It's The Little Things

I am writing this article on a new portable desk set-up. I am ridiculously pleased with this new portable desk.

I needed a new portable desk. There was an incident, you see. I won't go into details. But my old portable desk solution, that I move from room to room as people move in and out of my house when I need to find quiet work space with a door that I can close, met an untimely demise. Gravity was involved.

And the back-up solution, the older portable desk that I kept should the first solution fail, has been on it's last leg, or wheel, as the case may be, for a long time now. It was never a great solution but it still worked in a pinch. However, before I could actually use the back-up solution, there was usually an elaborate balancing act that commenced because despite many problem solving sessions, the work surface was never quite level. Small books or shims under various wheels, adjustment of and then removal of all wheels - to no avail. In a recent article, I believe I said he was leaning like a drunken sailor.

I delayed acting on this idea for a while because I had my eye on a pricier-than-the-others option and I wanted to make sure the new portable desk would really do what I needed it to do.

And now, the new desk is here. My hubby assembled it last night because he is awesome, and now I am working on it. And it is one piece and also level with not a wobble to be seen.

It's the little things.

I had the plumber out last week. He came to clear the drain in my shower, and he did a few other things while he was here because he's amazing. So if you're near me, a shout out to Glennon Plumbing and Sewer. They are awesome and have saved me more than once! This was a planned, scheduled call, which is always nice, instead of an emergency.

My shower drained this morning. Without fanfare and in an extremely timely manner. Your shower probably does that every morning and you don't even think anything about it. But to me, this is huge. This little thing is actually a really big thing. Because for the last 4-5 months, it has been draining more and more slowly. I had to warn a houseguest we had in December about it. I added a cup to the shower to rinse the tub after it slowly drained so it wouldn't look so dirty. I factored an extra step into my morning routine to do the rinising of the tub and the checking and the cursing / muttering. Most recently, I chose to shower in the other bathroom because it was easier even though none of my getting-ready-stuff was in that other bathroom.

As I was quietly celebrating this win with my husband this morning, we said "It really is the little things".

Hey, I'm not asking for a lot here. I'm pretty basic, not too picky or cranky. I'm pretty okay with most things. But it really is the little things, like having a tub that I use every day that actually drains. Without backing up or taking an hour or leaving a gross, disgusting ring. Or working on a portable desk that doesn't feel precarious or cobbled together.

Now, you may say, neither of these stories would even be stories if I had jumped in earlier to remedy the situtations. For the record, then, I reached out to the plumber a month ago. He really is my favorite and was out of town for a few weeks and though he offered the name of a different plumber to do the work in his absence, I wanted to stick with my guy. And the new desk solution wasn't really necessary until the old one broke.

Back to the point. Sometimes, it really is the little things. And that's what I want to say about organizing and organizational coaching - sometimes we don't have to change everything, right? We don't have to go crazy and change everything to make things different. We don't have to do everything differently. Changes don't have to be huge. Sometimes it really is resolving the little things that can make great improvements in our day to day.

What else is there in your day that could be made easier if you just stop for a minute and resolve the issue? I don't know what that is for You. I don't know what that is for me. But I know it when I see it.

No one else would even notice a difference. But I do.

Maybe that is part of what makes it a little thing that is actually a big thing!

What is it that could make life just a little easier?

And, more importantly, when you figure that out, dedicate some time to making that happen.

So identifying where the challenge is, identifying what the remedy might be, and then carving out a little time to actually make that happen. It really is the little thing sometimes. And why not, right?

It's been a whirlwind last couple of weeks and it is the change of seasons here in Chicago. One area that is a little thing that feels like a big thing is my closet. I had a lot of expectations that I needed to fulfill in the last week few weeks. I presented at a Women's Conference, I subbed and sang at different Parishes over the weekend, then I presented again on Monday before attending a professional conference for 4 days and then subbed and sang again.

Those amounted to a lot of wardrobe expectations. Therefore, recently, in addition to calling the plumber and ordering and assembling my new desk, I also spent an hour switching over my clothes closet for Spring and ordering a few replacement items. Being able to put my hands on what I need easily is a little thing that makes a huge impact on my day.

And, I spent another hour and cleaned out dozens of paper files in my office, re-organized my office supplies to take up less space and finally put a way a pile of books I want to read but have been floating around surfaces in my office creating visual clutter and causing me anxiety!

Spending an hour in each of those areas this weekend made a huge impact on my peace of mind and the physical appearance of my home. And those aren't big spaces. It really is the little things.

So what is it? Where is it for you? What are those little places for you that make a big impact? What are your little things?

What are those areas where making those changes would really make a difference? Now make some time to do it. That's kind of how this works, how organizing works and certainly how coaching works. What are those little spaces or ideas that have big impact? Now lets make and dedicate resources to making them better.

Don't wait. You deserve better. Save yourself the constant micro-aggravations, celebrate the simple wins, and become aware of the big and small areas of your day and week and life that could use a little tweaking. Tackle the little things. Because it turns out, they are actually the big things.