Bookworm

Dialing Down the Firehose

"Politics, celebrity gossip, business headlines, tech punditry, odd news, and user-generated content. These are the chew toys that have made me sad and tired and cynical. Each, in its own way, contributes to the imperative that we constantly expand our portfolio of shallow but strongly-held opinions about nearly everything. Then we’re supposed to post something about it. Somewhere." [Merlin Mann]

Amen, brother. 

True story:  I was in Barnes & Noble yesterday and wandered over to the area where they keep journals and notebooks.  I freaked out when it appeared that they were no longer carrying Moleskine notebooks and immediately began thinking about Twittering about it!  (As it turned out, they're still carrying them -- they actually upgraded to a stand-alone display case in a more prominent location with a better variety.) 

[And of course it doesn't escape me that I felt compelled to respond with a "Me, too!" to Merlin's post. . . but hopefully the continuing introspection that accompanies the post will balance that out.]

There's so much stuff out there.  I think Firefox, much as I love it, has made it harder for me to stop gorging on the online equivalent of junk food.  FF gives me the ability to open multiple windows in tabs and restores my last open session when I launch it again.  So, instead of saying, Guess I'll check my email while I eat my sandwich, I go from Gmail to Yahoo mail to my fantasy baseball team to Google Reader to Typepad to Twitter. . . and then begin the cycle again. 

Since my time is limited (both in terms of leisure time in a day and the inescapable fact of mortality), I should aim for more wheat and less chaff.  More time with family and friends and less time with people I will likely never meet.  More reading and writing and photography and music, fewer hours mindlessly surfing online.

Letting Go

I've been working on decluttering my den for ages.  I have a hard time letting go of pieces of paper sometimes and find it remarkably easy to acquire them.  Articles from newspapers and magazines, letters and cards, notes and papers from college, concert programs, ephemera from trips.

Some things I'm organizing.  All my correspondence is in hanging file folders with the correspondent's name on it.  I also scanned a gigantic binder of letters for electronic storage.  Items that I want to scrapbook I will also organize in folders. 

Some things I'm dumping, such as saved articles.  If I truly think I'll want them again, I'm either scanning the hard copy or finding it online. 

You wouldn't think it would take a great deal of introspection to get rid of some of this, but sometimes it does.  There are multiple reasons for this, but one major one is that if I get rid of articles on a topic I once researched in school, it's like saying I'm not that person anymore, I won't ever pursue anything scholarly again.  But how insane is it to keep pieces of paper just as a badge that says I might write a scholarly paper sometime?

In the closet I have a small collection of Sports Illustrated magazines with Yankees-related covers.  I collected them during the time in the late 90's when the team had such success.  Now, I really feel ambivalent towards them.  I still follow the team -- I guess I don't feel the need to keep as much memorabilia related to them.

We have storage cupboards in the living room.  One of them is half-filled with records, as in LPs and 45s.  We have a turntable, but it's not part of our current stereo setup.  I can't remember the last time it was used.  Over the weekend, husband was musing about whether we even needed our tape deck anymore.  We should probably get rid of the turntable and the records, for sure.  There's great "content" there, but we're never, ever going to take the time to digitize it.  We're too lazy to even have the turntable set up.  And our little kidlet could certainly use more storage space for her many toys and puzzles. 

I guess watching Clean Sweep on TLC has infiltrated a bit, especially the concept that you should keep what's special to you, what's unique and irreplaceable, and get rid of things that don't have meaning and are keeping you from enjoying your living space. 

Procrastination

"A University of Calgary professor in the Haskayne School of Business has recently published his magnum opus on the subject of procrastination – and it's only taken him 10 years. Joking aside, Dr. Piers Steel is probably the world's foremost expert on the subject of putting off until tomorrow what should be done today. His comprehensive analysis of procrastination research, published in the recent edition of the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin, presents some surprising conclusions on the subject, such as: * Most people's New Year's resolutions are doomed to failure * Most self-help books have it completely wrong when they say perfectionism is at the root of procrastination, and * Procrastination can be explained by a single mathematical equation "Essentially, procrastinators have less confidence in themselves, less expectancy that they can actually complete a task," Steel says. "Perfectionism is not the culprit. In fact, perfectionists actually procrastinate less, but they worry about it more." Other predictors of procrastination include: task aversiveness, impulsiveness, distractibility, and how much a person is motivated to achieve. Not all delays can be considered procrastination; the key is that a person must believe it would be better to start working on given tasks immediately, but still not start. It's estimated that about 15-20 per cent of the general population are procrastinators. And the costs of procrastinating can add up well beyond poor work performance, especially for those who delay filing their taxes or planning their retirement." [We're sorry this is late; we really meant to post it sooner]

Chortle

"Bear in mind that a lot of people aren’t going to read past the second paragraph of your introduction. They’re just going to skip to the list, which is the most important part of the article. So without further ado, here are 70 simple power tao secret hacks to writing the perfect productivity article, plus a guide & system for doing it." [The Growing Life, found via Gina Trapani on Twitter)

This piece (full title: 70 Simple Power Tao Secret Hacks to Writing the Perfect Productivity Article, Plus a Guide & System for Doing It) is guaranteed to make the rounds this week -- it's a funny spoof of productivity articles and appears targeted squarely at Zen Habits. Hee, hee.

My favorite:

11. Don’t Cite Any Research

You should really limit yourself to things other people would think of if they just had enough time. No need to actually explore research on the topic. Just because people have spent entire careers researching your topic doesn’t mean you should actually explore that research.

Environmentally friendly uncluttering

"By choosing quality over quantity, as well as longevity over novelty, we’ll not only be able to spend more for something that is better-constructed and long-lived, but our purchasing habits will also have less of an impact on the environment."  [Unclutterer]

I like this idea.  Now that we're in a place where we'll live for a long time, we have been able to choose furniture and appliances that will last. But I guess I never thought of it, particularly, as a good-for-the-environment thing.

I’m moving overseas!

Nope, not really.  But I found this decluttering "game" amusing.  It doesn't really work for me because I would not be excited at the possibility of moving to Europe.  No thanks.  But it's an interesting perspective.  If I was really going to move out of the country, how much of what I currently own would I take with me, how much of it would I pay to store, and what would I let go of? 

There is definitely stuff I keep not because it means much to me, but because it is meaningful to someone else.  We have some decorative glassware that belonged to my husband's family -- some of it is pretty enough and we used to display it but right now it's boxed up to keep from getting broken while our child is small.  We have a dozen butter pats -- all identical -- that are probably worth some money.  I don't like them at all, but they were given to us by my husband's parents.  The glassware from my own family means more to me because I remember seeing it displayed, but honestly, the leather bound book of poetry from my grandmother means more to me because I think it meant more to her.  I think the best thing I can do for my little one, with regard to this stuff, is leave her information about who the items belonged to -- maybe even make a photo album (ooh, what a great idea; good for insurance purposes and so I don't forget myself!), and that way if she decided someday to sell the items, she'd know we were cool with that.

"You are about to move overseas indefinitely for the dream experience of a lifetime. You now need to detox and simplify every corner of your home and life like never before. . . This time you’re not overwhelmed with the thought of clearing clutter and simplifying your life because you have the adventure of an overseas destination waiting for you. . . I have enthusiastically been playing this game each day. . . I used post-it notes on my fridge and bathroom window saying hello in French and Italian. I grabbed a bunch of travel brochures for beside my bed. I downloaded free language classes onto my ipod. . . Once I was in the place of really feeling like I was about to move overseas, I started on the house.

I started one cupboard, one room at a time. . . The only question I needed to ask myself while sorting through all my stuff was, “Is it absolutely essential that I put this item into storage or should I give it away?” [Link: Unclutterer: Reader suggested clutter-busting game: I’m moving overseas!]

Clutter Counseling: Just Say Throw - New York Times

Link: Clutter Counseling: Just Say Throw - New York Times.

Then think of clearing a path. And envision what you are clearing the path for. (It isn't just to get to the refrigerator.)

Is it to be with people? To have a relationship? Clutter is no different from carrying fat around, Ms. Passoff told us in class. It insulates you from the world.

Is it to do something creative, like painting or writing a novel?

"I've spent years talking to people about what they're working on," Ms. Passoff said. "Only to discover that they're not working on anything."

Dead silence. We looked at one another, furtively, thinking of those boxes of novel notes and unfinished canvases.

"So, what are you working on?" she asked us. "If you never do look at it, you're not working on it. So, throw it out."

Some people are afraid of losing the mystery of life if they clean up the clutter, but Ms. Passoff thinks that that's how you find the mystery of life.

"Ask yourself, 'What gives me life?' " she said. "If those piles are draining you of energy, if they're not supporting and nurturing you, then cut them off."

And stop holding on to ghosts. She told of one client who kept her dead mother's sewing machine in her living room -- and she doesn't even sew.

"I told her: 'You're a photographer. Take a picture of it and send it on its way.' "

"It's not that easy," whimpered a voice from the back.

"I didn't say it was easy," Ms. Passoff said. "I think it takes courage to carve a life that you say you want."

Maybe you don't know who you are. "But eliminate what you're not," she said. And what's left will be you.

"It's like Michelangelo carving the Pieta," she said. (Was that a halo behind her, or just a fluorescent bulb malfunctioning?)

At the next session, some classmates reported they were now driven to clean. A man with 106 boxes of books hired a helper for four hours and got rid of six! A woman said she couldn't wait to get back to her clutter -- to throw out more! Another man said every place he has ever lived in, including his childhood home, has depressed him.

He sat there for a minute. Maybe he needs more than a clutter class.

"Feeling comfortable at home always translates into being at home with yourself," Ms. Passoff said. "You want to create a place where you can live and be and thrive."

And how do we do that? (I actually like my clutter, but it's starting to act like a black hole.) Get some large trash bags, she said. And boxes for presorting. And file folders (the ones that hang in a cabinet or even a box, not the manilla ones that flop) and labels and nifty pens, like an ultra-fine Sharpie, to make you feel sharp.

Then clear a space, where you can comfortably sit and sort. Maybe your desk, but you'll have to move all that stuff. Or the living room, if you like to sit on the floor. (But not the bed, which is for relationships.) Then start going through those piles -- one piece at a time. If it's a financial thing, put it in the box labeled "financial." If it's a professional matter, put it in the "professional" box. If it's a love letter, the "personal" box. If it's a sock, put it under the bed. No, wait. In the laundry bag.

That's the easy part. Now, take one of those boxes and go through it, one item at a time, and deal with it. If it's a letter you want to answer, answer it, address the envelope and put a stamp on it. If it's a note to call someone back, call her and throw out the note. If it's an unpaid bill, pay it. If it's a paid bill and you need it for tax purposes, file it. But do not put it in another pile.

Why is there clutter?

Because people who typically have clutter "are perfectionists, afraid to throw something away for fear of needing it in the future.

They are sentimentalists, and forgetful, leaving things out in the open so they wouldn't forget them. They [hang] onto old letters, photos and gifts lest the memories escape." [Orderly House, Orderly Mind - New York Times]

Oh, yeah.  This is me to a "t" -- although I'm trying very hard to get better.  I now actually have hanging file folders for the most important people in my life, so when I find a stray letter or card from them, it has a place to go.  And I have to say that I'm very, very glad I was sentimental enough to keep most of my maternal grandmother's letters over the years; I only wish I had things like that from my paternal grandmother.  I agree with organizer Peter Walsh's assertion that if something is important to you, it should be displayed or stored in a way that keeps it intact and usable. 

Decluttering

100 Reasons to Get Rid of It

95. It has no value, sentimental or monetary.
96. It hasn't been used in over a year.
97. There is no logical place to keep it.
98. It doesn't work.
99. An ex gave it to you.
100. And what's the worst that can happen if you throw it out?
[marthastewart.com]

I have been making an (ongoing, years long) effort to get rid of clutter, to keep things that are important to me and get rid of everything else.  So, articles like the one quoted above tend to catch my eye.  It's an odd list . . . one of the tips is to read a book about decluttering a person from your life. . . but contains a few good tips.

Some things that have helped me the most (not from the above article):

• No magazine subscriptions.  I love to read, but I just can't keep up with a subscription right now.  Every other month or so I buy a magazine at the bookstore and that's about right.
• Cut back on how much I print from the Internet.  For most things I either tag it on del.icio.us to go back and read sometime (I rarely do), or cut and paste articles/posts into a Gmail email and send it to myself (and then tag it to make it easier to find later).  Occasionally I'll print something out because it's too long to read on the screen, but then I recycle it when I'm through.
• Establish some ground rules for keeping things my beautiful child draws/creates.  New pictures get displayed -- and I do have favorites that I keep up for quite a while.  Special items I scan on the flatbed scanner because even if we do keep the hard copy, said child might crumple it up herself.  Since she's currently the queen of the 10 second colored pencil drawing, there's too much volume being created to keep everything.  Small ones can be temporarily used for bookmarks, etc., or included in a letter to a relative.  Eventually most of them get recycled.  I'm going to keep a few in a folder in case she wants them someday.
• Weed the book collection so the collection more or less represents what I'm liable to read or reread and more or less fits into the available space.  My car's trunk is currently full of books that I'm going to donate to the public library for their book sale.
• Organize the cards and letters and pictures and memorabilia and toss what I know I'll never want to read again.  Work in Progress!  This is a tough one for me.  Some people, I keep everything they send me.  Other people, I might keep a letter, but not a card that's just signed "Love, So-and-So."  And now that my daughter gets cards and letters, I'm basically the archivist for her stuff, too, at least until she's older.

Ocean sounds + Emergent Task Timer = good

A couple of new techniques/tools that are helping me be more relaxed and productive this week:

First thing in the morning I launch iTunes and set it to play a loop of environmental sound tracks -- one of ocean waves and one of a Cathedral garden with twittering birds and the far off sounds of the choir.  Then I launch Firefox and the Emergent Task Timer, which I use to log my work.  Something about filling in the little circles to indicate what I worked on is satisfying.