My level-headed, accepting, tolerant self has observed my overwhelmed self over the last few months. It’s this website. You’d think someone with a fair bit of web experience and an eye for design would be more than capable of putting together a website – but this one’s different. This is my website, my livelihood, my ethos, about me. I’ve had to work through some stuff, I’ve learned loads, it’s been a journey
I hear that word overwhelm often – not just from the lips of clients. Feeling overwhelmed brings out the extreme in us. If there’s an overwhelming task to be done it becomes hard to focus on anything except this insurmountable thing. But the insurmountable thing just gets more insurmountable.
I’ve felt shame, intense, irrational, fearful, angry, frustrated, defensive, sleepless, lonely. I’ve worried about taking up too much of people’s time, I’ve put off other things that are important to me, I’ve berated myself for not being more skilled, adept, clear-sighted. I’ve had feelings of love, awe and pathetic gratitude towards the people who’ve helped.
There is no way this website would be live if I hadn’t asked for help. The people I asked (quick plug for two of them below) weren’t remotely overwhelmed by it – or by me. They were curious, interested and excited. They made constructive suggestions, posed useful solutions, took me for walks, mopped up tears, corrected grammar, listened and provided coffee. Thank you, all of you.
Being on the receiving end of help so recently has been a useful reminder for me. As I approach a client’s front door or office all I bring is my organisation gene, a desire to facilitate change and a relish for problem solving. If I meet someone experiencing any of the thoughts or feelings in that paragraph earlier I feel a sense of human recognition.
And that’s why I love this work. I get to meet fascinating people, who are prepared let me in, tell me a bit about themselves and let me help them. What could be better?
Plugs:
Dominic Danson is a technical web genius and very patient
Julie Bennett is brilliant at InDesign and Photoshop and can quickly put your thoughts and ideas onto a screen.
– claudia, london
be inspired – make your home feel more like you
I’m a massive fan of the ten-minute job. These are small, achievable tasks we can finish in a short period of time. Completing just one of them has immediate, visible results. When there’s a lot to organise and we don’t know where to start, a ten-minute job can be a great entry or warm-up. Read on to find out more or scroll to the bottom for some generic, room specific ten-minute job ideas.
What relevance does self-compassion have to organising and decluttering our homes? The more I do this work, the more I want to give the self-compassion gift to my clients, my friends – and me.
When an aeroplane crashes, there’s a reason we’re asked to put the mask on ourselves first
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