Wednesday - Figuring Out the Next Steps

I am halfway finished with a project, but only halfway there. I am at the state where everything looks overwhelming and where I just can't fathom being able to finish anything at all. I am also at the halfway point of my Spring Break, so I know that the time is ending.

Here is my current situation.

To avoid having to do anything with my library (my original focus for this week), I started moving my office desk from sitting out in the center of the room to against the wall. That required me to take things off of five shelves and pile the contents on the floor. I also had to take some non-decorative things off the wall because I can no longer reach those things. I worked on this project for about five hours yesterday - working until my arthritis and sciatica took over, so I have moved everything that needs to be moved. but there are piles of things on the floor that still need my attention.

I am working on setting up zones in this space. The first zone is my "tools and things I don't need access to often" zone. I decided to dedicate two cheap bookshelves to this zone, and I put them in the landing at the bottom of my stairs. That space has been empty for the two years I have lived here, and I have wanted to do something with the space this entire time. So, I moved two three-shelf bookcases to the landing that will soon store things like extension cords, random electronic cords, and tools. It will be a place where I can display some of my collectibles as well. The second zone is my "work materials" zone. On these three bookshelves, I store paper, labels, office supplies, and file folder making materials. This is the zone where I will work today.

Today's primary task will be tossing things that are no longer functional for me. Tomorrow is trash day, so I can fill up the trash can and remove things from my space easily. I can also start throwing more stuff out after the trash is picked up. That is the end goal of this process - throwing stuff out.

I just checked my new camera angle, and I don't like it. I will have to play around with lighting and the background of my downstairs area to make it work better for my sense of esthetics and what I want to show others during Zoom meetings, but it works for the moment. That task can wait until after I clear the floor of the stuff that is covering it right now.

There is something nice about going through things that I have stuffed in corners and in piles. I can see progress, and then I feel better about my space. Right now, though, I can only see piles of stuff. No end in sight, but I have a feeling that I will get there...eventually. I will have one week off between the end of the school year and the start of our summer session that I will use for more organizing and clearing out. this is a never ending process and quest for me - that of being more organized!

When I think about organization, I tend to think about having a place for everything and then putting everything in its place. My music therapy clinic is organized. My music therapy storage is not as organized, but there is still a logic and a system to how I organize things. For years now, I have encouraged other music therapists to find their systems and use them. I do that in my spaces, and it works for me...until it becomes overwhelming.

When talking to others about organization, I encourage folks to do things like label, color-code, and set up spaces where things are always placed. This type of system can become automatic for you and for others who are in your clinical spaces. In my room, I have four cabinets that store a different type of object. One cabinet is my non-music material cabinet where I store all of my toys, manipulatives, and props. I have an Orff instrument cabinet which fits all of my Orff instruments but one, a hand-held percussion cabinet, and a string instrument cabinet. Where the materials go in each cabinet is less important than their placement in the correct cabinet. If I need some triangles, then I need to find them in the hand-held percussion cabinet. My interns are usually pretty good about sustaining this system - mainly because I ask them to do so. It is a system that works for me, so I am working on making this what I do here at home in addition to what I do at work.

I realize that this will always be a challenge for me. I do not need things to be perfect, but I do crave organization. It is the thing that tops my quest list every year, and it is something that I always feel that I cannot accomplish. For the moment, I am making progress, and that is what is most important to me right now.

Progress over performance, right?

Off to do some more clearing out and rearranging. See you tomorrow!