I was standing in the kitchen, motionless, as if I was having an out of body experience, looking at myself and my surroundings. How did I get to this place? I could feel the anxiety building pressure as if the walls were slowly closing in on me, reducing the oxygen in the room. I had been making a coffee as I analyzed my to do list for work in my head. Deciding what goals to accomplish to be successful for the day, in order by priority, then efficiency to maximize my time and energy. This is just a little insight into how my brain works. And those familiar with Strength Finders, “Achiever” and “Strategic Thinking” are in my “Top 5”. The motivation daily is to find more extra time and energy than not just the average person, but the best person, in order to reinvest in activities that result in more profitability, productivity and towards exceeding goals. I pride myself on competing against the ever-moving clock… tick… tick… tick…  

But there I was, standing with my coffee, being swallowed up by the overflowing dishes, small piles of mail and a now empty bottle of coffee creamer. I utilized my skills and passion for planning and organizing for my work and for others. Squeezing out some extra time to get ahead was at the expense of myself and my home.  

We all do it, we give from the well. And then one day the well is dry and it is now a massive project to fill it back up with water. At that moment it almost causes a paralysis as you try to navigate how to continue at the pace you are moving, carrying a plate that is already too full. And now you are forced to take on the additional heavy talk of filling the well. It is overwhelming. And for a strategic thinking achiever, it causes my thoughts to collide and all forward progress to pause.  

I was like a beautiful sales floor with a disorganized stockroom. I was going to have to spend my payroll finding lost product instead of giving great customer service. For those who do not have a retail background, that translates to: I would need to spend my day off cleaning my house instead of spending my valuable time with my family and friends. What I would give to have my personal life not be a big project but a process. One that is operationally sound in both my work and personal life. That at its greatest, would clear my mind from my to do list to allow an environment where creativity flourished. I wanted to elevate myself to be in a place where my ideas could flow freely through my mind without tripping through a maze of clutter.  

During this pause, I picked out my first project (it was actually the screaming priority as I was in a place of needing to clean a cup before I had one to use), the dishes. I planned a time, first thing tomorrow on my day off. I then created a process to avoid it becoming a full project again, I would run and unload the dishes daily (if needed) before bed. And the most important, I identified why it would be a priority for me. I could put the dirty dish right into the dishwasher, saving time from touching it twice. My countertops and sink would stay clean for guests and myself. I would always have my favorite coffee cups available to use (I’m sure you’ve picked up on the fact that coffee is clearly a priority to me). I say that it is the most important because knowing the “why” fuels you to do it.  

And I understand that life happens, but we need to adjust. Maybe you got home and were so tired that you fell asleep on the couch with your makeup still on ( and yes we need to work on prioritize washing our faces before bed). And if you can’t even make it off the couch into your bed, are you really going to do the dishes that night? Probably not. But this is where you need to readjust, you need to do them tomorrow or if you have others in your household, delegate to someone to complete before you are again swallowed up by a repeat of the big project. It becomes a top priority, a “need to-do”. Do not put your dishes on the back burner… literally or figuratively.  

The next day I completed my project, and it has been a process for me for the last seven years since. I continued completing my big projects (in order of priority), by planning and dedicating the time and creating processes and routines to maintain. This has allowed me to self-actualize to a greater extent and become my most efficient self yet (which I am driven to continue to improve daily).

My mission was for my home to be an energy giver, not an energy drainer. My to–do list is now constructed of mostly processes that I need to complete and few projects. This has freed up my time to let that creativity flow, and here I am pouring it out through my words. If you are not at this place, follow along with me. And if you are, collaborate with me to elevate me further. I am now the Efficient She that I wanted to be, you can be too.