Photo by Krystal Black on Unsplash
For the last few weeks, I’ve been putting off tidying my room. For example, when I came back from my recent trip from the UK, it took me a week before I unpacked and moved my mini suitcase. It lay in the middle of the room like an obstacle course.
The rather ridiculous thing was that I was coming from my parent’s home, meaning everything inside was already washed and clean, so packing it away would take me less than five minutes.
My state of mind betrays the way that I’ve been living my life. When I am too busy to take care of basic things around the house, I am in a constant mode of doing. I’ve felt quite tired and lethargic after spending each day running on my self-created task treadmill, so I’ve generally not ‘felt like’ cleaning up.
But having a mess in my room has a negative effect on my sleep, as it is harder to relax. This in turn perpetuates the mediocre sleep cycle.
This seems very obvious now. This weekend, I changed my bed sheets for the first time in what feels like ages, to the point I am somewhat embarrassed to admit it. The feeling of having clean sheets makes such a difference in being able to relax at night.
From a practical perspective, this negative sleep cycle does not help us. But more importantly, it highlights what we are saying about ourselves. Generally, I am someone who likes to keep a relatively clean living environment (I’m not a perfectionist but I don’t like living like a slob either). Yet when I’ve been in the mode of constantly being busy, I’ve let my standards slip.
Our lack of discipline in personal and environmental hygiene is an indication of how we are currently seeing ourselves. Where we see our health and wellbeing as a priority, we keep up clean, healthy environments. When we focus on getting other things done, it demonstrates that we are putting our tasks over taking care of ourselves.
The funny thing is that these signs have shown up in multiple places. My body has been giving me signals – when I am stressed I sometimes develop eye twitches, and this has been pronounced in the last few days. I’ve also been speaking to my own coach about my energy levels because I’ve felt more worn out. I’ve felt tired and wanted to take naps during the day, whilst normal tasks have felt more mentally draining than usual. The signs have all been there, even if I haven’t been willing to properly acknowledge them.
What has changed my perspective on prioritising myself is realizing that without me being at my best, I am far less potent in all the things I do. Athletes spend as much time exercising as they do resting.
Without proper rest, we are not nearly as potent as we can be. When I hosted an impromptu barbecue on Monday, I felt my energy levels being pretty low. It wasn’t terrible, but both the energy I gave out and the enjoyment I got from the event was lower than it would have been otherwise.
This also applies to our work lives. Where we are tired and stressed, our energy is mediocre. We are less effective with people, and our results come out average. Challenging tasks can feel overwhelming, and we can fall into a cycle of exhaustion.
Each day starts from our bedrooms, and if we are ‘too busy’ to tidy this up, then we will stay in the perpetual state of busy for the rest of the day.
But when we are calm and relaxed, we take the time to naturally improve our surroundings anyway. It’s no coincidence that I tidied up my place when I had a free weekend. Slowing down my mind returns me to my basic instinct – to keep a well-preserved, neat place around me.
So take this article as an invitation to view your surroundings. Start with your bedroom, but also look at the rest of your living/working spaces. If they feel busy, they’ll make you feel busy. This is not optimal for your wellbeing and productivity.
The 30-60 minutes of tidying will pay exponential dividends, so take the time to do it.