Shift Your Status Quo

Getting ready for winter marks the transition from the warm, visual abundance of summer to the cold, stark beauty of winter.

During winter, we deal with power outages, incessant rain, snow and gray. Living in an area where we look up at gray skies and out at gray water can be difficult. Anticipating what’s coming gives us a sense of control and readiness.

Check your home and outbuildings for winter safety and durability. Check your yard, too. The path of surface water may have a warm-season route which changes in a heavy rain. Is the water’s winter path clear?

I dismantled and packed up a studio/shop last month. Sorting in the space was slow, as I had to establish groupings in empty bins and walk around locating items which I put into bins with a broad labels, such as “hardware,” “hand tools” “power tools,” “pneumatic tools” and “materials.” As bins filled, the client and I realized we smaller bins with narrower labels was more efficient for future use. Dismantling spaces always reminds me how they need to be organized and set up. 

Studios, shops and garages get messy from constant use. Not finding something you need can be problematic, and in some cases, dangerous or costly.

Problem – Solution.

Is your roof leaking? Repair it or install a new one. Have a muddy mess in your back yard? Hire a professional to determine the source of the leak and fix it. Is your cat and/or dog scratching a lot?  A vet recommends medication. Your laptop blinks and your data disappears. Now what?

Are solutions always straightforward?

No.

Problems can be complicated. Typical fixes fail. You spin in a never-ending cycle.

How do you start moving forward?

If you say “yes” to something, then you say “no” to something else.

How do you decide to do something – say yes to it?

Do you consider your values and how the activity fits with them? The activity’s aspects (research/prep, meetings, commuting, actions/tasks, interpersonal relations, organization/structure, mental/emotional “time,” etc.) and what they’ll cost you?

What if you first analyze what you give up when you say yes?