Get a one-way ticket out of Should Land.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you’ve heard me talk about “fun & easy.” Here’s the basic premise:

When we spend too much time doing things that: a) we hate doing, or b) we aren’t very good at, we expend a lot of energy that could be going to much better things. We are living in the Land of the Shoulds, the land where you are supposed to just suck it up, and the land where you bang your head against the wall a LOT of the time. 

Get ready to ditch the “shoulds”

But what if we didn’t subscribe to that idea? What if we got a little bratty? What if we asked instead - what do I LOVE to do? And what am I actually pretty GOOD at? What if I spent MORE time on those things?

That’s what the ol’ “fun & easy” concept is all about. It’s about figuring out how to spend MORE time doing the things that really light us up and spending LESS time on the things that drag us down. 

Brain dump your way to “fun and easy”

The tool I’m sharing today is going to give you a shortcut to finding YOUR fun and easy.

Here’s what you’re gonna do:

1. Head on over to this link to download your worksheet. (If you are new to Indigo Organizing, you’ll be added to my mailing list. If you’re already on it, don’t worry - you won’t be added twice! Just fill in your email and it will take you to the download.) 

2. Brain-dump all of the pesky tasks and projects that you’ve got on your mind. This might be something as simple as “unload the dishwasher” to something bigger like “renovate the kitchen”. (There are categories so that you can divide these into 4 areas: Work, Home, Self and Others.)

3. You’re going to ask yourself a simple question: Is this fun & easy? Go with your gut. Do you love doing it? Is it fun? Are you really good at it? 

4. If it’s NOT fun and easy, think about how you can downsize it, using Julie Morgenstern’s brilliant 4Ds. 

   1. Diminish - What is the minimum effective dose? (You might decide that you can just get the kitchen cabinets painted vs. gutting the whole kitchen.)

   2. Delegate - Is there a person, service, app or machine that could do this? (You might decide to ask your teenager to take over dishwasher duty.)

   3. Defer - Can this wait? (You might decide that now is not the time for any major renovations.)

   4. Delete - Do I need to do this at all? (You might decide that you like hand-washing dishes instead! It’s weird - but that’s what I do!)

5. Make some notes, like “Delegate to Sammy”. Make sure the notes section spells out the EXACT action you are going to take, like “Call contractor to cancel estimate.”

6. For the things that ARE fun & easy, get crackin’ on those! Make time in your calendar or to-do list to GET IT DONE.

Observe “fun & easy” in the wild

Here are a few examples of my own examples:

• Work: I LOVE giving talks, but I DON’T like planning events. So, I just talk at OTHER people’s events. They plan the event. I show up and talk. That’s Delegate (letting someone else to plan their event).

• Home: The interior of our house needs to be painted. DIY-ing it would be so NOT “fun & easy”, so I was ready to hire a pro. I was getting estimates, etc. but then I realized I’m just not up for this project right now, so I’ll revisit it again next spring. That’s Delegate (to a pro) and Defer (to next spring).

• Self: My nails look like they belong to a 12-year-old boy. I used to try to paint them myself. I hated it and they looked terrible. Then I tried getting them done. I hated it, and they never lasted. Now I just keep them unpainted, short and neat. That’s Delete (no more painting nails).

• Others: Most of my friends have little ones at home so it’s hard to have long phone conversations or Zoom calls. Instead, we send each other voice memos on Voxer or Whats App. That’s Diminish (we find a the minimum effective dose to connect). 

Give me the details!

Sooo, tell me, tell me, tell me! What did you learn? What got the boot? What didn’t? What’s gonna change? I’m all ears, so tell me in the comments below.

Don’t forget to download your worksheet right here! Here’s a few hot tips:

1. If you are new to Indigo Organizing, you’ll be added to my mailing list. If you’re already on it, don’t worry - you won’t be added twice! Just fill in your email and it will take you to the download.

2. You can either print out the form and fill it out by hand OR you can fill it out right on the PDF.