Space Management

Throughout the fall Jim and I have been in the process of renovating the space above our garage to serve as a new office  for roadSIGNS. The process has been a relatively painless one as we have had amazing builders and the project was not directly in the house. Everything was running smoothly until we actually began moving furniture, books and files. After almost 15 years in business there was a lot of stuff in our space.

I like to use the term space management instead of time management. Space management is about assessing what takes up the space in your life. This can be in your physical field, such as those cluttered closets, basements and garages that are difficult to navigate and in which you can be buried if you are not careful. Likewise, we need to assess our emotional – spiritual space and relationship space. Now what would these refer to?

Emotional – Spiritual Space:
This is where I ask you to consider the movie that is playing in your head and/or the music playing in your ear. Without realizing it you may be filling your space with a spiritually depleting message about who you are. The script and the movie portrays you as less than perfect, in fact flawed, undeserving, unworthy – you get the picture. With a new year approaching, I am suggesting that this movie needs re-writing. It is time for you to de-clutter those unwanted messages from your self-critic and begin shaking hands with your coach. The script, in my view, should rave about who you are, your uniqueness and what amazing things you have achieved. The script lifts you, makes you feel good and brings you into a joyful relationship with you.

Relationship Space:
Just in time for the holiday season, it is time to ask yourself what relationships take up the space in your life? Oh those! Yep, who is it you truly love to spend time with?

I know, the holiday season is all about obligation and spending time with Uncle Joe and Aunt Molly who you really wish you weren’t related to. What do you do with those less than perfect relationships that push their way into your space?

This is where the tough decisions lie and where your ‘no-how’ comes in. First, decide who you really want to play with in this lifetime. Take the time to record the qualities and characteristics of your perfect friend/relative/colleague. Learn to say NO to those less than perfect people in your life or at least decide to put limitations on how much space they occupy. Believe it or not, you have the choice. And yes, you may offend a few folks along the way, and that is their stuff not yours. The thing is, wouldn’t you rather fill your relationship space with your favorite people?

As I was de-cluttering my physical space in preparation for the big move, I threw out boxes of paper, all of them meaningful at one point in my life and yet not important now. As humans we do tend to hold on too tightly at times. I find myself wondering about that and why that is so.

As you approach the holiday season, ask yourself what you want your holiday space filled with. My suggestions:
– spend the time with the people you really love and who love you
– spend less money on gifts and convert this into quality time with others
– assess how much stuff is already in your space and wonder if you really need more
– be generous with yourself and fill your emotional-spiritual space with your dreams, your visions, and the celebration for who you are.
– this is a perfect time to de-clutter your physical space and share forward extra food, clothes, bedding, furniture, toys or books to those in need. Agape or Baldwin House would welcome your contributions.

Happy Holidays!

Until next time…

 

Betty