Is clutter the cause for your writing frustration?

Welcome spring! After a relatively boring winter it’s so nice to finally say hello to spring. Where as winter makes me think of holidays, cozy blankets and working with hot chocolate on my coaster—spring makes me think of color, cleaning and productivity.

For most writers the holidays get in the way and clutter builds up throughout winter as we fight to catch up to our once productive routines. This is especially true for writing moms because we have even more to manage. But is the clutter in and around your life disrupting your writing?

Everyone knows the age-old phrase of “spring cleaning” and if you are like me you HATE IT! I hate cleaning, doing laundry, and many other household tasks. Honestly, I’m about as domesticated as a wild mountain lion. The ideal day for me would be sitting on my back patio writing to the sounds of wildlife and enjoying the fresh air and thinking about the fresh dinner I would enjoy making that evening. But the truth is that sometimes it takes a little hard work to give our productivity a boost.

Just try it out. No matter what deadline you are on, take a half an hour (if you need that) and clean up your desk, office, etc. No you do not have to “spring clean” the entire house. You can be like me and do that in pieces but do clean your workspace.

You can make this enjoyable. I put on some music. You can opt for an audiobook or catch up with someone on the phone. Do what you can to make this time not painful but do your “spring clean.”

Once you are finished sit back. I had a glass of wine and observed the work. Take a few deep breaths and doesn’t everything seem manageable now? Of course it does, you can see the color of your desk! Now neatly organize what piles you have on your desk and get back to work.

You will quickly see how simply cleaning up can improve your writing and productivity. Now you can take that feeling of accomplishment and apply it to other rooms in your house. Clearing the clutter from your life will make you feel better and help you in all aspects of your life.

Have you done your spring cleaning yet? Share your spring cleaning stories and tips in a comment below.