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In life, be prepared, but first get organized

By Danielle Tetreault - Fit It In | Jun 3, 2018

A great friend of mine has brought a new philosophy into my coaching world and my personal life. One of our staple lessons as part of our eight-week program at Fit It In Fitness is preparation. The importance of this step doesn’t need to be explained, but it does need to be practiced. We can all agree that preparing our food, schedule, house, etc., will help us be ready for life, but do we do it?

Ever wonder why you don’t just follow through and prepare for the week before It comes? Ever wonder how you just survived that week? Well, it wasn’t easy but you’re still here. Now imagine the amount of stress you could rid and happiness you can reap if you just prepared yourself.

Perhaps the reason you don’t do this regularly is because you aren’t organized. It’s hard to want to spend time in the kitchen or car if it is chaotic. Take a look around your kitchen. What do you see? Are you counter tops clear? Is your fridge clean? How about your car? Do you still have things in there from last week? Did your kids drop off half of their room in there?

You can fix this. Follow these easy steps and you’ll feel free, happy and organized … maybe even prepared!

1. Purge. Go through your space (room by room). What can you get rid of? Where do the miscellaneous things belong? How long has it been since you’ve used the items you see?

2. Organize. Make a place for the things you will keep. They should be put away. When this is done, it takes seconds or minutes to put things away and feel prepared. If you don’t have a place for things, they stay right where they are … on the floor, in the car, on the counter, etc.

3. Prepare your people. Let those around you know that you will be purging and organizing. It might be best to give them a chance to help. This will help them stay organized. If you do it YOUR way, they might not enjoy the set up and therefore not follow through with staying organized. In any event, this is a way to let them know you mean business. It is also a commitment to yourself that you ARE going to do this. Consider it spring cleaning.

So what is more important, preparation or organization? Who knows? Who cares? Just be sure to make them BOTH habits. This will give you mental clarity. You’ll quickly find yourself in a better mood, excited to do certain things, and feel accomplished. Those positive feelings are contagious. Your family could actually catch on!

Well the saying is true; “You don’t know until you try.”

Here is a bonus for you. Try a BIG 5. This is another lesson we follow together at FII. List the five MOST important things you need to get done in the week. Stick to JUST these. Some people make a list far too long to even imagine completing, which causes immediate anxiety. Others live day to day and wait for things to be thrown at them before organizing a list. This means you will only accomplish what others want and need you to. It will not satisfy you whatsoever.

Take control of your life. It takes both; organized preparation to be your best self. So get started! Choose the dates on your calendar that you will de-clutter, organize and prepare.

Fit It In runs the fourth Sunday of the month. Danielle Tetreault is a personal trainer and the owner of Fit It In Fitness and is always available for a free fitness assessment. She can be reached at fititinpt@hotmail.com, or visit her website at www.fititintraining.com.

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