Rehanging pictures
I had never realised just how connected everything in our apartment was.
Here’s what happened.
We decided to “spring clean” our bookshelves, which meant that we were able to take six or seven big bags of books to a local school to raise some money.
Which meant we could get rid of one of our loyal Ikea bookshelves that had given up the ghost.
Which meant we could hang a new piece of art in that space.
Which meant that the art in the other spaces stopped working – everything got out of balance.
Which meant we had to reposition the TV, hid the DVD player, get a new picture framed, move the art in the dining room, change the art in the bedroom, put a new bookshelf in the bedroom … you get the idea.
But this isn’t about the agonies of spring cleaning
It’s about how quickly we stop noticing what’s around us, about how quickly we fall into a rut. Once everything’s in its place, tucked and tidied away, we stop seeing it and just take it for granted.
Now after our weekend flurry, I sit at our dining room table writing this blog entry and temporarily reawakened to what this room is about. I’m seeing perspectives, connections, relationships anew.
I’m talking about pictures on the wall…
But clearly it goes beyond the art. You and me, we’re all in various ruts. Some of them are worth keeping (for now at least). And some aren’t.
(This of course is the Good Work-Great Work tension. What serves us for a while decays over time and becomes a habit, a toleration, a rut).
Here are some elements to add, move or remove to shake the system up a little…
Change what you’ve got hanging on your wall.
Move your desk.
Meet in a different room, a different place.
Introducing a new voice into a meeting.
Throw out half the paper you’ve got stored.
Upgrade from text to email. Upgrade from email to phone. Upgrade from phone to letter.
Spend three minutes looking at the wall to really notice what’s there
Cancel the two most boring meetings you attend
I’m curious to know what ruts you’re in right now – and what part of the system you’re going to change to help you get out of that rut. Drop me a note in the comments…
I have been in a huge rut with the process of quitting smoking since the beginning of 2009. It seems that I’m using the same unsuccessful formula time and again, then wondering why I’m not achieving. How incredibly unintelligent! The Rehanging Pictures post challenged me to step back, analyse and reconsider. Every positive habit that I’ve invented to replace certain cigarettes that hasn’t worked in the past is being thrown out and I’m going to brainstorm some new ones – keeping what works and ditching what doesn’t.