3 Steps to Always Know Where to Start

Does this sound familiar:
You sit on the couch.
You've arranged some time for cleaning or decluttering - but now that it's time to get started, you just sit there paralyzed because you don't know where to start.

Or maybe you're able to start but you do a little bit here and then you decide to tackle another mess over there and you bounce from one task to another and nothing quite gets done.

I know - I've been there!

But then - as a part of the process that led me to invent Track to Tidy home organizing game - I came up with a simple tool that guides you to choose the right place to start. It's not a one-size-fits-none checklist but a plan tailored to your situation!

Without further ado, here's how it works:

1. List some of the clutter piles, messes or places you need to clean!
   Break big areas into several smaller ones.
   

2. Evaluate each item (ie clutter pile, mess or place you need to clean) on your list using suitable questions, eg:
   Does this make my everyday life more difficult or inconvenient?
   (You'll find two more tried and tested questions in the freebie below!)
   Depending on your situation, you can choose to prioritize just one of them or come up with questions of your own. Rate each item on your list with 0-3 points for each question.
   

3. Calculate the score for each and rank them from the top score to the lowest.

TIP! If the one with the highest rank feels super hard to get started with, start with the second highest and go for the highest one after gaining some momentum!

(And if you, after seeing the ranking order, find yourself thinking "What a load of BS, I'd much rather get started with clutter pile X!" - by all means, start there! After all the goal of this little excercise was to know where to start, and if you know it better than the list - Mission Accomplished! XD )

Now you know which is the first area to clean! Tackling as many of the top rated areas as you can - one by one - gives you the most bang for you buck.
Put on some of your favorite music, a podcast, or an audio book and get started!

BONUS TIP! Give yourself a time limit within which you need to get the area finished and race against the clock!

This is my favorite tool to crush overwhelm and have a clear and effective plan on how to proceed. This is also a taster of the tools and tactics included in Track to Tidy home organizing game, so if you liked this, you'll want to check out Track to Tidy!

I created a printable Mess Analyzer pdf with all three questions to guide you through the steps.
You can grab yours below for free!