How to Transform Your Creative Environment

Have you ever felt like your cluttered desk is a mirror to your cluttered mind? I, Mikita, have faced the same battle, and I'm here to tell you that there's hope. In a heartfelt heart-to-heart, I peel back the layers of my own chaos to reveal the transformative journey of aligning my space with my mental state.  Join me in understanding how the spaces we inhabit are not just a reflection, but a molder of our behavior. It's not about chasing perfection, it's about cultivating a serene haven that enhances your creativity and focus. If you're seeking control and peace within your environment, this episode is your guide to crafting a space that truly resonates with your calmest and clearest self.

Navigating through the clutter to a well-ordered life can be daunting, but I'll share the practical strategies that have streamlined my life and can do the same for yours. Discover how setting goals, establishing routines, and personalizing your journey to organization can lead to a stress-minimized lifestyle that fosters personal growth and mental well-being. Whether it's assigning chore days or adopting 'fend for yourself' Fridays, these small steps can lead to a more organized and efficient existence. As we continue to support each other through social media, tune in to this episode for a motivational boost on the path to tranquility and success.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Because decluttering isn't just physical, it's mental too. When our space is cluttered, our minds follow suit. So start by identifying the essentials. Do you really need those old notes from two years ago? Probably not. Time to let it go. I'll let mine go. It was hard, trust me, but keep what inspires you and serves you and let go of the rest. Hey there, I'm Makita, a small town girl with dreams who started a podcast with an old headset and a laptop at my kitchen table and made my dreams come true.

Speaker 1: 0:35

On my podcast, time for Tea with Makita, we chat about living life unapologetically, on your terms, from career advice, entrepreneurship, relationships and everything in between. This is your one-stop shop for real conversations and inspiration. If you're looking for connection, then you've found it here. Join me every Tuesday as we dive into those sometimes hard to have conversations. So grab a cup of tea or coffee and get comfy, because this is Time for Tea with Makita and the tea is definitely hot.

Speaker 1: 1:11

Ever feel like you need a super power, boost of motivation with exclusive tips and tools with your goals in mind? Well, say hello to your new inspiration hotspot, the Tuesday Tea Newsletter. You're a weekly infusion of big thinking energy that will propel you to chase your wildest dreams and never shy away from using the power of your voice. Sign up for the Tuesday Tea Newsletter today at beautifullyunbalancedcom and elevate your goals to the next level. Welcome back, it is definitely time for some tea. I'm your host, makita. First, I just want to say thank you for just sharing your time, your space and, of course, that amazing energy that you bring each and every time.

Speaker 1: 1:51

So today's episode is all about getting more organized, and let me just say that I'm one of those people that I don't like clutter, but I constantly find myself keeping things I got. Hate to let go of something because I'm always afraid that I'm gonna need it later. But at the same time, when things get to be cluttered, I feel so out of control and I feel as if my thoughts and everything around me starts to kind of spin out of control in some form, because I don't know what I should do first. Should I clean up the clutter? Should I just get to work and worry about it later? Do I build in some time somewhere along the way to get this part done? And then I end up getting all off track and I don't complete my tasks that are in front of me because I've let myself create a clutter mess. So we're talking about it. As Benjamin Franklin once said, for every minute spent organizing, an hour is earned. So we're gonna earn ourselves some hours. Okay, we're gonna be diving into organizing our workspace and then looking at how that can transfer into our personal lives and organize in our minds.

Speaker 1: 3:14

I don't know about you, sometimes my mind feels like it's all over the place. So I was sitting at my desk at work and I was looking at all these sticky notes and I admit I am a sticky notes addict. They're all over the place. They're attached to my computer, my keyboard, like they are everywhere. Some of them are on my wall. Truthfully, I love them because they hold so much information. The problem is some of these sticky notes I know are over a year old. They have some ideas on them and I'm always like but I could use that idea later. I could use it, and the truth is, normally if you haven't used it by now, it's time to let some things go. So I'm working on being able to let some of these go, and I do have the Google Docs where I keep ideas in as well, but I just like having this stuff here. But it is cluttered, it's too much. It is time to let go and move forward with fresh stuff, fresh ideas and new ways.

Speaker 1: 4:22

So as I was looking at taking this time to take some inventory and get organized, I realized that I felt my mind felt all over the place because my workspace and how I was doing things were all over the place and I just want to know do you know that feeling of knowing what you should be doing, but somehow you just can't seem to figure out how to get started? I know I'm not alone. I know I'm not alone. So I was reading this study on epigenics and for anyone that has never heard of this, epigenics is a study of how your behavior and environment can affect your gene activity and I feel like this is such an amazing research and study. I can't say I am super, super knowledgeable, but I did read up on it and I just love the whole idea of it. So the more I was thinking about this, the more I became convinced that if my environment is functional and organized, then that would promote a behavior that will help me to first organize my thoughts, then that would transfer over into my workstation and my personal life.

Speaker 1: 5:43

But I don't want you to get caught up with this idea of being perfect. I'm not one of those people that exist in total perfection. I know some people are and that works great for them. But everything doesn't have to be precise for me. I just want my workspace to have the feeling and look organized, where everything has a place Even my sticky notes has its place and, in return, my mind doesn't feel scattered when I entered the room and I feel like, should I be hitting record or should I just be giving this whole thing a makeover?

Speaker 1: 6:19

But I want to make sure that, when I walk in, that there is a sense of calm, there is a sense of peace, I know where to start and I'm not being distracted by the sticky notes and the clutter. So when you think about your environment, I want you to think of what are some things that you can start to organize that brings back that sense of control and calm that will help you create an environment that will be just for you, because I feel like my workspace, which is my studio space, it has to have this creative feel to it. It has to be uniquely me. It has to bring out all the creative juices that can start to flow. I have to have the sunlight, the windows, all the things that make me feel like me and make me feel relaxed and calm. I have to have my candle burning. I have to have my tea on the side of the table. I have to have my candle burning, I have to have my tea on the side Like. Those are the things, and I can't have sticky notes piled up in notebooks and all the other stuff I have.

Speaker 1: 7:24

My mind gets cluttered. I have that what they call the monkey brain. It's going, going, going and nothing is getting done. Nothing's happening because I'm unorganized in my spaces too. So now that we talked about that, let's dive into. When we talk about organizing, let's tackle our spaces, cause we're talking about, you know, having this, a desk that is free of clutter, and you can have your own organized clutter, as long as this clutter is not to the point where, before you can even take out a pen and paper to write, you have to make room and create a small little space for you to do it. I want you to think more of having a designated writing area that is free from any type of clutter, that is designated just for you to take out your notes in your pen and work.

Speaker 1: 8:21

Okay, think about that, because decluttering isn't just physical, it's mental too. When our space is cluttered, our minds follow suit. So start by identifying the essentials. Do you really need those old notes from two years ago? Probably not. Time to let it go. I let mine go. It was hard, trust me. But keep what inspires you and serves you and let go of the rest. You're going to have new ideas. You're going to have new thoughts.

Speaker 1: 8:51

Now, speaking of our minds, who here finds their thoughts? Running a marathon, you're not alone. Like I said, that monkey brain. When we organize our thoughts, it is crucial. It's very crucial, because it's part of organizing our physical space. When your brain is juggling a million things, try this Write it down, make a list. If you are more of a person that don't really like to write things down because they're like, oh, that's more clutter, then use apps whichever works best for you. If you're more, get in Google Docs, open it up, keep a digital diary. You have to figure out what is going to work best for you and something that you can become. It can become a pattern, like a habit, like something that you know.

Speaker 1: 9:39

All right, I got these thoughts. I've been having all these ideas and I got to find a place to place them, to put them somewhere, and they can't be taking up space in my mind, because if these thoughts are running around, then I'm not getting the other things done because I'm so focused on all these other things that's happening in my mind. Right now. It's all about finding the clarity in the chaos, and I don't know about you, but life happens really fast and things are constantly moving and changing and as we try to keep up with the latest and newest and learn how to use this app and this program, and the next thing is like okay, my mind needs a break. I need a break and I need to get the thoughts out. I need a space for this to go, so I'm not laying in bed at night having all these thoughts run back through my mind. I need to get them out. So consider using just simple sheet of paper and writing it down. I find this to be the most helpful for me and I use that in different things.

Speaker 1: 10:50

When I'm thinking, sometimes I do an inventory on where I'm at and where I want to be at. I make a list. These are the things that I want to accomplish. These are the things that I've accomplished so far and I kind of go through it like, okay, is this a priority for right now? Is this something that's going to be more long term and doesn't fit the one month goal? Do I need to push this goal out to three months because it's unrealistic? All those things. Just Having that opportunity to get the thoughts out is a great way to start.

Speaker 1: 11:28

Here's where it gets really interesting, especially when we're talking about the epigenics, when we talk about how it studies our behaviors and an environment that can cause changes that affect the way our genes work. Unlike genetic changes, the epigenic changes are reversible. Now we're not talking about changing your DNA sequence and all that stuff, but they can change how your body responds to the environments. Just think about creating an environment that promotes creativity, that promotes calm and organization. Just think it's just like the company you keep really does matter, because if you stay around people that are positive, if you even stay around someone that is a knee freak, you yourself may not become a knee freak, but you would be more organized. If you have your stuff together, you would be more precise or make sure things go where they're supposed to go. If you grow up in an environment or you're around people that are more messy. When you come from an environment that is more organized, it will affect you differently. So just thinking about having an environment that produces a behavior that causes you to reevaluate how you want to show up, how you want to perform in function to the best of your ability.

Speaker 1: 12:59

Another way that I stay organized in my personal life because I don't do everything. I'm not a superwoman Some people may think I am, but I'm not. I have certain days that I do certain chores too, like around the house, like when it comes to my personal life. I don't do laundry every day. I am amazed by the people who do do laundry every day. I never have. I have laundry day. It's assigned On.

Speaker 1: 13:26

This certain day of the week is a laundry day. It's where I wash all the linens and everything and my day is dedicated to me and my husband. Both we will fold everything up and put everything away. That is laundry day. That's what it consists of. If it's like a spring cleaning or something like that, that's a little different. That's broken up in two days because we're taking curtains down and doing the whole thing, but just normal day-to-day life. I have laundry day. I don't try to do laundry every day and cook every day. It just does not work for me. It's part of my organization and it doesn't make me feel like I'm trying to do 100 things at one time. Maybe think about breaking things down in a way that you don't feel like you're doing everything all over again the same day. It's broken up. Maybe you have a laundry day two to three times a week. That just depends sometimes on our lifestyles too, because I know if you have a job that you work outside, you may not want those clothes sitting around that long. Every other day versus every day wouldn't hurt either.

Speaker 1: 14:41

I do meal planning to the best of my ability. Now I'll tell you, some days are crazy. Things don't go exactly according to plan. I do have an idea in the beginning of the week of what I'm going to be fixing for dinner. I'm very lucky because my husband also breaks up the dinner responsibilities with me. He does dinner two days during the weekday and I do dinner two days during the weekday. I always do dinner on Sunday most of the time. I say most of the time because sometimes we go out. It's just the way things happen. Most of the time, I do dinner on Sunday and then during the weekday we both take turns.

Speaker 1: 15:26

I have two nights dedicated for me and two nights dedicated for my husband, and then, usually on Friday, we call it fin for yourself, because you can grab whatever you want to eat. There's something You're on your own, you got it and even when my kids were younger it was still fin for yourself. You can make a sandwich, you can get some french fries. Fight your old friend and how. It's not a week, it's up to you. But there are options like we may bring home deli meat For sandwiches and you get hungry. You go make a sandwich. There's a pizza, make a pizza. Like you want to go out and grab Something to eat. Then grab something to eat, but it it just helps so that you know we're.

Speaker 1: 16:11

I know on Monday that I'm gonna cook, so I'm gonna have an idea what to fix. I know on Wednesdays I'm gonna cook and I need to have an idea of what I'm gonna make. And then I'm more organized. I'm not trying to figure things out and getting home and feeling really overwhelmed about what are we gonna cook, what's here, what ingredients I'm missing, and I'm trying to throw something together. Now there are days that I like that, but when I am organized, like I said, when I'm organized, then everything flows much better.

Speaker 1: 16:44

When I get unorganized, things are really out of control. And that's when I think we feel the anxiety, the stress, the overwhelm starts to pick up. And I don't mean we have to sit down like like, really like sit down, because our lives are busy. You know you have small kids, you have grandkids, you know you're got Practices and pickups and church and you know, and other responsibilities. There are a lot of things happening in our lives. But I think we can slow down enough that we can take some of the stress away, that we can take some of the overwhelm away, that we can focus on organization to the point that we're not talking about being perfect or having this perfect dream life, but organizing in a way that promotes calm, that helps our well-being and our mental health and our spiritual health. It slows us down, it makes us feel more centered and that's the organization that I want you to have Just having that peace of mind, to know what's next, and not feeling scattered and pulled in a thousand different directions Because there's so many things that get that we feel need to be done and we feel like we're not getting anything done because everything is so cluttered and all over the place.

Speaker 1: 18:09

Now I apply the same principle of doing things on certain days when it comes to cleaning the house. On A certain day of the week is the living room in the dining room. I Clean those two rooms, I try to declutter those rooms, get rid of things that's been sitting around, figure out that something need to go. Can I donate something? Can I give this away? How can I make this room feel you know, the space feel better for me, for the people that come into out, like a cozy environment. I want people to feel like when they're in here they can pull on that throw blanket, wrap up and just be comfy in the living room. So I like the dining room to feel open and spacious and that's the field I'm going for. I don't want the clutter. So just you know I don't try to do both rooms and do a deep clean every day. Today, once a week, they get a deep clean and I decide which day of the week we're gonna do that.

Speaker 1: 19:12

And when my kids were younger, everybody had a room on Sundays where it's cleanup day and Everybody was assigned a room that they would have to clean and it worked perfect. It worked great. Well, I'm gonna say perfect, but it worked. We got it done and it felt good and I Think it gave them a sense of Organization, to to understand how to Create an environment in their own room and space that felt like them.

Speaker 1: 19:46

I so how does this tie into organization and being organized? Well, when we organize our environment and thoughts, we're potentially influencing our genes to work in our favor. It's like telling your body hey, I got this under control and your genes respond. So we're going to continue to keep our bodies and our minds healthy and focused and, like I said, it's not just about being neat, it's about creating an environment that's positive and impacts our well-being.

Speaker 1: 20:21

So, as you take this out into your day and you think about how you can fit little bits and pieces of this into your life, remember, friend, organization and organizing isn't just about tidiness. It's about setting yourself up for success, both in your environment and in your mind. And, who knows, with a little epigenic magic, we might just be helping our genes to help us. And remember, it's not about perfection, it's about progress, small steps, small things. Find what works best for you and take those steps to get organized. And you got this, and I will be here to support you throughout the journey. Okay, all right, that is all the tea that I have to spill today, but I hope you're feeling motivated to tackle your workspace, your thoughts and maybe even your genes. If you love this episode, don't forget to share it with someone else and leave a review. I would love to hear your feedback. If we're not connected on social, find me at Makita Smith underscore. All right, my friends, I will see you next Tuesday. Until next time, namaste.