A few pick-ups from moving

As some of you know, I recently moved from my condo into a little house. It’s a new adventure for this city girl. Grass, apparently, just grows all summer and you need to KEEP mowing it. Who knew? Probably everyone but me…

Besides the joy of mowing, I did learn a few interesting things during the process. Things that don’t just apply to moving, but also to the workplace and to everyday life.  I’d like to share my ‘moving’ words of wisdom with all of you.

Lesson 1 – Don’t wait! Declutter along the way
While I was packing up I discovered that I am a hoarder of hand soap. It’s true. I apparently hoard so much that most of it had dried up – making the hoarding kind of pointless. I also saved every box for every quasi-expensive thing I ever bought. Even if the item itself was long since given away.

If I had been a bit more clued in, I would have decluttered along the way. Maybe once or twice a year, I should have gone into the attic and into the closets and gotten rid of what I didn’t need. It would have been less of a nightmare when I packed and a cleaner place to live before I moved.

This idea applies to work-related clutter, too. When was the last time you looked in your file drawer? Still need all that stuff? How about your emails? Periodically getting rid of stuff you don’t need lets you focus on the things that matter.

Lesson 2 – You’ll be scared of change until you finally make the change.
After I signed on the dotted line for the house I just kept thinking – is this the right choice? Will I be happy? Will I miss city life? What do people even do in the ‘burbs?  I worried and worried and then I moved anyway and as it turns out, I had nothing at all to worry about. I think change is like that, at least for me. There’s so much anxiety leading up to it, but then when you finally do it – it turns out it’s none of the bad things you feared it would be.

Lesson 3 – Getting something done right is rarely cheap or easy
My house was mostly move-in-ready. But there were still things that needed doing. Some electrical work, painting, a little plumbing. I hired a lot of contractors over the past few months. Which means I have gotten a lot of quotes from contractors, and seen work done with varying degrees of.. quality. I’ve learned a hard truth- you really do get what you pay for.

I see people at work do the equivalent of this all the time. It will take too long, it’s too much hassle – let’s just use this free tool or keep using email to manage this process. But the folks that do take the time to do their research and get a solution that meets their needs, even if it costs money, are always more satisfied with the results.

Lesson 4 – If the task seems too overwhelming, break it into pieces
Once I knew I was moving, I thought about how much work it was going to be to pack everything, then move everything, and then unpack everything again. Forget it. I decided there was no way I could do it all. But, you know, that really wasn’t an option.

So, what I ended up doing was to break it up into pieces. I’d tell myself, “Tonight I’ll pack the closet. Tomorrow I’ll pack the pantry”. I broke it into an hour or so of work each night, and by the time the move came around I was actually ready.

This same idea works at work. If the project seems too big, too impossible to manage, make it bite-sized. You will get it done one step at a time.

Lesson 5 – The effort is worth it in the end
The move was really a roller coaster. I stressed out a lot. I worked very hard, and I shelled out a fair bit of cash. But now that it’s all over, I can honestly say – it was all worth it. I think that with very few exceptions, happiness takes work.  Even happiness at work takes work.  But don’t be afraid of it. It’s worth it in the end.