Do you wish you had more hours in your day? You aren’t likely to get those extra hours, but every four years we get one extra day in our year, and that extra day is coming up this Saturday. Have you thought about how you are going to spend your Leap Day?
Leap day is a chance to do something we wouldn’t normally do, whether it’s a personal growth goal or something completely frivolous. This year February 29 falls on a Saturday, so it’s a real chance to change up your routine or spend some time on something important in your life.
Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow is uncertain.
But today is a gift. That’s why they call it the present.
Of course, it’s not really extra hours in your day, because everyone else has them, too. That means that dinner still has to be made, laundry still gets generated, and you’ll still get email. But after you take care of the basics, is there something else you can do with your day?
One of my clients booked 2/29 months ago to organize her basement. I love working with her, and so I’m really looking forward to spending my “extra” day there. But it might also be the right day for me to add on a little self-care time, or maybe a date night with my girls. I haven’t decided yet.
We’ve all got 168 hours in a week, which might feel like a more manageable measurement of time for you–more substantial than a day, but still a time horizon that feels knowable. Since Leap Day comes at the end of this week, which will likely be just as busy as most of them, can you reward yourself by starting something that you never seem to have time for otherwise? Maybe taking a day trip into a nearby city, getting family portraits taken, or finally making good on your threat to get back to the gym?
I’d be honored to learn that I inspired some of my readers to spend at least part of the day on long-overdue organizing projects. Here is a short list of organizing projects that you could complete with SORT and Succeed and feel successful about:
Get organized using things you already have
Choose a community paper shredding event for later this year
Update some part of your home decor, like reupholstering dining room chairs
Organize just one part of your kitchen, like your baking pans and trays
Each of the projects above are short projects that can take you as little as an hour, because who wants to spend your Leap Day organizing (besides me and my basement client)?
My SORT and Succeed method has four steps and THEN calls for a reward as a celebration, so don’t skip Step 5! Even with a small organizing project–maybe especially with the small projects–you should reward yourself for getting things done. Not only does it feel great, but it also trains your brain to like organizing more…or at least the results of your organizing.
I’d love to hear if you are scheduling an organizing project for Leap Day. If you share in the comments below, be sure to shout out what your reward is going to be, too.
