My Mother Was Right

As a kid, my mother had to tell me many times, “Before you get out more toys, make sure to put the ones you’re playing with away first.” (Full disclosure: I’m still trying to learn that lesson…) She was right.

Of course, her motivation was mostly to get me to keep my room clean, but those words of wisdom contain many other lessons.

In our world of constant stimulus, it’s very easy to shift from one thing to the next to the next, sometimes at light speed. Because of this, many tasks and projects never get completed. The result can be an overwhelming of the mind, kind of like the one I would get as a kid when I actually had to clean my room. Legos would be mixed in with Hot Wheels and Lincoln Logs and clothes and other miscellany that would be piled up in my room, and the thought of cleaning it left me with a sense of dread.

As an adult, I’m in the process of “cleaning my room” once again, and it’s triggering the same anxiety. It’s not toys anymore (except for motorcycles, if you count them as such). Instead, I’m still cleaning up after the devastating effects of the recession.

One such example is the closing of business entities I opened for real estate development activities during better times. The longer I’ve waited, the more work it has become, and the larger it looms in my mind. (My reasoning for delaying could fill a book – time for a shrink?) Guess what? That means I have less space at the forefront of my thoughts for things that are relevant now. It’s just like not being able to navigate a messy room.

Yet, I still manage to get out more toys (take on new projects). Another motorcycle, another business idea, another purchase. Oh, and less time and attention for cleaning up the old stuff.

I see businesses do this as well, with similar effects. A project isn’t properly closed out, leaving stray, incomplete tasks. Those unfinished tasks generally interfere with other business initiatives, making the business run less efficiently. Resources are pulled away from the new initiatives to fix the problems resulting from the incomplete tasks. It becomes a vicious cycle.

So, take my mother’s advice and clean up the old before moving to the new, and do it soon before even more things pile up.