Spring Cleaning for Our Lives

As we all crawl out of our winter hibernations and remember what normal outdoor temperatures feel like, we can use this time of rejuvenation to reflect on other parts of our lives, like our careers, our wellbeing, and our interpersonal relationships.

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Are you the type of person who gets an insatiable urge to clean your house every spring? With spring comes a sense of rejuvenation. A reawakening. As the sun shines earlier in the day and the warmer temperatures coax us outside, we feel inspired by the flower buds and the blossoming leaves. We have a renewed sense of energy and inspiration. Maybe we take some of that outside and enjoy nature while we can, but we also do a bit of indoor maintenance, don't we? We engage in Spring Cleaning. We pack away the holiday decorations (I won't even tell you how recently I took my Christmas decorations down), declutter and reorganize, deep clean those most looked-over spots (especially those that were masked by the dim hygge lighting of winter), ventilate for better air quality, and swap our heavy winter clothes for lighter spring attire.

But what if we internalized spring cleaning? What if the concept of spring cleaning extended to more than just our countertops, our closets, and our windowsills? What if we could apply it to other parts of our lives?

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5 Tips for Spring Cleaning Your Life

I put together a 5-step process to help you cut out the bad, embrace the good, reorganize, rest, and rejuvenate. Let's dive right in!

Pausing the Cycle

Sometimes, we get caught up in the world around us, with our full calendars, our messy desks, and our ever-growing to-do lists. We keep moving because there's always something more to do, something new to achieve. It's an endless cycle, and there's really no end in sight. Sometimes we enjoy the movement. It's okay to like being busy and to have lofty aspirations. But taking a pause every once in a while can enhance our wellbeing. We owe it to ourselves to take a breath and reassess. This helps us make sure we're on the right path and that we're expending our energy in productive ways.

• What are you doing too automatically, without thinking?

• When do you feel you're moving too fast?

• How can you take more pauses?

• Where might a pause help you reassess your strategy, plans, resources, or mindset?

Decluttering our Lives

As we've been adding and adding and adding to our lives--new projects, goals, TV shows, meetings, appointments, errands, responsibilities, classes, friends, ideas, and stuff--it can help, once we take a moment and pause, to declutter. What can we subtract? We spend so much time adding, but by subtracting what doesn't serve us, we free up our focus, attention, time, and energy, which we can use in more constructive ways.

• Where in your life do you feel disorganized?

• What can you remove that isn't serving you?

• What's getting in your way of resting?

• What do you want to say "no" to?

Inviting in the Good

Once you get rid of the excess, the toxic, the harmful, the pointless, and the clutter, now you can make room to invite in the good. What do you really want to spend your energy on? Think about the things you didn't get to do while you were too busy operating in the whirlwind of busy life. Think about the places where you feel yearning--the things you wish you had time for. The things you miss. The things you'd like to try. The areas you want to excel in. The things you want to get better at. The things that simply make you smile. Be open to inviting in the good and new opportunities, and make room for the things that make you happy.

• How can you better organize your time so you're doing what you love?

• What energizes you? How can you do more of that?

• What haven't you done lately that you'd like to make time to do now?

• What have you never done before that you'd like to try?

• What gives you joy? How can you prioritize it?

Prioritizing Self-care

We don't pay attention to ourselves enough. Increased self-awareness leads to better self-expression, more fulfillment, and greater joy. I'm sure we've all heard the phrase "you can't pour from an empty cup," and it's true--we have to care for ourselves so that we can better serve others.

Self-care is going to look different for all of us. The important part is that we're listening to our bodies and to our minds, and we're nourishing our souls in the ways we need. It sounds stuffy, but it's true. So often we focus on taking care of others, which is undoubtedly noble. But we have to balance our empathy and our acts of giving with a healthy dose of self-care.

• What do you enjoy doing? How can you do more of it?

• How do you prefer to rest? How can you rest more deeply?

• When do you feel most nourished? How can you incorporate that into your routine?

• What is one way you can take better care of yourself this upcoming week?

Reestablishing Your Vision

Once you've cut out the bad, replaced it with the good, and filled up your cup, now you can assess your vision for your life. Think about your career, your family, your friendships, and your hobbies. Consider the way you spend your time. Is that leading you in the right direction? How do you know? Pause here to reestablish a vision for yourself that embodies the person you want to be and the life you want to have.

Topically

• What is your vision for your career? How are you doing? What do you need to do next?

• How do you feel about your relationship with your family? Is there anything you need to recommit to?

• How would you rate the quality of your friendships and social interactions? What might help you reconnect with the people who matter most to you and enrich your life?

• What hobbies are you doing? Which ones do you want to keep doing? Which new ones do you want to try?

Overall

• What have you been working towards?

• What kind of person are you trying to be? How is that going? What can you do to continue along that journey?

• Where have you strayed from the path? What adjustments do you need to make? How can you right the ship?

• What is your vision of the future, in terms of the life you want to lead? How are you getting there now? What else do you need to do to help you be successful?

Your Reassessment Reminder

Springtime is as good a time as any to take a step back and reassess. We're far enough away from New Year's resolutions that we can explore those milestones if we've been diligent enough to maintain them this long (if you have, good for you!). We're also far enough away from the end of the year where we can still turn the ship around if we need to. But even beyond looking at our yearly progress, we sometimes just need to take a breather. We move so fast in this modern day world. Pausing isn't a weakness. It feels like a rebellion sometimes, doesn't it? But it shouldn't. We need to make more time for pausing. For resting. For self-care. For intentionality. We need to make more time for the things that bring us joy and the things that rejuvenate us. We don't only need to rejuvenate in spring, but if you needed a reminder of the power of pausing and the importance of reassessing our lives, here it is. You got this!!