5th December: My Home

6th December: Nature
4th December: My Friends

They say that home is where the heart is, however, mine is where I get to kick back, relax and indulge in passions including design and organisation, reading, cooking and entertaining. Although, if I was writing on Facebook, it would of course have to sound much more exciting.   Plus, I enjoy watching lavish television costume dramas (stay with me male readers!) – on my laptop. This is an area where I am proud to be what is considered an Innovator or an Early Adopter, as when my previous set went wrong about five years ago, I chose not to replace it.

Whilst recently considering becoming a suitcase entrepreneur, well-meaning family and honest friends, reminded me that continually not having home-comforts and luxuries may not be best suited to my personality. Yes, I am extremely grateful for my lovely home and do appreciate clean and tidy surroundings that reflect my core values of beauty and efficiency.

I first discovered this at a very early age where I was quite happy to tidy my room, organise my belongings and rearrange the furniture for hours on end. Not always just in my own bedroom either. Clean and clear surfaces with everything neatly placed are uplifting and aids my relaxation. If an object is moved, it will be repositioned, a trait that I apparently share with Mr David Beckham. That saying, I do enjoy how cleaners interpret where my toiletries should live on the bathroom shelf… who knew that there were so many different layouts for shower gel and shampoo!

Luckily, my obsession (no it is not!) for tidiness is very good for the brain.   The brain’s attention capacity is seriously limited and right now reading this, it will be inhibiting millions of bits of incoming data that surrounds you i.e. deliberately not paying attention to it. Hmm, this may now give a legitimate excuse for partners to not notice the new outfit or gadget!  Inhibiting takes a lot of resources so if there is a lot of mess and clutter, the brain has to work overtime to be able to focus on wherever you are choosing to direct your gaze at any one moment. Hence, why clutter saps energy and many people prefer the minimalism of hotel rooms*.

In addition, because my home and office stay looking the same with everything organised, my brain has more energy and attention to focus on the really important stuff in life. The brain is wired to notice what is different and moving in its world; so that little fly suddenly buzzing around could be a threat to survival. The brain is not that discerning!

This explains why it is easy to ignore the piles of paper and mess, because in effect the brain tunes out from them, because they are always there. As this is the constant state of affairs every day, the impact that these are having on general vitality will go unheeded. It also accounts for why some people are finding themselves so busy looking down at the novelty of their Smartphone apps, that they have failed to notice that the rest of their co-inhabitants left long ago. Thank you, home.

 

*I know quite a few business owners who regularly book a hotel room to create and do focused work. Well, that is what they tell me they are doing there.

 

 

 

 

Image: funmunch.com