Happy Wednesday!

Today I'm here to tell you about my little habits as a crazy girl. A few months ago Tagada approached me, and of course you can't imagine a big sugar-covered strawberry on a date at the lemonade studio... No, no, but the brand asked me to share with you my vision of "disconnection". That moment when you eat a piece of candy, a tagada strawberry in this case, you spiral out of control, you do anything, you crack, you're 6 years old again...

Oh well. It seems to me that we're doing just about anything all the time, that we're cracking up 5 days out of 7 as far as the outside world is concerned... So I've been thinking about how, personally, I switch my brain off. As it happens, the moment I forget everything is when I'm tidying up and doing something very meticulous, my brain almost goes into meditative mode and works by itself.

Now you're thinking I'm crazy. Well, maybe I am. But let the person who, instead of working on an urgent matter, first tidies up his desk throw the first stapler at me...

I've discovered that in the end, being meticulous and tidying up helps you to clear your mind and be more efficient. A few months ago, I read the book by Marie Kondo's bookWell, she's definitely at a different altitude, that Marie. But in broad terms, she recommends throwing everything away to keep only the essentials (even your pair of skis at the back of the hall cupboard) and advises keeping only the things that make us happy when we touch them. After that, you have to find a place for each object, so that you're only surrounded by the things that make you happy... Amen. I've done this at home, and I have to tell you, it's a lot less chaotic. It's easy to catch up when there's a mess, and there's no longer that inflatable mattress that would knock us out if we opened the closet. But in the office, it's a different story.

Not really another story, but rather another struggle. Because it's decently unthinkable to throw away fabric, beads, sequins, modeling clay, because we don't know what tomorrow will bring. So sometimes, when I just can't do it anymore, when I don't feel like it, I provoke inspiration by sorting, organizing, making a sort of inventory... So don't think that we're compulsive hoarders, we often throw things away, but it's more likely to be pieces of paper that are folded and already well begun, because many other things find a second life in our projects, once we've sorted properly.

That's why, for this project Tagadaproject, I wanted to imagine a sort of "mandala/desk kaleidoscope". When I'm curled up on all fours on the floor sorting through a box of pearls, I forget all about it, and that's when I switch off... Put like that, it sounds like a lame activity, but I assure you that once everything's in its place, everything's already better because it often allows you to find solutions to your pitfalls, and what's more, you'll know exactly what you've got.

I came across another great article on this blogwhich talks about the 5 "S" method, invented by a famous Japanese car manufacturer. Ah, those Japanese, so strong! Here's what it says:

  • - Seiri: Clearing out, lightening the workspace of unnecessary things... (Difficult to do here)
  • - Seiton: Tidy up, organize the workspace efficiently (Courage)
  • - Seiso: Clean up, increase the cleanliness of the work area (Yeah, Fun!)
  • - Seiketsu: To order, to prevent the reappearance of disorder... (Maximum disconnection)
  • - Shitsuke: Be rigorous, encourage self-discipline (Hear, hear!)

I hope this inspires you, I know it's not the most fun thing in the world, but I assure you that whenever you're stuck, tidying up is the key. And then I'm sure you subconsciously caught yourself thinking you were procrastinating by sorting out your desk drawer, but in fact it was a real preparation for creation!

January 13, 2016