Avoidance Advent: The Third (easier!) Week
15 minute tasks for the week of busy that leads into the final weeks of the year, aka we are going gently difficult mode
Happy third week of Avoidance Advent to all those who begrudgingly celebrate it with me! I’m glad you’re here, even if you feel a bit terrorized by these emails at this point.
I’ll get right to the good stuff: the tasks for this week. These are purposefully smaller tasks, and it is for the purpose of having this challenge continue to live in reality, not in a perfectionist, over there utopia of some new version of ourselves. I like us how we are, and I also would like to know that when I come home at night, now and in 2025, I don’t look at some bedraggled box sticking out under my bed and feel annoyed.
Onto the tasks! I’m giving you seven small tasks—to offer extra options for those who are needing it, and to give extra homework for my overachievers if they so want it. Don’t forget the moment of celebration/treat after each task. As always, I FORBID you from being mean or hyper-critical of yourself because of one of my challenges.
It is time to look at the front of your fridge, the random shelf you keep photos on, your cork or pin board at your desk or in your office or wherever. It is time to take everything off, and sort through what you want up there. Think of this as your living vision board for 2025, and the feeling it evokes in you. Perhaps you have a new letter or note or notepad you want to pin up there, or a piece of art your kid made, or a magazine article that inspires you. Declutter and reinvigorate your visual surface with calm and inspiration for the new year.
Lord God in Heaven, please forgive me for the sin of not deep cleaning my trash can in the two years I’ve had her. She is fine and functional, but it’s time to deep clean the random crust in your trash receptacles, my dear readers. I don’t want to do it. You don’t want to do it. And yet, every time I take out the trash from it I am disturbed. Don’t forget the treat after this one.
This one may be too niche, but I need to do it, so you might need to too. Get rid of clothes that are too short, or as my brain formulates it, “The too-short pants problem.” This can include too-short sleeves. This could also include too-long sleeves or pants. The point is, there are likely some pieces of clothing that piss you off every time you try to wear them, that are less about body change and more about that you have accidentally shrunken them. Put these in your Charity Shop box, and let them not piss you off each day. This is a prayer.
It’s time to get digital, my darlings. By this, I mean it is time to declutter your attentional clutter on your top 2-3 platforms. Tik Tok may well get deleted, so that one may not be important, but look at the other 2 you use most. This could include Substacks, and while the number of subscribers on here is great for my ego, this could also mean not following me if it doesn’t add to your life. Help your daily sense of overwhelm by removing the feedbacks, especially feedback that isn’t news or work and is really supposed to just be for fun but has become decidedly unfun. For me, instagram and Youtube are my top offenders.
What is in your wallet? Where are those gift cards from last holiday season? Did they expire? Can you consolidate them? What about that one random credit to Reformation that you got last year and think you can only use until Spring? Collect these random bits and bobs and make a spreadsheet if you must. They are money after all.
Text that one friend from home or family member who you’ve been meaning to check in with, chat, or see over or after the holidays. Drop them a line, even if you can’t do something bigger. Don’t do this to a bunch of people—do the one person who came to mind reading this. Do not believe the social media hype that humans are made to connect super intimately with 100s of people in every season. Connect well for one interaction, and let that be good for today.
Do you need an oil change. Hello. I’m sorry. Also, deep clean your center car console, and vacuum those rugs. And what about that box for the charity donation center? Plan when you will drop that off.
Okay, I’m going to start with my attention declutter. I will see you all soon, and for my paid subscribers, I’ll see you in your inboxes on Wednesday for more on the idea of avoidance and overwhelm paired with reflection in the end of the year.
xoxo,
Margaret of Bad Art Every Day