Do you ever set goals for yourself that are so big that you either don’t get started or you give up early on because the end point seems unreachable? Or maybe you go for something that is doable but dull? This is the exact dilemma I wanted to avoid when setting targets for the ‘1000 Things Declutter Game’.

My tendency is to be a bit over ambitious and this Game was no exception. I was clear about the number of things I wanted to declutter, i.e. 1000, because that number has energy for me. At times it seems perfectly doable at others it seems unreachable. But, overall, it feels fun and something worth exploring.

I wasn’t so sure about the time frame though. I wanted to set one so I would have some structure and a way to measure progress but it was important it wasn’t so overly ambitious that I’d give up on day 3!

My first idea was 30 days but then I realised I’d have to get rid of more than 33 items a day to meet it which, let’s face it, is highly unlikely and doesn’t leave much space for fun along the way. So, in the end after much too-ing and fro-ing, I settled for – “by end of 2015” – which still gives me more than 4 items a day to dump, recycle, sell or give away but seems a nice balance between challenge and manageable.

Interestingly when I brought this up in my Mastermind Group the general consensus was that both the length of time and number of items were overly ambitious and would be overwhelming for most people. At first I went along with that but then saw that if I changed the parameters it would become uninspiring for me so it would fall apart anyway. So I’m sticking with 1000 by the end of the year. However, I’m setting it up so that anyone can join in at anytime and set targets that work for them.

So . . . if you’re thinking of joining (and why wouldn’t you be? 🙂 ) I encourage you to start thinking about what targets would work for you. If 1000 things by the end of the year doesn’t excite you, how many things in how long a time would? What numbers both inspire and challenge you without being overly ambitious? Most importantly, what would be fun for you?

And, even if you’re not interested in playing the ‘1000 Things’ Game, are there projects in your life that you could apply these ideas to? Go ahead and let us know what you come up with.

I’ll be posting more about The Game as it unfolds and will be providing useful and fun downloads and mini-challenges. If you’d like to join in please leave a comment and I’ll let you know when we get going and what you need to do next. If you’re reading this in an email, just click the title and you will be taken straight to the blog post comments. Or, if you prefer to join in on Facebook you can request to join the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1000ThingsDeclutterGame/  (You might need to friend me first? 🙂 )

Sorry! The 1000 Things Declutter Game has finished.