Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

by Gretchen Rubin

Outer order isn’t a matter of having less or having more; it’s a matter of wanting what we have.

The vocabulary that we choose influences how we perceive a task. On your file folders, you might update the label contacts to read friends and family, or you might change the label of articles to read to travel and vacation. On your calendar, you might write “Play piano” instead of “Practice piano,” or “Email time” could become “Engagement time.” You might schedule a “personal retreat day,” a “catch-up day,” a “ditch day,” or a “mandatory vacation day.” Instead of telling yourself, “I need to go through my photos and discard the bad ones,” you could tell yourself, “I’m going to curate my photo collection.” Different vocabulary appeals to different people; speak to yourself in language that you find most compelling.