Stop Tolerating Tolerations

Have you ever walked past a sock on the floor but didn’t pick it up? Telling yourself you’ll get to it the next time you’re in the room.?Only, days pass and you’re still walking past the sock without picking it up???

What about the overflowing pile of paperwork to file or finding a pen in your cluttered desk drawer???

These are Tolerations.

Tolerations are items, situations, or to-do tasks that bug us but we put up with them. Tolerations don’t have a direct negative impact on you but ignoring them eventually takes up time, energy, and resources (think brain power).

Identifying the tolerations in your life and working to eliminate them can reduce overwhelm and anxiety, give you more energy, create a sense of calm, and un-clutter your mental space.

How do you stop tolerating Tolerations?

The first step to combating Tolerations is to identify them.?I’ve talked about Brain Dumps before. It really is the first step to everything. Use the concept to make a list of all the things that are currently taking up mental space.

Once you can see the list, it’s easier to batch like items.?Categorize them by location or personal traits like: Work, Home, Self-growth/Self-love, Health, Money, etc.??

Here are some tolerations for each that you may want to tackle:1

Work:

• Cluttered office: desktop, filing cabinets, bookshelves
• Full inboxes: email, voicemail, to-do folder, desk in-box (or pile)
• Unfiled electronic documents in Download Folder
• Broken equipment
• Web page or marketing material that needs to be revised/updated
• Skills that need more training
• More work/life balance
• Better procedures

Home:

• Cluttered spaces
• Unfinished projects
• Spiderwebs in the corners
• Replacing light bulbs
• Transitioning clothes/decor between seasons
• Dust bunnies in corners and under furniture

Self Growth/Self-Love:

• Reading the book that’s been on your nightstand for months, ok…years
• Clearing out clothes that no longer fit or feel good to wear or don’t fit your style anymore
• Negative self-talk
• Not taking time to do things you love
• A messy car, purse, wallet

Health:

• Not taking the time to exercise or eat right
• A health issue that could be corrected
• Clearing cabinets of expired food/medication

The list can go on.?

Have you ever said, “I’ll get to it this weekend when I clean up [insert room].” Or “It’ll take too long to do it now, I’ll wait until I have more time.”

Lack of energy, motivation and time often contributes to small tolerations turning into big procrastinations. The same reasons for procrastination apply…

1. The task is too big and overwhelming
2. You need to learn something first (or you think you do)
3. Other things need to be done first
4. It’s not the right time
5. You are not the right person

When you identify the reason for your tolerations, the same solutions apply…however, knowing what to do doesn’t always mean having the motivation to do it, which is why I host my weekly Accountability Days.

By signing up, each week you’ll receive:

• Up to (4) four days to focus on your goals, priorities, tolerations
• Two 45-minute working sessions?per day
• Two opportunities to share your goals and celebrate your wins
• An accountability partner to keep you focused on what you set out to do

There is no right or wrong way to do this! And best of all you won’t be alone.

Together we’ll create a dedicated time and accountability for you to focus on what you keep putting off.

If you’re ready to finally let go of your tolerations, click here for more details and to register.

What are some tolerations you’re experiencing? Let me know in the comments below.

1 Summarized from the blog post “50 Tolerations to eliminate from your life,” by Donna Schilder click here for the full post.