Organising lesson #1 during my recent trip to Morocco was actually something I already knew. But I was reminded of it in a really powerful way. It’s all about the value of a green break. Together with Dr. Kathleen Nadeau, one of my heroes, Judith Kolberg wrote about the magic of green breaks in her book, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life. If you haven’t read it, I do recommend it. It’s packed with lots of practical ways to get organised when you have ADD/ADHD.
Anyway, onto my aha green break moment. Morocco is a vast, dry country. Much of the countryside is one colour – brown – with many of the buildings in that same colour. It makes sense that the buildings are made from the materials to hand, which is earth and sand. Of course, there are green patches, in valleys where the streams flow, or where there is an oasis fed by underground wells and springs. But mainly Morocco is brown and sandy. My stay in the Sahara Desert was a particular highlight.
Rabat is the capital of Morocco and stands in stark contrast to the rest of the country. Our tour guide, Mustapha, told us that just four years ago, if you were driving through Rabat, you would want to close your eyes until you had driven through to the other side. He said it had been unsightly, nothing for citizens to be proud of.
Nowadays, Rabat is beautiful, lush, clean. It actually reminded me of our own capital city, Canberra. It was clipped and manicured, with even the smallest patches of grass looking well cared for. Mostly, what I saw was the colour green. I don’t know where the water came from, and I hope everyone had enough to drink, but clearly, a lot of water was used to make Rabat green.
So why did I think of Judith Kolberg’s green breaks while I visited Rabat? Because looking at those fresh green lawns, I could feel my spirit lift instantly. I was again reminded of the benefit of taking a green break when feeling overwhelmed. If you happen to be working with a client, and they start to feel overwhelmed by the process or the many decisions required of them, take ten minutes to go outside and look at nature. That green break works wonders.
There was a client of mine who loved her garden but found decluttering inside her home took its toll. After an hour of working together in her cluttered bedroom, I could see her shoulders droop. She was losing focus and motivation. She was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I suggested she make a cup of tea and sit in her garden for ten minutes. It worked a treat. After 15 minutes I went to look for her. She was happily mowing her lawn! Five minutes later, she was refreshed and back in the bedroom dealing with her piles of clutter, and was able to finish out the session productively.
To read about the other organising lessons from Morocco, click here.
