Hotel Zen

I just returned from my second work trip within the last 3 weeks. I'm glad that my job gives me ample opportunity to travel, because there's nothing that ADD Me likes better than getting out of the office to shake up the routine of the workaday world.

Actually, there is one thing I like better than getting out of the office. I love hotels!

And why do I love hotels? Let me count the reasons...

Pristine white towels hung on shiny chrome racks...HBO...hot breakfast cooked by someone who's not me...flatscreen TVs...a king-sized bed...ahhh!

During the hotel stay I had a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I got plenty of rest and didn't rush around from place to place. Heck, I even took a quick nap before going out one evening and ironed my clothes before going to bed, two things that merit entry into the ADD Libber Book of World Records. During the hotel stay I just returned from, I retired to the bed before 10:00 with a book and no TV. Again, that's an atypical behavior for me!

I've mused about the calm and peaceful feelings I've had during these hotel stays. Certainly, the fluffy towels and egg-white omelettes contributed to my bliss. But here's the root cause: when I'm in a hotel, I have everything I need and nothing extraneous. I bring my belongings in a bag that fits in a plane's overhead compartment, and the hotel provides me with and a tidy and orderly space.

About a week ago, the desire to purge a lot of my clutter bubbled inside of me. I ended up getting rid of 32 pounds of stuff that I no longer wanted. No doubt, this urge to purge was a positive side effect from Recent Hotel Stay #1. The downside was that hyperfocus kicked in and I ended up spending a good part of my Columbus Day weekend on the endeavor.

My ADD coach gave me the brilliant idea to create a plan to deal with the clutter in my house. I'm happy to say that it's going well thus far. I'll be able to work on purging stuff that I no longer want, but in a way that doesn't consume my leisure time. Certainly, pairing down my stuff is work very much in progress. But I've already seen the end result during my hotel stays, and it's going to be well worth the effort!