6 ways to progress in your personal and professional development, just like cleaning the kitchen

How do you manage your kitchen? Is it a mess and feels too overwhelming to tackle? Do you keep on top of it most of the time and then it gets a deep-clean every now and then? We can see the areas that need sorting so that becomes our priority, but what about the lower priority areas?

And what about your personal and professional life? Are you overwhelmed most of the time and just scratching the surface of your own personal development? Do you see areas that need sorting but you never quite get round to doing anything about them?

I’d like to challenge you that your personal development can be likened to cleaning your kitchen.

1 Do something several times a day

You probably wipe the worktops several times a day. I love that fresh smell of a recently wiped worktop. Consider taking regular breaks in your day, at home or at work, to tune in to one of your five senses. Even 10 seconds focusing on your breathing or what you can hear, re-energises your brain, a bit like an F1 stop. The sense of getting something accomplished spikes positivity.

2 Develop healthy daily habits

You may put the dishwasher on before bed, unloading it in the morning. You might sweep or hoover the kitchen floor. Consider a healthy daily habit you would like to develop. This could be keeping a journal and writing down three things you are grateful for each day or putting down your phone for an hour and plugging in to your kids.

3 Pick one thing to focus on each week

You could wash the floor, wipe out the fridge or give the sink a good scrub. Consider picking an aspect of your personal growth to focus on each week. For example, get curious about how often you say ‘yes’ when you mean ‘no’. Commit to noticing how often you reach for unhealthy snacks. Notice the triggers that lead you to get angry, defensive, fearful or disappointed.

4 Be brave and look those bigger things in the eye

You might decide to take on de-frosting the freezer or cleaning out the cupboards/drawers. Do you keep on top of these things, or do you let them annoy you before finally doing something about it? With your personal development, do you have an ‘elephant in the room’ which you are avoiding tackling? This might mean asking for help from a coach or a therapist to help you unblock things which are preventing you from moving forwards. It might be having a difficult conversation with someone at home or at work.

5 Consider your long term vision

So does your kitchen need a radical overhaul? Do you have big plans for it in the future? What are your intentions relating to your own personal development in the next 5-10 years? It may be there is a course you’d like to take, or you’d like to shout less at the kids or be more confident or compassionate or less judgemental. What does your ‘wiser, elder self’ say about this? How will she be showing up over the next 5-10 years and how can you start to walk in her shoes now?

6 Be present and take time to enjoy the space you have created

Enjoy the ‘wow factor’ of taking pride in your kitchen and seeing it sparkling. May be the kitchen is your sacred space. Our kitchen is definitely the centre of our house, and I love that. And with your own personal development, enjoy the satisfaction of putting in the work, being brave, taking one small step at a time and moving forwards, stepping in to being your favourite self.

Take the free Saboteur Assessment here to discover the most common ways you self-sabotage.

Ways to work with me

Coaching packages to help you transform your life start from £50 per month. My most popular package consists of 6 x 1:1 sessions and unlimited email support between sessions.

1:1 sessions – 6 x 1 hour sessions via Zoom (or face to face in Oxfordshire when possible)

The Mum Boardroom – monthly 2 hour group coaching sessions via Zoom (or face to face in Oxfordshire when possible)

Positive Mental Fitness Program – 6 weekly videos and 30 min Pod group meetings via Zoom. Do you find yourself lacking patience, snapping at your kids, over-reacting when the sh1t hits the fan, not finding any time for yourself? If so, consider exploring the 6 week Positive Mental Fitness Bootcamp. Click here for more information.