Ultimate Spring Cleaning, Day 26: Get Online

by Michael on April 16, 2010 · 0 comments

The team at eHarmony, hard at work finding your matches.

Ultimate Spring Cleaning is a 30-day project to clean and declutter not only your house, but your life. Each day you’ll get a housecleaning assignment, an assignment that involves the world around you, and a project to clear your mind. You can start anytime at the Ultimate Spring Cleaning main page.

We’re heading into the home stretch of the Ultimate Spring Cleaning, and if you don’t have any yardwork remaining today, there’s really only one task, plus your “forced enjoyment.” But be prepared in the final days to deal with every piece of stuff you’ve set aside.

Your Home: Carry On in the Yard

It’s the last of the three days I’ve allotted for your outside work, but if you own your home, you and I both know there’s always more you could be doing out there. By now you should have a decent-sized “punch list” of things to fix, replace and upgrade in your yard and the outside of your house. Make a plan to get those tasks done while the weather’s warm, and another to follow up with a summer get-together with friends to celebrate your hard work.

For now, finish your basic cleaning, and when you’re done, you’re done for now.

Your World: Create an Online Dating Profile

Sooner or later, most single men will dabble with an online dating site, from just “exploring what’s out there” to joining four or five sites and actively meeting women. (If you’re interested in the best way to go about this, you can start with my Online Dating series, which will help you write a great profile and secure more real-life dates.)

But even if you’re not planning to join Match.com or Plenty of Fish, creating a profile is an exercise in self-assessment that will help you understand your strengths:

Get out a sheet of paper or open a new text document on the computer. The first step you’ll take is to brainstorm in point form:

Write down everything you’ve done.

Write down every positive trait you believe you have, or that others have pointed out.

Write down everything you want to do in your life.

Take your time with this. Think back a year ago, five years ago, ten years ago. Think ahead a year or five. Inventory every skill, trait and desire. You should have a good long list.

Now highlight the most interesting traits, accomplishments and dreams on your list. These are the items you want to use in your profile. Resist the urge to throw in everything—a profile shouldn’t be a laundry list, it should leave something to the imagination while including enough to intrigue a woman who reads it.

Now look at the items you’ve circled and try to find a story for each one:

Paint a picture of how you felt when you achieved a goal. Go through the range of emotions.

Give an example to illustrate a trait, without mentioning the trait itself. Tell a story that puts your best qualities on display.

Describe your dream and the passion you feel as you take the steps to achieve it. Is it difficult? Who’s supporting you in your quest?

The goal is to make your profile read like a novel, and lead the reader through a series of tales that while true, are vividly colored with sights, sounds and feelings.

Whether you use this profile or not, you can refer to it when you need to remind yourself of what’s best in you. Rewrite it whenever you feel the urge—after all, your life doesn’t remain the same.

Yourself: Enjoy Yourself

Every Friday night I’ve asked that you do something to blow off steam. This week is no different. Go out or stay in, but make it an active night, whether it’s Wii Baseball or a night at the real ballpark with the guys. Pull out the guitar or sit down behind the drums. Hit the gym for an evening session. Have a highball and get up for some karaoke. Your choice.

Just remember to meditate and sleep. Tomorrow we begin the conclusion to this year’s Ultimate Spring Cleaning.

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