How Can You Simplify?
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Every Thursday, I share one action, habit, or project you may want to undertake in order to improve your health, happiness, and sense of well-being.
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PROJECT OF THE WEEK
How Can You Simplify?
If there is a common theme in each week’s blog, it’s to simplify. There is always a way to make our day-to-day lives easier.
We all have a lot going on.
Life is busy, work is busy, and as a culture, we like to be busy.
BUT, and this is a huge but, I challenge you to spend a few moments evaluating if all the busyness is adding value to your life.
In some ways, I am sure it is.
Your kids may be involved in many sports and you likely value the opportunities sports offer them and genuinely enjoy cheering for them at as many games as possible. BUT, is getting their gear and uniforms ready each week causing you additional stress? Perhaps simplifying your life with a laundry schedule and duplicate items will make everything easier.
Your career, which you love, may require you to be on call on certain nights and weeks. And, you also love volunteering and making a valuable difference in the lives of others. Try color-coding and blocking your calendar to have a better understanding of what time is available to you.
Busyness, on its own, is not a bad thing.
What is important is to take the time to evaluate where your time is going, if it's adding value to your life, and ensure that you are devoting enough time to take care of yourself, your health, and your well-being.
Getting Started
Below are a few questions to help guide you in making more intentional decisions about your time:
Where are you spending your time on a daily, weekly and monthly basis?
What activities add meaning and value to your life?
What activities do you hate doing?
What activities do you not enjoy, but value the end result?
What do you want to do more of?
What can you eliminate?
What can you delegate?
The main objective is to figure out where you can get more time back and then use that time in a way that is meaningful for you.
It's not all or nothing.
Below are some examples that clients have implemented and found valuable:
A client loved the feeling of having her bed made every morning, but hated the process of making it. We eliminated all the "pretty throw pillows" and simplified her bedding.
A client hated having his clothes left out or on the floor, but also hated folding his clothes and putting them away. We designated open bins on shelves in the closet and the client now throws the clothes, by category, into the open bins.
A client, who valued their kids having a peaceful and calm sleep environment, but was exhausted by the constant battle to keep the kids’ rooms "picked up", removed everything from the kids’ bedrooms, except clothes, stuffed animals, and books.
A client loved watching their children's sports games, but by leaving the office early, always ended up having to finish up their work late at night after the kids were in bed. The client started going to the second half of their kids’ games so that they could get more work done, support their children, and not sacrifice as much sleep.
A client, who was having weekly check-in meetings with their social media person, switched over to monthly meetings and weekly check-ins via email.
A client, who valued the connection from weekly team meetings, but felt the time wasn't being used effectively, implemented the use of an agenda for each meeting and asked the team to add their agenda items by the end of the prior business day.
A client, who felt the need to respond to emails on nights and weekends, implemented a set time once a night (8:00PM: Monday - Thursday) and once a day on the weekends (7:00AM: Saturdays & Sundays) to answer emails. This allowed the client to feel responsive to his clients’ needs and more present with his friends and family.
A client, who loved to volunteer and help others, but was not taking care of themself, decided to set a maximum number of hours per week they would spend volunteering. This provided the parameters they needed to both "Be of Service" and have enough time left over to take care of themself.
Let us know one change you make to simplify your life!
Need Support?
If you feel excited about implementing this strategy and want some additional accountability and support to get started, the It’s All in the Planning Starter Pak was designed for you!
A Note from Happy Spaces
The goal is to add value to your life. If you think this project will add value:
Estimate how long you think it will take. I would recommend doubling the time you estimate.
Look at your calendar over the next week and pick a date and time to get started.
Make an appointment on your calendar for the estimated time.
If you estimate that completing this project will take longer than one hour, I recommend doing it over multiple days. This will support you in getting started!
Prior to starting this project, take a few minutes to make a step-by-step list of EVERY action you need to take to complete this project.
It's not all or nothing. You can choose to implement only the parts of this project that add value to your life.
An Accountability Partner can be a great support in following through on your goals and commitments.
We understand how challenging it can be to implement new habits and systems. For additional support please go to HappySpacesBySarah.com.
Creating a life you don't need a vacation from! ®
Sincerely,
Sarah Weingarten
Meet Sarah
Growing up as the oldest of nine siblings in Upstate New York, I learned to use organization to create sanity among the chaos. Today, I work together with individuals, families, and small businesses to create habits, systems, and spaces that support their needs, goals, and dreams. Clients often refer to our work together as "life-changing" and "better than decades of therapy". What I love most about my work is the lasting impact it has on real people's lives. Nothing makes me happier than hearing the many success stories of clients I have worked with.