Demands and deadlines are an inherent characteristic of modern life, often leading to an unsustainable work-life balance. Success may aid an affluent lifestyle, yet it is often at the expense of healthy well-being. Simplifying areas of your life can seem impossible, particularly when demands upon your time and expertise is great.
These Seven Steps to Simplifying Your Life will allow you to distinguish the unnecessary from the obligatory, thus relieving stress and creating more “you” time.
1. Know Your Priorities:
Prioritising is a concept used by spiritualists to create “Zen” within their lives, that is; creating calm through focusing on what truly matters, and mapping priorities. Are you focused?
A simple method to identifying your key priorities is the creation of a list. Your list should encompass obligatory priorities, such as family, however; should not neglect your own realistic needs and aims.
- Who are the people most important to you?
Do you allocate enough time to the relationships you have with people closest to you?
- What gives you the greatest sense of meaning or purpose?
Is it achievement, providing for your children, your career or charitable gestures?
- What is it you truly want from life?
Success, wealth, happiness, enrichment, family, career progression? .
- What personal accomplishments will fulfil you?
What achievements would contribute to your own happiness?
Once compiled, your list will identify the areas of your life to which, you devote too much time and effort. Post your list somewhere you visit frequently, whether it be a on your office wall, or refrigerator. In times of stress, reading these priorities will reaffirm the people and goals most important to you.
2. Know Your Limits:
Being “in demand” in any capacity can be draining. Knowing your limits means not exceeding your physical, emotional or mental capacity. It means knowing when to “say no” to a project or offer of more hours, in order to focus your attention on a priority, or on yourself. Over-commitment can lead to the neglect of other important areas in our lives, from nutrition to relationships.
One way of simplifying your life, improving productivity, time management, and focusing upon priorities is to evaluate your current routine:
- Evaluate Wants V. Needs:
- Ø Learn to Say “No”:
- Evaluate Your Own Well-Being:
- Re-Structure Your Routine:
3. Working Life:
Are you a “yes” person? Do you find yourself “biting off more than you can chew”?
If you answered yes, you are one of many who takes on overtime, additional workload and assists others without question or plausible excuse. Whether motivated by money, progression or loyalty, this kind of easy-going attitude will enable others to take advantage of your goodwill. The daily commute can also add to the demand, working life already places upon us. If your work-life is eating into your personal life, to the extent you are not seeing your family on a healthy, regular basis, it is vital that you make some alterations.
- Cut the Commute: Move closer to your work location to cut down on commuting time and fuel usage, increasing your free time, as well as money.
- Learn to Decline Offers: Learn to say no when your work life overshadows your personal life.
- Is it Worthwhile?: Is the offer of additional hours going to assist in paying vital bills or contribute to a well-earned holiday? Will it benefit you or your family?
4. Family Time:
Now that you have allocated more free time, it is important to utilize it effectively, and spending time with family should be one of your top priorities. Consolidating working hours down to those which are contracted may mean some budgetary analysis has occurred. Memories can be made from the simplest of ideas, which can also be free.
- Outdoor Activities: Picnics, cycling trips, camping, treasure hunts, nature walks, fishing, hiking, running, swimming, volleyball, football, rounders/ soft-ball, Frisbee, or any similar game which requires team effort and interaction.
- Home Activities: Board games, console competitions, charades, card games, dining together, art and crafts activities, cooking together, treasure hunts or gardening.
- Community Activities: assisting with community projects such as carnivals, campaigns, shows or fund raising can unite a family in a joint effort, for a beneficial cause.
5. Leisure Time:
The “stay-cation” is the new budget friendly trend for holidaying. The recession has hit many families hard, to the extent that an exotic holiday is not a feasible option. The time has come for families to become more creative, and utilize facilities on their door-step for a saver “stay-cation”. While leisure time spent with the family is a priority, one should not neglect ones’ own requirement for quality time. Activities such as those outlined below, are extremely cost-effective, and most can be enjoyed locally.
- Sport: Public swimming pools, gymnasiums, and community centres all offer access to low cost, public facilities and activities.
- History: Many locally based museums offer free admission, or discounted rates for families with children.
- Art: Local art exhibitions are often free to local residents. Amateur exhibitions are almost always free.
- Music: Many big bands, orchestras and locally based bands play in admission-free venues, or at community events. These are often listed in local newspapers.
6. Shopping:
The weekly grocery shopping can often be an odious and time consuming task, not least because of having to control your children, and navigate around other people in a supermarket. Shopping to the confines of a budget can also be stressful, especially when promotions and offers are sent to tempt us. Simplifying this process can be as simple as changing your routine.
- Switch to online shopping.
- Set yourself a strict budget.
- Only buy what you need.
- Utilize cash-back websites.
- Adhere to a list.
7. Streamline Your Life:
Simplifying your life means the removal of everything, that is not vital to your new lifestyle. This includes material objects which you may have been storing for months, if not years, on the premise you will utilize it in the future. Re-organizing your possessions will enable you to de-clutter mentally and physically, making space for your new organized lifestyle.
- Sell your items on auction sites.
- Donate your items to charity.
- Swap items on recycling sites such as Freegle.
- Host clothes-swap parties.
- Give old items a new lease of life and sell for profit.