When did our lives get so complicated? We need calendars, reminders and apps just to get us through the day. Our houses are bigger, our cars are fancier and our jobs more complicated.
How would you like to make one little tweak to simplify all sorts of things in your busy daily life?
When you think about it, the hardest part and what makes it seem too busy is the fact that we constantly have to think about what to do next and make decisions. That gets tiring. From what I’ve read it sounds like there is a finite amount of decision making we have to work with every single day.
In other words, once we’ve used up all our decision making for the day, we’re no longer able to make smart choices. That explains the urge to just lay on the couch and watch whatever is on TV after a long, hard day.
The solution is to establish routines. Once you get into a routine your day suddenly doesn’t seem as chaotic anymore. You know exactly what you should be doing next and can do half of it on auto-pilot.
Try it and see if having routines for big chunks of your day from the time you get up to the time you go to bed (bedtime routine anyone?) makes your life easier. Here are a few ideas for routines and good habits worth getting into:
- Pick one breakfast dish and stick with it for a while. Switch to something different when you get tired of it.
- Simply your wardrobe. Then pick out clothes the night before.
- Come up with a morning routine to get the day off to a smooth start.
- Plan your meals once a week.
- Have a grocery shopping day.
- Set up a cleaning schedule.
- Set aside a day for running errands.
- Set up auto pay for as many bills as possible.
- Use a calendar to keep track of everyone’s schedule and appointments. Consider using an online version like Google calendar that will sync across multiple devices.
- Create alarms and reminders for anything important.
- Pick a time and day to work out.
Next take a look at what you do at work. How can you take what you’re doing there and break it down into routines? Write them out and start getting into your work routines.
Here’s your assignment for the next few days:
Pick one or two routines and work on those. Don’t try to change too many things at once. Pick your routines and stick to them until they become a habit. Then add something else to simplify your life. Before you know it, you’ll move through much of your day without having to think about, leaving valuable brain space to focus on the important stuff.
