Column By Michael Dehoyos
Hands up if you ever wish life could feel even a little bit easier. As we’re learning right now as we sit at home and wait out this quarantine, life is short and unpredictable. There is little we can do to prepare for a crisis like this bit there are things we can do to make our lives at home and work feel just that little bit easier.
Simplifying The Home
- Don’t buy things you don’t need. It just creates clutter which means more cleaning and tidying.
- Have a clear out Marie Kondo style. Donate, recycle, or bin anything that you really don’t need or, as Marie would say, anything that “no longer sparks joy”.
- Keep bedding sets together stored in one of the pillow cases.
- Designate zones for activities and things. In theory, we have this already – kitchen for cooking and so on. However, modern lifestyles mean that we can watch TV in any room, kids love to eat everywhere, there are tech gadgets charging in every socket. Then there’s the stuff. Everywhere and never where it should be. Sit the family down and agree where it is OK and not OK to eat, what rooms are going to be screen-free rooms, and importantly where everyone’s stuff should live. The latter means there will be fewer excuses for not tidying up, put it back where it goes when you’re done.
- Have two hampers for dirty laundry. One for colors and one for whites. No need to waste time sorting them before putting on a wash.
- Pop socks and other small items into a pillowcase to wash. They are less likely to go missing.
Simplifying Stress
- Know your stress triggers and learn to deal with them one by one or how to avoid them altogether. A trigger for stress could be something as seemingly innoxious as a busy supermarket, not drinking enough water (yes, really), or worrying about things we can’t control.
- Learn to say no. Setting boundaries is a must for minimizing stress. Clearly but politely asking family to call ahead before they come to your house, asking a colleague to curse less or asking a friend to stop borrowing money are common examples of where people find they need boundaries.
- Spend more time outside. Even if you spend just 20 minutes in your front yard or porch watching the world go by, you will give yourself some much needed headspace.
- Make some time for you. Put it in your planner and never let anything else take priority.
Simplifying The Day
- Get some sleep. A well-rested clearer head makes life much simpler.
- Choose and lay out your outfit for your day the night before, and do the same for the kids. “Prepping something as simple as your clothes a day ahead puts you in a good mindset straight from when you wake up as it’s one more thing you don’t have to think about,” adds Micky Fletcher a lifestyle writer at BritStudent and NextCoursework.
- Don’t take on too much. If you find yourself rushing to be somewhere all the time then something has to give.
- Have a weekly planner up on the refrigerator door for the family and a day planner for yourself. Writing down what you have to get done each day will help you stay on top of things.
Simplifying Work Life
- Commit to only checking work emails five times a day rather than every time an email comes in and send replies in bulk. “Look at your inbox when you start work, before and after lunch, one hour before finishing and the as you finish for the day,” advises, Ariana George a marketer at 1Day2Write and Write My X. “If it is urgent add it to your day plan, otherwise flag or star those that need a reply and look after those in your designated reply time.”
- Create templates if you find yourself repeating tasks or sending similar emails. Then just copy and paste when you need them.
- Work when you are supposed to. When we get distracted or struggle to focus our time is not spent on work tasks so we end up cramming in work at the end of the day. Simplify your work life by focusing on the job in hand.
- Learn to delegate. Having too much to do often gets less done. Delegating helps colleagues share the load and can help junior colleagues learn more.
- Ask questions. Knowing clearly what is expected of you will make your life much easier.
- Lastly, Go easy on yourself. We can be hypercritical about our own shortcomings or what we view to be our shortcomings. Cut yourself some slack. Not everything has to be perfect.
Michael Dehoyos is a contributor at Thesis Writing Service and Coursework Writing Services. He is a big believer in making life easy and uses daily mediation to keep stress at bay. Also, he is a blogger at Research Paper Help.
