Simplify Your Life Week: Simplify Your Lists

What will you do this week to make your life a little more simple, a little more calm, a little more manageable and a little more enjoyable?

If you feel like you are drowning in to-do lists and items that never get crossed off, one step to simplification is to call on Render Lifestyle Management to help. If you live in the Twin Cities area, contact me for a free 30 minute consultation to discuss your priorities and budget and let’s get you on your way to some simplicity.

While Render Lifestyle Management can help you get items on your list done, you still need to know what’s on that list.

Listing with Technical Tools
If you use a smart phone, you already have a great place to keep your lists. If you have a habit of constantly starting new lists and never knowing which list to look at, take the time today to consolidate them all into one list, and stick to using just that list. Another technique is to make your lists right within a daily calendar.

Listing with Pen and Paper
If you are a pen and paper list-maker like I am, that’s a great system as well. If the lists are not all in one place, take the time today to gather them all into one pile, and create a consolidated list. I recommend a smallish spiral notebook- it’s small enough to fit in a purse or backpack, and thus, portable. When you are tempted to start a new list, just pull out your notebook and keep it all in one place.

Non-list Makers
If you are not a list maker, that leads me to believe you have a great memory, or forget to do a lot of things! If you find yourself forgetting dates and things that need to get done, a great first step for you during Simplify Your Life Week is to start a listing habit. Get out the smart phone and learn to use its listing features, or purchase a small spiral notebook. What is imperative is that you commit to starting a listing habit. Once something is on the list, you don’t have to keep using mental energy to remember to do it because your list will tell you what needs to get done.

Sub-lists
Sometimes one list just won’t do. For example, if “grocery store” is on the to-do list, you may need a sub-list that contains all you need to purchase at the grocery. If your lists are all in one place, you can go to the grocery when it’s convenient and know your list is with you. This saves you from forgetting essential items and having to go back, or having to drive by the grocery when you have time to go there because you don’t have your list. Both scenarios necessitate a second trip to the store. That’s not a good use of your time or your resources.

The Running List vs. the Daily List
There are schools of thought for making uber-long running lists (allowing you to keep everything front and center and reviewed frequently), and for the shorter, daily lists. I’m a bit of a mix-breed, doing a little bit of both, sometimes more one than the other. I usually have a running list, but lately I’ve been using a great paper pad with headings for each day of the week. I stocked up on these pads at the dollar section at Michaels and am stocked for the year! For some of you, seeing a long running list without assurance that each item will be crossed off by the end of the day creates panic and a feeling of being overwhelmed. If that sounds like you, a daily system may be best for you. Have a page/list for each day of the week, and put items down according to which day you think you will do each task or must do a particular task.

This has been a fairly long post for one little tip. The take-away is really to think about what your listing habit is, and how it helps or hinders your productivity. Your biggest challenge is probably making a commitment to more productive listing. Hopefully some of this information will help you improve, or start, your listing habit.

Until next time…
Missy

Simplify Your Life Week: Getting Back to Basics

Life is complicated, and with the advent of each new technological gadget, we are led to believe we can cram more and more into each 24 hours. I think it’s time to get back to basics. To me, this means going back to a simpler time. Think pre-internet.Maybe some of you really did take time yesterday as suggested to reflect and think about your values, and whether or not your life exemplifies those values. Following are some tips for slowing down, and maybe they will even tie in to things you value- like your family, or at least your sanity. Pick one suggestion, pick them all, do one just once a month. Or, carry out just one suggestion this week in honor of Simplify Your Life Week. If you like what you try…implement it on a permanent basis.

• Put more emphasis on personal communication. When you pass a co-worker in the hall and ask how they are, actually wait for their answer and respond to it. Pick up the phone and chat with a friend you haven’t had time to connect with lately. Use the phone rather than email to schedule appointments, play dates, dinner dates, and to personally RSVP for your invitations. This is a much more personal way of communicating and will help you feel more in tune with yourself and those around you. It takes some time, but allows you to slow down and focus a little more on one task at a time.
• Slow down. Quit multitasking with everything you do. When making your phone calls, focus on those and those only. People deserve your full attention, as you deserve theirs. While you are driving, focus on driving, not on your phone, putting on make-up or eating a rushed breakfast on the way to work. When you are spending time with your kids, don’t worry about the dishes or the laundry, but give them your undivided attention. They will remember that most, not if the dishes got done before they went to bed.
• Eat meals at home and as a family. Whether this means eating with a roommate, a spouse, or the whole family. Plan the menu together, and cook together. Turn off the T.V. and spend some quality time together. Put your focus on the people you are with rather than rushing through dinner to get to the next thing. Make dinner a fun family activity and not a chore.
• Allow yourself to say NO. Limit activities and commitments to what you can reasonably handle and give focus to. Again, nobody wants just half your attention. If you cannot give up the commitments, Render Lifestyle Management can help you with the errands!
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Remember hearing about relying on neighbors for help and a cup of sugar? If you need help, ask. Whether from friends or professionals, it is NOT a sign of weakness to ask for help. Nobody is good at everything. Render Lifestyle Management specializes in providing help to busy people like yourself.
• Finally, unplug. Spend less time online, listening to an iPod, playing Wii, and checking email. Maybe you make Sunday a day for family and rest. Maybe you make a household rule to unplug after a certain time each night. Allow yourself time to be calm. Use this as time to gather your thoughts for the next day, get your lists together, get things done around the house, read, or play with your kids.

Today, think about the values you identified yesterday, and think about ways you can refocus on those values and slow down just a little bit. The laundry can wait a day.


Until next time…
Missy