On New Year’s instead of resolutions,
I try to find a word
to live
by in the new year.
Last years word was learn
– I learned to pay sales
tax online,
start my business, open an etsy shop,
set up at festivals
and
events in all kinds of weather
and under interesting conditions.
I learned I
need to be more patience.
I learned once again to trust my gut feeling
and if
something doesn’t seem right
to seek a second opinion.
I survived and persevered
despite the obstacles.
I have been thinking what the word
for this year should be
an decided on :
simplify.
It’s time to
let go of things
that no longer enhance or define
the life I want to live.
sim·pli·fy
[sim-pluh-fahy] verb :
to make
less complex or complicated;
make plainer or easier
What would/is your word for the New Year?
1. Figure Out What’s Really Important
Figuring out what’s really important to you,
what makes you
happy and what are the
goals for your life is the first step towards
the
simplification you aim to achieve.
It’s only when you know what’s really
important, you can
prioritize your tasks
accordingly and get things done
without being stressed.
2. Analyze Your Current Routine
Spend a day analyzing how you have been
spending your days.
What is your daily routine
like? Has it helped with your work? Has it helped
your health? Are you able to take time out
for family and friends? Have you
been
prioritizing tasks according to what’s really
important? Is the routine
designed accordingly?
If any of these are out of whack,
it’s time to change the
routine.
3. Overcome Information Overload
Although most of the information we consume
every day may
appear to be “life-saving” at first
glance, it’s actually avoidable. I’ve
talked about
tips for managing information overload and managing
your RSS feeds
before here at WorkAwesome.
Susan offered tips on managing email overload.
Did you read
and implement the steps suggested?
If you haven’t yet, it’s time you get
started with them.
4. Simplify Household Tasks
Most people don’t realize that household chores
, if not done
productively, could easily take
up a significant chunk of your time.
It’s
important to simplify them.
What are the chores you do every day?
Which of them have to
be done every day?
How do you organize your household in
a way that it
eliminates many chores?
These are some questions you need to answer.
5. Get Rid of Things You Don’t Use
Take a look at that old bookshelf that has
piles of books
gathering dust. You never
read any of them twice. Heck, you didn’t
even read
some of them once! Don’t you think
you are better off distributing them to
someone
who could benefit from reading them?
The same can be applied to your DVDs, CDs,
gadgets et al.
Either sell them or give them away. Simplify.
6. Don’t Buy Things You Might Not Use
The reason you had that enormous collection
of books or DVDs
in the first place was because
you bought them thinking they’d be of great
help.
Turns out you were wrong.
So, from now on, only buy things you are
likely to use — and
use often. When it comes
to books and movies (unless you are a voracious
reader
or a movie buff) you can borrow or rent
hem instead of buying each new thing
that comes out.
7. De-clutter and Organize Your Home & Workplace
Yes, de-clutter. De-clutter your desk,
de-clutter your
desktop,
de-clutter your workspace. Just get started
on cleaning up the mess
that’s surrounding you.
Make things look clean and simple around you.
This is an
important step in simplifying your life.
8. Go Paperless
If you look around you, most of the clutter
is constituted
by paper in one or
form or another. So going paperless not only
makes your work
easier and saves you time,
it also significantly reduces workspace clutter.
I understand that a few tasks need paper.
But try to use
latest tools and software
as much as possible to get things done.
9. Delegate and Get Help
No matter how organized you are
— and how easily you can get
things done
— if your work grows, you are bound to
get overwhelmed if you are
doing it all alone.
And that’s not just for your work,
but for everything else
in your life.
Delegating tasks to others who can do
it better than you,
collaborating with friends
in various aspects of life, seeking help
from someone
who knows it better…
all this helps to keep you sane
and carry on with life
without
getting stressed and frustrated.
10. Disconnect Often
Last, and probably the most important step
in simplifying
your life – disconnect often.
Disconnect from what? From anything that
has you
connected all day. It could be the
internet for one, a cellphone for another.
For someone, it might be a musical instrument
which he just can’t stop playing
for hours.
Take a few hours off every week, and a day
or two off every
month from what you do
every day. Stay disconnected…stay abandoned.
Spend time
with yourself, with something
you like to do but can’t find time for,
ith
someone you love but don’t have time for,
with nature. Take time out and thank
the universe for the life
and the opportunities you’ve got.
