Simplify, Simplify, Simplify

“Our life is frittered away be detail…simplify, simplify, simplify.” Henry David Thoreau

A common thread I hear when I meet with new clients is an almost universal desire to lead a simpler life. Most of us want to hold onto the good things in our lives and enjoy the benefits of all that new technology offers, but somehow simplify things. We’re overwhelmed by life’s complexities and overwhelming technology.

There are thousands of books with different approaches to simplifying, but sometimes just reading through a book like that complicates things for me. The last couple of months I’ve spent a great deal of time contemplating practical ways to simplify my own life—without becoming overwhelmed in the process.

Here are six steps I’m following in 2014 to build a simpler life:

1. Define priorities to build my life around for the year. Not too many—and quickly so I don’t over-think them. Here they are: Family, Business, Reading, Traveling, Healthy Living. These aren’t written in stone. I can change them anytime I want.
2. Eliminate one regular commitment. If it’s not on my short list of priorities, I should be able to eliminate at least one commitment with few negative consequences. Simplifying my commitments will create more time and space for the five important things on my priority list. I started by resigning from a networking group that wasn’t doing much more than taking up time in my schedule. That move instantly added a minimum of 2 hours each month to pursue my priorities. One full day added to my year to do what I want!
3. Simplify my to-do list. What’s on my daily list that doesn’t need to be there? What do I abhor doing? Can I delegate it? Automate it? Hire someone else to do it? Everyday I write down just three things I want to accomplish in the next 12 hours to feel like the day was a success.. Too often we become victims of our endless to-do lists. T
4. Make time to disconnect. For at least an hour a day I’m unplugging the phone, the internet, email, the television, my beloved Sirius radio. How much more can I accomplish when I really focus on a task I love to do? I’m betting I drop fewer stitches in my knitting. Can I increase an hour to 90 minutes? Maybe even two hours?
5. Create a schedule of my ideal day and follow it as nearly as possible. My ideal day includes work time, recreation, plenty of solitude to lose myself in books, playing on my computer, and spending time with my family—and now my calendar has a schedule that reflects those priorities. Of course, this is just an ideal and sometimes work commitments or unscheduled things come up that I have to attend to. But my overall goal is to take control of each 24 hours and move as close to perfection as I can.
6. Declutter. Maybe you can relate to this. I have too much stuff and it’s overwhelming me. I’ve visualized the space I want to live my simplified life in and now I’m going to create it. A little at a time.

Are you simplifying? At Your Service is here to take on the tasks you want to shed. We’ll make it easy for you. Email us or call 314.994.1382. Remember, the only limit to our services is your imagination.