Ina's Place

This week I assisted at my daughter’s music class in daycare and I couldn’t help but roll one thought in my mind – Life looks so simple to the little ones and they really enjoy every moment! They live each second with such an intensity, and if they like something they say it clearly, and if they don’t, they express it with no hesitation. On the other hand, life seems too complex for us, the adults.

So, I have one question for you:

• When was the last time you thought life was easy and simple?

Do not overcomplicate the answer in your head. Just try to answer the question to yourself in 2-5 words. Got it? Is it there yet?

Well, if your answer is “I don’t remember”, “What are you talking about, girl?”, “You nuts?” or “Whatever”, let’s then all dig in and see how we can simplify one aspect, or maybe more, in our lives that will lift some weight off our everyday-shitloaded-shoulders.

1. Adjust Your To-Do List.

Aaahhhh, our dearly beloved to-do lists! I’m afraid this trend transformed us more into panicky squeaky squirrels that run around all day long and waste time doing the more we can on our list and pushing us into despair if we don’t.

To avoid the overwhelm and frustration, allow me to give you some steps that can drastically improve your days-loads:

• Prioritize – write down everything you want to accomplish today/this week and categorize by what is really important and what can wait. Put aside the Wait-List and forget about it and concentrate on the Important-List. From the latter, start doing the tasks that you know are truly-truly important and impactful to you. In the end, you might get the beautiful surprise of discovering that part of your Wait-List has sorted out itself somehow.
• Shorten your list – every day, make an effort to look at your list from a critical point of view and exclude all the tasks that you know are secondary. The less you have on your list the more willing and happy you’ll be to accomplish your tasks. Keep it simple and you’ll have more time to do what will really benefit you in life.

“Do what you can do in joy, instead of trying to do it all in misery.” Jen Sincero, author of “You Are A Badass”

2. Delegate Your Tasks!

Aham, there’s nothing better than having a part of your workload handed to someone else. We are so used to doing everything ourselves that we have a hard time giving up on our loads. To stop being control freaks and avoid burnouts, I highly recommend sharing some of your tasks, especially the ones you don’t like, with people you know you can.

Your gain:

• You learn how to be bossy (in a good way)
• You don’t get to do the tasks you hate
• You win time to do what you really love and are passionate about, thus, in the end, you become happier and relaxed, overall.

 

3. Take Regular Breaks From Life and Have Fun.

Although quite hard for many of us, we must make the effort of taking some time off from always being in active mode, constantly working or thinking about everything all the time. Just. Take. A. Break!

Dedicating some time to fun activities, even the passive ones, will definitely help you detain your body and brain.

The benefits are very clear to me if you’d ask, because:

• You’ll have the time & space to see your life or situation from a different angle, thus, be able to change whatever you find necessary.
• You’ll be more engaged with yourself, your family, friends and social environment.

4. Cut the Crap Off.

Umm, not the nicest thing to say, and I personally have trouble with this part many times, but, the reality is that we create our own drama in life! We often enhance our own problems to, most probably, find compassion, support or whatever from those around us. But this crap actually does us no good. It creates more of a negative Vortex around us that we sometimes cannot escape from.

To avoid the drama, practice more self-love, gratitude and positive affirmations. In effect, you and I will unknowingly shift our thinking into a more positive state and attitude, increasing our chances to find our happiness and work towards accomplishing our dreams.

As weird as it may sound, I believe that we are all incredibly powerful to do what we want. Then why not make our lives a little simpler so that we can concentrate on what’s important and authentic to us. Remember to always Be You and Do You!

Wanting to give you more insight, I kindly invite you to check my Turning Problems Into Solutions article.