It's a fact--being busy causes stress. Learn 10 Ways to Stop Being So Busy, so you can focus on what matters and start enjoying life.
10 Ways to Stop Being So Busy
Life is busy! As the kids get older, we thought things would slow down a bit, but that's not the case. If anything, they got busier!
If you're feeling stressed about life and looking for Ways to Stop Being So Busy, read on for practical ways to lead a simpler, happier life!
You may also want to know How to Save Money on your family budget.
1.) Make a List of Your Top 4-5 Important Priorities
What's most important to you and your family? What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life to accomplish your goals?
Simplifying starts with these priorities --you are trying to make room in your life so you have more time for the important things.
2.) Take a Look At Your Commitments
Look at everything you've got going on in your life. Everything from work to home to civic duties, kids' activities, hobbies, side businesses, and other projects all take up time.
Think about which of these bring you value, and which ones you love doing. Which of these align with the 4-5 most important things you listed above? Drop those that aren't in line with your priorities.
Make room in your life for the things that bring you joy.
3.) Evaluate Your Time
How do you spend your day? What things do you do from the time you wake up to when you go to sleep? Make a list, and evaluate whether they're in line with the priorities you listed above.
If not, eliminate the things that aren't and focus on what's important. Redesign your day to focus on your priorities.
4.) Simplify Home Tasks
Think about all the stuff you do around the house.
Sometimes our home task list is just as long as our work list. And we'll never get that done, either.
So focus on the most important, and try to find ways to eliminate the other tasks (automate, eliminate, delegate, or hire help). Read our posts on How to Organize Your Home in 2 Minutes and How Being Organized Saves Time and Money.
Bottom line - Eliminate unnecessary projects.
For us, Meal Planning is a way I've eliminated unnecessary trips to the grocery store and streamlined what we make for dinner.
5.) Simplify Work Tasks
Our workday is made up of an endless list of work tasks that are often repetitive. If you try to knock off all the tasks on your to-do list, you'll never get everything done--and worse yet, you'll never get the important tasks done.
The best advice is to focus on the essential tasks and eliminate the rest. Also, avoid overloading your calendar. Leave empty spaces for meaningful tasks.
Batch tasking is also a way to be more efficient at work. For us, this means making several recipes at a time. Then, photograph them at one time. Editing all the photos at one time, etc. You get the picture.
See what you can batch and accomplish more during your day.
6.) Just Say No
This is one of the essential habits for those trying to simplify their lives. You will take on way too much if you can't say no. It can be hard at first, but it will get easier over time.
For the record, saying no is not being impolite — your choices define who you are and how you live.
7.) Cut Back Your Communications
Our lives these days are filled with a tremendous flow of communications: email, IM, cell phones, paper mail, Skype, Instagram, and more. It can take up your whole day if you let it.
Instead, put a limit on your communications: only do email at certain times of the day, for a certain number of minutes (we recommend twice a day, but totally do what works for you).
Only do IM once a day and for a limited amount of time if you can. Limit phone calls to specific times, too. Every time your phone pings, you don't need to respond.
Same with any other communications. Set a schedule and stick to it!
8.) Limit Your Media Consumption
This tip is certainly not for everyone.
If being in the know is important to you, go ahead and skip this one (as with any of the other tips). However, we believe that the media in our lives — TV, radio, Internet, magazines, apps, etc. — can be a distraction and a stressor.
Don't let it.
Simplify your life and the information you consume by limiting how much media you watch and read. If a lot of it is consumed on your smartphone, download an app that helps you track how much time you're spending and where. You can also check your phone settings.
You may want to try a Social Media Detox and see how you feel after.
9.) Purge. Purge. Purge.
It's natural to accumulate "stuff." However, it can overwhelm your household very easily, especially if you have kids. It's important to devote time to purge what isn't being used.
It feels very freeing if you can dedicate a weekend to purging the stuff you don't want. Get boxes and trash bags for the stuff you want to donate, toss or recycle.
10.) Do What You Love
Once you've freed up some time, be sure to spend that extra time doing things you love. Self-care is so important for success with all the other things you do.
Go back to your list of 4-5 important things. Do those and nothing else.
It's Important to Find Ways to Stop Being So Busy
Why? Because you don't want to let, yourself be too busy to enjoy life.
Focus on doing fewer things but better. Take a few minutes to determine your priorities, and the rest will start falling into place.
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