We are all looking for ways to make our lives easier. We are looking into technology and applications to change our way of life. We try to shorten meal planning by having the same things over and over again. Honestly, I’ll admit that sometimes those things work. Other times, we are left with a new application or piece of technology we never open. For instance, I don’t know how many clients bought an Alexa only to find out their partner won’t use it for ANYTHING.
So how can you truly make your life easier?
Communicate often and effectively
What are your needs? What does your partner need? What do your children need? I’m talking about the things you need to succeed. Also, if you want to introduce a new piece of technology or application, why? What problem does it solve? Will everyone be willing to use it? What are you out if it doesn’t work?
Truly being able to answer these questions and more through effective communication with your family will allow your life to be easier. You’ll know what you’re looking for, and you’ll learn how everyone’s exact brain works. Because I promise you that if there is 1 thing I’ve noticed it is that 0 people in my family have the exact same brain makeup.
Take a quiet moment before making decisions
A simple 30 seconds of focusing on your breath can help you make clearer decisions. You can focus on what you truly need, but you have to have this quiet time to let it all come to the forefront of your mind.
This is one of the ways I developed my self-care routine that we discussed here:
I sat in the quiet and asked myself what did I need to make myself truly enjoy my days and be present when I was with my family. Then I let the quiet float in.
Remove email from your phone
Listen, it was hard for me to remove email from my phone, but it was one of the best decisions I made. I wasn’t constantly pulled out of flow to check on the ping in my pocket. I wasn’t stressed, frustrated, or overwhelmed by the stinkin’ badges. I truly no longer cared about whether I reached inbox 0. I removed it from my phone and had important pieces of mail go directly to folders like family or payments/income. Heck, I even have a folder for newsletters I want to make sure I read each day or month. The important thing was allowing myself space to use my phone as I wanted and not letting email own me.
How do I check it now?
I go to the web browser about 3x/day.
Have less variety in your closet
Part of my Agile journey was figuring out how to make fewer decisions in a day. I didn’t want the exhaustion of every little thing being on my plate. So I cut the colors in my closet down to purple, lilac, blush, mustard, and navy. These are my brand colors and they are all I own. Okay, I’ll admit I added a few gray pieces in things that I couldn’t get in those colors. But I kept it simple, and I kept it all matching and coordinating. I pull out the articles I need and BAM I’m ready.
Think “what do I have time for today?”
In being Agile, you’ve already started to minimize what is on your plate, but you’ll still have large projects or you’ll still have daily/weekly/monthly household routines. You cannot get caught up in just creating a new list of all the things you have to do and allow yourself to be overwhelmed by it. You’ll be right back in the trap of busy or I don’t have time for that. Look at your sprint and ask what part of this do I have time for today. It might be as simple as going to the store and buying the supplies or drawing up the plans. You might also only have time to sweep 1 room instead of the entire first floor. That’s okay. The point is to avoid being overwhelmed and also for other people to start to notice when you need help with the tasks that are yours. Trust me, it’ll happen with time.
These are the ways that I’ve chosen to make my life easier and more amenable to my Agile lifestyle.
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