Three tips for clearing your schedule and creating time for what you want.
Getting more out of your life isn’t all about targets on the distant horizon, but it's about gaining more joy today. That starts with clearing your schedule now so you can fit in more of the things you truly want to do.
Many new clients come to me so bogged down in the day-to-day demands, but desperately wanting their lives to be different tomorrow. The result is they are rushing through each day in a flurry of activity with little time to relish the beauty of the moment at hand. That adds to the hurry and worry of each day. I work with them to reverse that and to hurry less and worry less so they enjoy life more.
The key to enjoying today – while moving forward on plans for the future – is in your approach to your life. Decide now that you will find something in today that brings you joy. The start of that is creating the time in the day to fit in what you want.
Below are three tips taken from my book, Hurry Less, Worry Less: Ten Strategies for Living the Life You Long For, to help you create time in your day to enjoy your life more – starting today:
1. Cut something out. Look at your hectic, "gotta-get-it-all done" everyday schedule. If you're like many people, you think you cannot eliminate anything from your day. But look closely. No doubt you can find something that is cluttering your day and needs to go. Anything that is not absolutely mandatory can be negotiated when it comes to your calendar – even work! Sure, you must go to work, but can you adjust your hours there or time it takes you to do a certain task? Or maybe you took on an activity years ago that fit your life then, but doesn't fit anymore. Maybe it's time to let it go. Or perhaps you can organize your "essential" activities better. For instance, see the four "quick" trips you took to the grocery store last week. Now realize you can better arrange your grocery shopping time by consolidating future trips into one. Suddenly that frees up time. You will find you have many things that can be eliminated or consolidated in your day. Once we begin to open ourselves to the possibilities that our days do not have to be as packed as they are, we begin to see we can hurry less and worry less.
2. Carefully consider each addition to your calendar. It's easy to add "just one more thing," to the calendar without realizing it. Sometimes that's the result of saying "yes" to a last-minute request from a child's school for a volunteer position. Sometimes it's the result of letting others' lack of organization make more work for you. But for the next week, try this: Make each new addition to your schedule "fight" to get on your calendar. Ask a series of questions to evaluate whether you should add this to your schedule: Is it important? Is it essential? If I do not add it, what would happen? What will be the result of adding it? What will I take off to make room for it? Is this worth being added to my calendar at this time? Only items that "fight" successfully to be on your schedule get to be added. One that "fights" successfully means one that answers these questions in a way that makes sense for you.
3. Choose the simpler option. One way to free time to do what you truly want to do is to see how you can do activities more efficiently. Do not be embarrassed or ashamed when you choose efficiency, when the result will be good and also will allow you time to hurry less and worry less. For instance, if you look at your schedule for the week and realize meal preparation is taking too much time, consider cooking ahead on the weekend and freezing, then popping out those containers and only warming up during the week. Or consider picking up something quick (but still healthy!) a few days a week, or even hiring a personal chef. Your goal is to have good food to eat – so if you can do that without having to be the one to physically prepare it every day, then maybe the reward of more quality time with your family is a benefit of being more efficient by finding other ways to get the meal on the table.
These are three tips to help you enjoy your life more – starting today. When you begin to reduce the clutter in your day – from outdated obligations to finding more efficient ways of doing things – you can hurry less and worry less. And that's a great way to enjoy life.
Judy Pace Christie is the author of Hurry Less, Worry Less: Ten Strategies For Living the Life You Long For. Find out more online at www.judychristie.com
Judy's training as a journalist gave her unique insight that has allowed her to pull together a philosophy that addresses the needs of personal life and work. She includes many of her strategies in Hurry Less, Worry Less: 10 Strategies for Living the Life You Long For, published by Abingdon Press. Her work produced such a positive result, that many of her clients and readers began asking for tools to help them deal with one thing specifically: the holidays. Judy's new release, Hurry Less, Worry Less at Christmastime: Having the Holiday Season You Long For is now in stores. In her forthcoming book, Goodbye, Murphy's Law: Whatever Can Go Wrong God Can Make Right, Judy Christie shares insight, tips and strategies to help us put bad events and hard times in perspective and invite joy, abundance and goodness into our lives.
Judy speaks around the country on issues such as ethics and diversity, and conducts training seminars and retreats for groups and churches.
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