Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Top 10 Tips and Tricks to Simplify Your Life


1) Secret to Getting Things Done - a Timer! Check out the 30/10 rule and more here.

Zen Habits is a great resource for simplifying your life in easy ways! The Zen Habit's guy led me to another great blog/site/person called the FLYLady who has lots of great suggestions. She can help you make lasting habits in your life -- be more organized and calm :)

Here are some more ideas that I have been putting into action from the above sites:

2) MITs -- Most Important Things -- really it's just about prioritizing, and this new wording appeals to me :)

Also, I like the idea of picking just 3 things. It seems doable to get just 3 things done each day. Finishing 3 things provides a motivating sense of ACCOMPLISHMENT!

Choosing which 1-3 things you really need to get done, SIMPLIFIES your daily plan. If you finish your MITs, then you can get another task done ahead of time!

Thank you zenhabits :)

3) HOT SPOTS -- these are areas of clutter or messiness, which attracts more clutter or messiness, if left to grow. Examples in my house are the kitchen counter and the basement.

Taking a few minutes per day to chip away at a big mess can have a surprisingly BIG EFFECT. Once you have cleared a hot spot, you can keep it tame with just a little daily effort, a few minutes of attention per day.

Thank you FLYLady :)

4) One project that I have been working on is CLEARING out my email INBOX. What a relief to see that number continue to decrease! Once you have it under control, respond to emails quickly, and delete, delete, delete! (zenhabits.net discusses this with special notes regarding gmail)


5) Try filling a trash big with things in your home to THROW away. Keep going until you've found 27 items. Get them out to the garbage can in your garage, so you won't be tempted to salvage.

You can do something similar to clear your house of items you would like to DONATE or SELL. Thank you FLYLady.com :)

6) Kitchen sink -- thanks to the flylady, I have been keeping my kitchen sink clear, for a few days now. It is SATISFYING each time I see that empty sink, as well as when it only takes a few minutes after a meal to have the sink all clean and clear once again!

7) FLYLady chooses a room per week, and an area or zone per month, or some similar organization, to help you keep getting your home and life more and more organized and clutter-free! You can sign up to get daily emails to help you do this one step at a time (www.flylady.com).

8) Routines -- more here.

9) LOGGING your time -- this is effective for just about every area of your life, from exercise to eating, drinking, and sleeping, and here, productivity. Try logging how you spend your time for just a day, and see where you could spend less time, and where that extra time could be spent more productively!

10) Limiting INTERNET use. This you may find upon completing suggestion #9. I know I can get A HUGE amount of work done, if I just keep my lap top closed for an hour, day, etc. You be the judge. Any change can help! Decreasing your Internet/TV activity by any amount can supply you with that valuable treasure that everyone wants -- TIME!

Happy organizing, and take 2 MINUTES now to de-clutter a HOT SPOT -- I promise you will be rewarded with a great feeling from just 2 minutes of effort!

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK: What tricks help you organize your life or home?

2 comments:

Melissa@My Whole Food Life said...

These are great tips! I love the timer idea. I actually use the timer a lot with my 3 year old. It works well if we are blowing bubbles or just playing before it is time to go to bed. Personally, I hate clutter and am probably a bit on the anal side. I try to keep my kitchen super organized and labeled and that helps me to not buy things I already have.

Fresh-You said...

Thanks Melissa! I am always trying to be more and more organized! I'm happy for you, that you are there!, ...someday I'll get it all just right :) Have a great weekend!!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...