Like pretty much all of us, Anna has an insanely busy life.
Luckily, she has found some easy ways to make her life simple and manageable – and you can too!
There’s Just Not Enough Time in the Day!
As a manager in a real estate development firm, Anna often has urgent issues arising, and there’s a lot still on her mind at the end of her working day.
Problem is, that’s not her only job, it’s just the one she gets paid to do.
She is also a mother of two young boys. In itself it feels like a full-time job just feeding, clothing, washing and repairing the kids. And it is.
But she is also, for the moment at least, a schoolteacher. Given the “opportunity” to homeschool her kids recently, she has actually developed a new-found appreciation for how hard this is – and how much time it takes.
And looking after her husband? Don’t even go there.
What Does It Take to Simplify Your Life?
It sounds like Anna is some sort of superhero. They certainly are everywhere these days – (pop)corn fields worth of movies, a thousand kids’ shows, pyjamas and dinner plates.
But she’s not a superhero. Even better, she’s a normal person like you and me who has found some tried-and-true ways to not just get through the day, but to make the most of it.
How Does She Do It?
- Sleep – Anna often doesn’t get to socialise much during the day so she makes it part of her evening routine.
- Action: Set an alarm to limit your time on socials – Anna learned this lesson after she found herself spending hours just drifting through humanity’s writings and waking up tired for it the next morning. Read up on revenge bedtime procrastination, where we sacrifice sleep to stay up as the only opportunity in the day exercise control over our schedule. Easy trap to fall into and can have a serious impact on your mental and physical well-being.
- Action: Set an alarm to limit your time on socials – Anna learned this lesson after she found herself spending hours just drifting through humanity’s writings and waking up tired for it the next morning. Read up on revenge bedtime procrastination, where we sacrifice sleep to stay up as the only opportunity in the day exercise control over our schedule. Easy trap to fall into and can have a serious impact on your mental and physical well-being.
- Plan your day & prioritise – she knows she is not a superhero and doesn’t try to be.
- Action: Seize every day as a fresh start, whether yesterday was awesome or terrible. It will make you feel (super-)empowered!
- Action: Seize every day as a fresh start, whether yesterday was awesome or terrible. It will make you feel (super-)empowered!
- Automate, automate, automate – Anna doesn’t waste time doing things that can be automated, and she uses technology to be super-organised
- Tip: Use some of the many great apps that are around. Personally I love Cozi, the family organising app. I can plan the week’s meal, add ingredients lists straight into the shopping list, and hubby can pick it all up on his way home (while I’m still at work!). And the calendar helps us to stay organised to avoid last-minute rushes (well, as much as possible!).
- Tip: Use some of the many great apps that are around. Personally I love Cozi, the family organising app. I can plan the week’s meal, add ingredients lists straight into the shopping list, and hubby can pick it all up on his way home (while I’m still at work!). And the calendar helps us to stay organised to avoid last-minute rushes (well, as much as possible!).
- Find time-wasters and minimise them – Anna gets annoyed by how much time it takes to buy food each week. Hours shopping vs free grocery delivery? No-brainer. But only if she can get the right products. She wants super-fresh food for her little superheroes but doesn’t want produce that is days old, because she knows that produce starts to lose vitamins from the moment it is picked.
- Tip: Grow your own veggies at home. Indoor gardens represent an easy way to do this, and often don’t require any pesticides or chemical treatment at all. You can harvest your dinner right off the wall.
- Tip: Grow your own veggies at home. Indoor gardens represent an easy way to do this, and often don’t require any pesticides or chemical treatment at all. You can harvest your dinner right off the wall.
- Manages her own physical, mental and emotional state – Anna consciously ignores her social feed for the first hour upon waking. She doesn’t want to get in a passive mode where she is influenced by other people’s emotional states, she wants to be active. There’s a time and a place for following others, and the very start of the day is NOT it.
- Tip: Leave your phone face-down when you get up. Instead, think ahead to what you are going to achieve today. Think about all the things you can be grateful for, and how you are going to make today really count. Studies show that high mobile phone use can increase likelihood of depression, and socials are about reacting to others. Time and a place for it.
- Tip: Create a new habit of micro-sessions for deep breathing. The Breathe app on Apple Watch helps by reminding you. Take tiny moments to recharge, reset and refocus (even if it’s in the washroom).
- Anna uses her mornings wisely. She likes the feeling of accomplishing things, even little things, early in the day. This makes her feel confident and strong, and sets her up for the rest of the day.
- Tip: Tackle the hardest things first, while your mind and body are fresh. Ticking tasks off your list is so empowering! It also helps to declutter your mind, as tasks are cleared out rather than accumulating for some magical point in the day when they will somehow complete themselves.
Be Like Anna – Get Smart, Organised and Focused
Anna is not a superhero (except in the eyes of her kids and her husband!). Her “secrets” are actually just really effective habits. She has a good plan and sticks to it as much as she can. And those times she can’t? Well, she tries not to put too much pressure on herself, even though that’s hard sometimes.
Anna’s tricks can be your tricks too. And I’m sure we’ll all be inspired to hear your own – share your own tips in the comments below, and help someone else to turbo-charge their day!
#betterlife #betterme #multitasking #worklifebalance #lovekids #icandoit