Anything that makes life easier is a must for me. With a toddler who still doesn’t sleep through the night, most days I am running on fumes. These days, simple and efficient is more. If you have a lot of things going on right now, a few simple life hacks to make your life easier may help.
In a world where chaos seems to be going on all around us, I find myself craving simpler times. I miss the days when social media didn’t run our lives and celebrities weren’t politicians. Self-quarantining at home these days has allowed me to slow down, do less, and enjoy simplicity more.
Although 2020 has brought about many changes, we are finally getting a hang of our new normal and life seems to run pretty smoothly now. As a entrepreneur and stay-at-home mom to three, I have my fair share of daily responsibilities that keep me on my toes at all times.
At this point in my life and career, I am always looking for ways to simplify my life. Any decision I make is based upon two questions, “Will this add to or take away from my daily stress levels”? and “Why am I doing this?” The answers usually help me to decide how I move from that point on. Asking myself those two questions before I act has saved me from a lot of disappointments and headaches.
Saying NO to things I don’t want to do has single-handedly become my biggest weapon of defense against stress and overwhelm. There is enough going on in the world for me to be out here doing things I really just don’t want to do. Creating boundaries and setting limits to protect yourself may be the missing link to making your life easier. Try it sometime.
In addition to saying NO more often, there are a few other simple yet effective life hacks to make your life easier. From planning ahead to using apps, there are many easy solutions If you find yourself stressed out or overwhelmed by life, consider the things that are causing you the most stress right now. Where is there friction? What is causing you to feel overwhelmed? How can you eliminate these stressors?
Life hacks to make your life easier do one thing – they eliminate the stressors in your life. If you are in need of relief from the overwhelm, keep reading for the smart life hacks that I incorporated into my daily life that has helped to make my life a little easier.
10 Smart Life Hacks to Make Your Life Easier
1. Set timers and reminders. One life hack to make your life easier is to limit the time you spend on daily tasks. If you find yourself completing random tasks throughout the day, try designating time in your day for specific tasks. Create a reminder to start the task, and set a timer to finish the task.
For example, if you have to check your emails, set a reminder at 9 a.m. to check your emails, and don’t open your inbox any sooner. Set a timer to read and respond to your emails within an hour. Set another reminder to check your emails again at the end of the day. By creating a designated time for emails, you don’t spend your entire day browsing through your inbox or checking your email every time a notification pops up.
2. Prepare meals ahead of time. Cooking healthy meals throughout the day can be time-consuming for a family of 5. At one point, I felt that I was spending my entire day in the kitchen. Preparing my meals ahead of time has made my life easier and helped me to save time throughout the week.
Click here to read: How to Meal Plan on a Budget
Didn’t have time to prepare your meals ahead of time? There are food apps and meal delivery services to save the day. Thanks to technology, you can order your food, and someone will bring your food or groceries directly to you – saving you time and making feeding your hungry family a whole lot easier.
3. Let subscription services do your shopping for you. Because my local grocery store sells out often, I have to order my favorite dove body wash in bulk from Amazon. To avoid running out, I have an Amazon subscription set up to deliver my body washes right to my front door every month. Not only do I not have to worry about ever running out, but I also save a few dollars with my monthly subscription.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit America, all of the stores were out of toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, and disinfectant spray. You were considered lucky if you were able to go to the grocery store and grab one or two rolls of toilet paper. Although the masses were scrambling for hygiene and paper products, guess who wasn’t concerned at all? People who had a toilet paper or paper towel subscription service. Why wake up early and stand in long grocery store lines to purchase what you need, when you can just have it automatically ordered and delivered to your house? Think about it.
4. Order your groceries in advance. Thanks to COVID-19, more stores and restaurants are offering pickup and delivery options more than ever before. With three kids, I love the idea of grocery shopping without having to take my kids into the store with me. Curbside pickup has been the biggest time saver for me, as it allows me to create an ongoing grocery list in the app and check out when I am ready. Instead of spending an hour in the grocery store meticulously choosing the items I need, I can virtually shop and pick up my groceries without the long lines or headaches.
5. Automate your bills. There is something freeing about not having to worry about taking care of the bills. Many companies offer automatic bill pay, and if you have the option, using automatic bill payments can free up a lot of mental stress and make your life easier. At the beginning of each month, check your automated bill schedules and descriptions.
6. Simplify your options. Streamlining and simplifying your choices is an easy way to cut down the amount of time you spend making decisions. If you have too many choices to choose from, it could be causing unnecessary stress in your life. Determine the things in your life that could be streamlined or simplified to help make your life easier.
For a long time, I had too many random clothing pieces and accessories in my closet that I never wore. By simplifying my wardrobe and removing the items I don’t wear, it has helped me to get dressed and ready for the day more quickly and effectively.
7. Organize your space. Another life hack to make your life easier is to organize and declutter your personal space. You would be surprised how much time during the day you can save when deciding what to use and figuring out where to find it. When you have less stuff in your home, there is less for you to clean, manage, and to care for. Organizing your space frees up time, energy, and money.
8. Use a checklist to plan your day. Save your time from trying to figure out what to do by creating a daily checklist. To make your life easier, get all of your “to-do’s” out of your head and onto a sheet of paper or a memo on your phone. Save your mental energy and plan your day in advance.
9. Turn your devices off. Constant calls, emails, and text messages coming in can keep you distracted. To make my life easier, there are specific times during the day when I turn my devices OFF. Yes, completely off. Eliminating constant distractions throughout the day can help to give you a much needed mental break, and help to eliminate the feelings of stress and overwhelm.
10. Create routines. My top life hack to make your life easier is to use schedules and routines. Creating a daily routine has singlehandedly helped me to run my life on autopilot. Instead of constantly reinventing the wheel, make daily things easier by creating a routine for things you can repeat regularly. Science proves that children thrive with schedules and structure. so if you create a routine that works for your entire family, your life will become a lot easier.
Click here to get my bestselling workbook: ROUTINES THAT WORK: GET MORE DONE IN LESS TIME
I hope these tips help!
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