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Things To Consider Today

Simplify Your Life And Enjoy It More

You should be happy with the life that you’re living. One main criteria for this is having sufficient time and money to enjoy the things that you like. Simplify your life. This is an effective way to manage it more effectively and enjoy it more as you live it day by day. Let’s look at some ways of doing these things.

It’s easy to feel short of time and energy and money. Many people claim they’ re so busy and have so many things scheduled. They have little free time to do some of the things they would really enjoy. It’s like being in a pressure cooker mentally and physically. There is stress and headaches and impatience. To one degree or another, this hurry-hurry living pattern seems to creep into the lives of each of us. Why do we allow this?

There are periods in our lives when we have more responsibilities and less resources to handle them. We may have many duties associated with positions and feel obligated to carry them out. We may be spread thin between personal needs, family obligations, work, and other things that may place a demand upon us. At times we ask ourselves, how am I supposed to get everything done, and do it to a reasonable quality that will satisfy myself and others? The best advice is to know your limits. Do not accept obligations, responsibilities, and duties unless you are sincerely interested in them and capable at the time of carrying them out in an acceptable manner.

In the busy world we live in it’s easy to get all wrapped up in the moment, hour, day, or week. It’s hard to distinguish at times whether we’re in control, or all the things we’re doing are controlling us. Soon there can be patterns of irregular sleep, eating, exercise and other basics. Before long the hurry-hurry pattern stretches into months and years. With time it becomes an intricate part of our lifestyle. We accept it as a necessity of modern-day living. But is this really a reality that we have to accept?

Look at your life and ask a simple question. Are you doing the things that you like to do ? By this I mean you have the time or make the time to do some personal things that you enjoy. These can range from taking a walk regularly to participating in a sport in your local community. You like to read, but have little time to read some of those good books that you would like to emerge yourself in periodically. You like to meet people, but hardly even know your neighbors. You think spirituality has a role in people’s lives, but do not associate with a church nor do anything to bring much of it into your own life. You have often thought about a hobby, but do not actively pursue one at this time. You have talked about taking a class for a long time or perhaps improving your job skills, but at this point nothing has been done. This list could go on and on, but you can see the main idea. If you want something in your life, you must make some changes. Here are some suggestions.

1.  Adjust your priorities. Then you will shove some things out of the way that you’re doing now in order to make room for other things you enjoy.
2.  Become more efficient in how you do things. Develop your skills to get certain tasks done faster and better. In some cases this will save money. In all cases this will save time and free up your schedule. Additional money and time permit you to do more of the activities you enjoy.
3.  Learn to manage or utilize your resources better so fewer are required for what you’re doing now. This permits more resources to be used for things you enjoy.

Multitasking is very helpful. When I used to commute one hour each way to work, I made a habit of reading books on the commuter train to and from work. You would be surprised at how many good nonfiction books I was able to read over the years. In this way I was able to fit this important activity into a busy schedule full of family, church, community, and work activities. The idea here is to fit something you want to do like reading into something you have to do such as commuting.

There are other ways to do two or more things at once. I live in an area that has many rainy days per year. So when the weather is good, I like to get outside and walk. This gives me a break from my office, plus provides exercise for my body. I can also enjoy nature and talk to a neighbor if one is outside in a yard or walking themselves. Sometimes I’ll stop and sit on a bench and merely meditate and have a prayer. If my wife is available, she will walk with me. While walking, we can talk about everything from family matters to job concerns to entertainment. In this way we’re doing two things at once and thus conserving personal time. When we return home, we don’t have to spend time talking about the same items because the discussion has already taken place.

One thing that wastes time for everybody is discussing the same topics over and over again without reaching a conclusion or deciding anything. You don’t make up your mind what you’re going to do, nor reach an agreement with another person if that person is involved. Because no definite decisions are made, very little action is taken. And if action is taken, there is a chance that the follow-through will not be complete because the decision was not definite and permanent. In other words, you did not make a true commitment. So you falter in following through on what you promised to yourself or to others. This can be frustrating and discouraging. Do not continue to go over the same items without concluding something. Make some decisions. If necessary, make a list of who will do what. Then see that you and others follow through on what is agreed upon.

Another issue that contributes to the busy life we feel is waste. For example you spend money on types of food that are not necessary nor healthy for the body. This money could be spent on something more important, so why spend it on things that are not good? You may look at cheap entertainment, rather than do something more worthwhile with your time. Remember you only have so much money and time. If you waste money, there will be pressure on you to obtain more of it in order to support your lifestyle. This requires extra hours of work and cuts into your personal time. Meanwhile, if you waste time on less important things, then time is taken away from more important things. Then it’s easy to tell yourself and others that you are always “a dollar short and a day late”. Others may agree with you because they experience the same thing. But is this what you really want? How long do you accept this type of reasoning before it becomes a reality and you lose your ability to change and throw this type of thinking out of your life?

It’s easy to develop bad habits, which can work against you in many ways. Some habits involve the consumption of goods that cost money. For example, over eating and eating out too much cost money. Some habits affect behavior in a negative way. Too much drinking and taking illegal drugs can do this. Some habits give a negative impression of you to others and lower your reputation with them. Consider swearing and crude speech. There is also gossiping and lying to get out of trouble or problems. Bad habits diminish your resource pool of quality people who could help you make improvements in your life. They could help you deal with a challenge or a problem. They could be there in times of need. Bad habits do not set a good example for others. This is very important in parenting, as well as positions of responsibility and leadership. Even on the job you have an impact on other employees. Directly or indirectly certain habits can work against you and diminish the enjoyment you have in life.

Another way to make your life more complex is to collect things and never clean house. It’s hard to tell what you have and don’t have. You have too many possessions and can’t maintain them, let alone keep track of them. You are not a good record keeper so your records are out of date. Your office at home, if you have one, is messy and it’s always hard to find what you need. If you have children and they don’t keep their rooms clean, you find yourself helping them to find items of clothing to wear or their favorite toy to play with. Your garage, and attic if you have one, may be a disaster area. If any of these statements fit your life, then take action now. Avoid sloppiness and excess. Simplify by getting rid of some things. Simplify by keeping some accurate and up-to-date records. Simplify by making your kids keep their own rooms clean and finding their own items. You get the point. Do not let material goods become a burden in your life.

Helping others and rendering service can become a burden in your life instead of a joy. If you are too easy-going with others, they can take advantage are you. You find yourself doing too many favors for them and not enough for yourself. It’s easy to be overextended in service and commitments to others and not taking care of your own basic responsibilities and needs. You cannot help everyone, and there may be times in your life where you have to focus strictly on your own needs. Render service, but keep it under proper control. This is another way to simplify your life.

Age is another factor affecting the simplification of living and the enjoyment you get out of life. As the decades go by, you change physically and mentally. You do not feel the same physically nor mentally at middle age as you did when you were a young adult. At a younger age you should accept many responsibilities, set a lot of goals , and push yourself hard. This is a good start. Thereafter keep a good balance in your activities and endeavors, and work in some enjoyment along the way. As you get older, do not expect to be as energetic and optimistic as you were at a younger age. Fortunately you’ll have more resources and should have more wisdom and perspective. This will allow you to get as much done in middle age as in the young adult years. However, you will be using a different blend of resources to accomplish the things you desire. With older age there will bee additional changes which must be considered in order to balance out the demands of life and the enjoyment of it. At all ages, it is important to put first things first and simplify your life the best you can. In this way you’ll find it easier to make room for enjoyment every year you live.

To simplify and enjoy, you should consider strategy . Began by reviewing what is going on in your life today. Here are some questions that should help you.

$          What are you satisfied with and dissatisfied with at this time? Be specific.
$          Are there things you’re doing that are not really essential or necessary? Identify them.
$          Could you be more efficient in certain areas? Determine how you can do this.
$          How well are you managing your resources? Especially time and money.
$          Overall, do you feel like you’ve got good control of your life? Judge this as accurately as possible.
$          Are you satisfied with the way that you’re living it?
$          How much enjoyment do you experience weekly. Consider your activities, relationships, responsibilities, and service to others.

Honest answers to questions like these will indicate whether more simplification is needed and where. The goal here is to have you feel completely in charge of your life as much as possible. Along with this, you should have the determination and means to fit in enjoyable moments along the way. If you are having trouble meeting these two criteria, then decide what you can and will do to bring about the changes needed. After making some wise choices and committing yourself, strive to meet the goals you have set. Over the weeks, months, and years you will see the changes that you desire. The power of simplification will become more obvious to you. The additional enjoyment experienced will make you happier. In the end, it will be obvious that the effort and resultant improvements were all worth it.

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Copyright 2010 Leland Pulley