Simplify Your Life And Business With This One Life Changing Tip
As a mom of two boys, creative entrepreneur and full time business owner I have been on a personal quest to simplify all areas of my life as much as possible. To live and work with more intention. Being aware of how I spend my precious time and energy. A major shift was found in the most obvious area of my life during a chaotic morning that was quite routine.
A couple of months ago, during our morning rush hour of running out the door with our hair on fire trying to make it in time for school drop off and without forgetting anything (which seems like Mission Impossible most days), I grabbed a pair of socks out of the drawer only to discover that one of them had a huge hole in the toe. It should be noted I have pulled this same pair of socks out numerous times, too many times, only to pull them off in annoyance and dig for another pair, preferably with no hole. I started to fold them up and put them back in my drawer when it hit me, "how stupid is that. Just throw them away already!".
Not only did I throw them away before digging for another pair of socks but it was a moment of a complete clarity. An epiphany. My world forever changed because not only will I never again grab that sock with the hole and waste time putting it on but I began to think about other areas of my life, home and business where I could I apply this "touch it once" principle to:
• When I open an email, respond to it right away and file it or unsubscribe and delete it.
• When I take a dish to the kitchen, promptly put it in the dishwasher and not the sink.
• When my pen won't write, immediately throw it away.
• When I come across a charger that doesn't work, let go of the need to keep it hoping it will magically work again someday and trash it.
I am the world's worst at putting things off. One of my favorite movies of all time is Gone With The Wind. A famous Scarlet O'Hara line through out the movie is "I can't think about that right now. If I do I will go crazy. I will think about that tomorrow". That pretty much sums up my life.
Worry about it later. Do it later. Save it for later.
Then "later" rolls around, my to-do list is no shorter (probably even longer) and there are still high demands to be met; like two boys to get in the bath, dinner to make and handle a social media marketing task for one of my freelance clients. As much as I like to convince myself that worrying about it later is better, it never is. Ever.
So then I started thinking about all the other things that go on in my daily life I could deal with right then, touching it once and move on. When I became more aware of this, I was quite embarrassed at how much stuff in my life I just shuffle around. Not actually doing anything with or being productive. I was glorifying "being busy"
• Like the sports bra I keeping pulling out of my drawer only to put it on and immediately rip it off because its the one that annoys me to death - I should put it in the donation box and be done with it.
• Or the make up brush that sheds half its bristles all over my face every time I put my make up on – I should toss it and invest in a better brush.
• Or that Facebook acquaintance who chooses to hatefully rant about every situation going on in the world they don't agree with – maybe its time to re-evaluate this connection.
• Moving around the earring in my jewelry drawer that has been missing its pair for over 2 years - its time to concede I am not going to find its mate.
• Moving around the stack of receipts on my desk from one side to the other so I can work - its time to make a file for them and put them away once and for all.
How could this one simple shift of touching something once make your daily life easier? Today I challenge you to move through out your day with more mindfulness and intention. To slow down and pay attention to the little things that you could touch once, take care of and move on to live a more simple life, have more time for the things you love and have a more productive business.
Did you find this article helpful? Leave me a comment, would love to hear how this tip could make a positive shift in your life. xo
I am April Williams, the #CreativeMomista of two boys • Storyteller • Coffee Addict • Warrior For God • Texas Country Girl • Creative Expressive • Passionate about approaching life, business and design with creativity and minimalism • Founder of Creative Brandista
