Getting our lives on track
Now we’re nearly halfway through the year, it is the perfect time to reflect on those resolutions we made in January. We may have given up bad habits and tried to adopt new ones. But do we really have our lives on track? What can we do to really make changes that we can maintain for the rest of the year, not just for a few weeks?
Busy doesn’t just mean ‘at work’ either.
Now that my Mum is retired, she has found she is out and about and doing a lot more running around than ever before. I think she is questioning how she even had time to go to work!
Therefore, these tips are for all kinds of busy people…and yes, it will include writing a list!
When you are busy it is easy for the little things to stack up and become overwhelming. To counter this it is a good idea to have a number of small checks in place to help you maintain order. Sometimes having certain parts of your routine planned has a ripple effect on other aspects of your life, making it easier for you to get on with things
Have a Budget
The importance of having a budget has come up a few times at ‘The Pad”. Personally, I am an advocate of the Japanese ‘Kaikebo’ – in fact, I even designed my own. You can buy it on Amazon – if you like.
If you don’t want to commit to a full 12 months, you can try out the free printable version which is available on my post about budgeting
In fact, read that post, it tells you everything you need to know about why having a budget and knowing where your money is going every month is a sound investment in your time. (Investment – see what I did there! ).
Even if you are managing on a lower income – maybe you have reduced your hours, retired, or have just had to make changes in your life that have reduced the money coming into your home – knowing where your money goes, how you spend, and when your bills are coming out of your account are all things we should be keeping an eye on.
It is possible to save, and reduce our outgoings, but before we do that, we need to know where the money is being spent.
There is inner peace when you have a level of financial security, and you know your bills have been paid. It helps you in emergencies, as well as for more long term plans and treats.
You cannot manage what you do not measure, and hiding credit card bills and hoping they will disappear will not help your peace of mind.
If you only take one tip from this post make a decision to become more aware of your financial situation, both short term and long term and start getting plans in place for your future security.
Ōsōji for the soul: Kakeibo – the Japanese budget plan that works
Have a planner
You will have read a lot about the importance of having a plan on this website, it’s what we do! But this tip is more about having a physical planner or diary to make your notes in.
We have all been guilty of trying to remember dates and times or writing them on scraps of paper to then lose them. What we should do is centralise our plans in one place – a planner.
This can be a cheap store-bought diary, or you can be a bit for ‘extra’ and have a full-on artistic bullet journal. The point being you should be able to see the year ahead and have space to put all of your commitments in one place.
As soon as you are given an appointment with the dentist, or asked if you are free on the 12th, write it down.
Get into the habit of telling people you will check your diary before committing yourself to events and plans to avoid being double booked.
Actively book in days or at least half days when you are doing nothing.
This does not mean you are now free to babysit, take on a bit of overtime or be an unpaid taxi service. Doing nothing for a whole afternoon is a valid use of your time, and you should factor in rest and relaxation as part of your schedule.
In the same way that it is important to budget your money, and know what you are spending it on, you should know what you are spending your time on.
It is arguably a far more important resource than cash. If you look down at your planner and see that you are over-committed to tasks, and have no time for yourself, then perhaps you need to look into budgeting your time and how you are spending it.
Set yourself goals
If you have spent any time on this site you will know we are all about goals here. We all need a purpose, something to aim for and a reason to do the things we do.
While there is much debate on how challenging you should make these goals one thing is certain, If you want to get something done, you need a plan.
Recently, I had been putting off a task that just seemed like too much work for the time it would take up. It felt like it would take up my whole weekend, and for some odd reason my brain thought it better to just not bother rather than spend time begrudgingly.
However, I broke it down into 10 smaller jobs. These jobs all took about 10 minutes each, maximum, and the job I thought would take all day, took less than 2 hours.
Overwhelm is often the enemy of achievement; we think we have too much to do but we are looking at the sum of the task rather than its components.
Set yourself weekly goals, with realistic timings and then do them. Write them in your planner, make them part of your daily routine.
Feeling accomplished for having completed a task is a free ‘high’ we can all give ourselves.
Reflection and redirection
At the end of every week, month or quarter you should carry out a life audit. I do month end reviews, as well as a quick ‘Polly’ stock take each Sunday evening when I am going over my weeks spending.
While it is important to know where you money and time is going, it is also important to keep abreast of how you have been feeling, what has been working for you and what hasn’t.
I started my planner this year with a habit tracker, a quick tick box of health goals. This was supposedly there to encourage me to drink water and walk more. It has not been working, so when I plan my February layout for my Bullet Journal I will change it up.
People often keep doing things because it is the way it has always been done. This is not always a good use of your time and energy. Look at the areas of your life where you can make positive changes that will serve you better and try them out.
And if they don’t work?
Try something else until you find what works for you…
Over to you
Do you have any go-to tips for helping to protect your time and space when you get too busy? What are your ‘must dos’ that make your life easier? Let us know in the comments.
What is your take on the philosophy that sometimes, self-care, is not caring?
