Everyone knows that they live in their own little world at times. However, some of us feel at times like we are larger than life itself, like we are on top of the universe. When you live with a busy lifestyle, it can become difficult to keep organized what matters most. Your family, friends, work, and lifestyle can take a dive at any given moment, especially when your life already feels stacked upon itself with no time to do anything properly. Spring-cleaning and New Year’s resolutions are good ideas to begin with but the problem lies within the timeframe of once per year. Taking a few sporadic hours per month, or minutes on a daily basis, can provide you with a lot of breathing room to actually get to wherever you want to be.
Get these life repairs into your schedule, and soon. Make a real, conscientious effort to reinvigorate, organize, and adapt these key areas of everyone’s life:
Miscellaneous You
These are things you can do at random to clean up the many intricate parts of your life. The first month you could teach yourself something useful for your job. Organize your garage the next month. Consolidate any miscellaneous email accounts that provide electronic clutter in your life. Face a fear, such as the fear of freeway driving, which could save you time. Get an RSS feed or use www.feedly.com to consolidate what you view on the web. Basically, make your life easier everywhere via organization!
Family & Friends
Grab your phone and put your close family and friends birthdays in it. Update that dusty address book or online document. Rotate calling your parents and grandparents every few weeks to keep in touch and let them know you care (especially if you can never see them on standard vacations/events). If you have any quasi-friends who soak your time up like a sponge, slowly phase them out of your life with ease until they get the hint or make a serious life change. Delegate your time accordingly; you don’t always have to go out at night, as brief lunches and smoothie breaks are always enjoyable for a face-to-face.
Work
Use your sick days and holiday time to clean up your life, especially if you risk losing them for any reason. This is your company giving you both time and money back, so take them up on the offer and stop complaining about them! Practice perfect posture at work, while taking short breaks from whatever you do. Don’t waste your office time emailing every five minutes, as this distracts from overall work progress – instead check it every thirty minutes or so. Stressed people work poorly, but instead of a smoke break try lighter forms of meditation or put on some headphones and rock out for a few minutes.
Love Life
Get those tasks she wants you to complete out of the way, they are probably useful. If your girlfriend(s) seem to be too much of a distraction, limit your time spent with them but try and increase the frequency of the visits. Five minutes on the phone at night could save you three hours the next day, especially if you sound exhausted. Hire a professional maid service every now and again to give you both a break from the day to day home cleaning grind.
Home
Clean out your closet and get rid of anything that is outdated, including donating to organizations or handing down to younger family just starting out. Transfer your digital possessions to free online storage accounts and clear up some hard drive space. In fact, take a quick class on whatever computer and operating system you have, specifically geared towards maintenance and routine cleaning. Reorganize your kitchen, including: pantry, shelving, cabinets, refrigerator, and countertops – your kitchen should be as open and easy to access as possible.
Physical and Mental Health
Go for a monthly hike with a group of coworkers, family, or friends and try for a new place each time. If you drink alcohol regularly (even if not excessively) you should do a dietary detox every now and again. There are numerous out there with different goals and ingredients. Use your benefits and go see your doctor for a cholesterol test and a general physical. On that note, call your dentist and schedule an appointment with them too, as regular visits there can save you both time and money.
