It’s around this time of year that many of us start to feel like we’ve stretched ourselves a bit too thin and as though the calendar is simply too full. Between shuttling the kids around to various activities, the demands of a career and squeezing in all the year-end hustle and bustle, finding a way to simplify sounds absolutely fabulous, doesn’t it? The funny part is that when you’re incredibly busy, even the thought of simplifying can be overwhelming! No matter what it is you have to tackle, here’s a look at 10 Zen things you can do to take small steps toward a more simple way of life.
- Understand your own limits. Coming to terms with yourself is the first Zen step you can really take for making your plans and your reality work together. When you know (and stick to) your own limits, things feel a lot less overwhelming. When you start to feel guilty about turning down a party or saying no, remind yourself that it’s OK.
- Practice saying no. This is a tough one! Especially when you don’t want to let anyone down, but practice makes perfect when it comes to this stuff. Simply say no to a few things this week – it will feel so good.
- Tackle that closet that’s been completely overwhelming you. Every house has one. A closet, drawer or cabinet where you just seem to stick and shove everything. Take it all out and donate or toss what you don’t need, find new homes for the things that don’t belong and put it all back organized and clean. You’ll thank yourself for this one.
- Make a list. Sounds so silly, you probably make lists all the time. This list should be the four or five most important aspects of your life that need simplifying. Whether it’s cleaning out your pantry or scaling back on the commitments – no task is too small or too large, but get it on paper.
- Think about everything you have going on in the next few weeks. What’s one commitment you can freely drop – and, feel good about? Letting one thing go is the start to learning how to say no and keep some time on the calendar for just hanging out at home.
- Spend an hour organizing your work life. Is your desk starting to overwhelm you with things piling up or perhaps your email inbox totally out of control? Sit down, focus and streamline your work zone to help bring a sense of calm and understanding to your daily life.
- Stop rushing. Sounds so simple, yet so hard – right? Think about stopping, slowing down and taking it all in – we only have one life to live after all. Why rush through it?
- Focus on doing one thing at a time and doing it well. We’ve become so accustomed to multitasking, it actually feels pretty good sometimes to focus on one task at a time and follow it through to completion.
- Turn off the cell phone. It’s pretty tough to part ways with your phone – it’s like a lifeline to the world. But sometimes it’s important to just be with yourself. Turn it off for an hour a night and just hang out and relax.
- Do something you really love. Love to bake cookies, head to yoga, read a book – whatever it is, take an hour a week to do something that makes you totally happy. And, enjoy every minute of it.
Thinking it’s about time to bring a little Zen to your life? What’s the first step you’ll take?
