This month, we’re shining a light on the topic of ‘Organizing Your Life’. This subject is important to me because I believe that when your time and priorities are in proper order, it opens the door for a more peaceful, productive life. Additionally, our stress levels have such an effect on both your inner health and outer health.
We all lead busy lives, don’t we? We are trying to juggle many different responsibilities and roles-it’s easy to forgot to take care of ourselves while we’re taking care of everyone else. We all need down time, ‘me’ time-time to breathe, time to think without any distractions. This is why I often give this prescription to my patients:
1 Hour of ‘Me’ Time Per Day. I know for some of us, this is hard to imagine. But it’s essential for both your physical and mental health. YOU are important-please don’t forgot! Your ‘me time’ can be used for anything that you find refreshing and rejuvenating, but one thing I recommend is to use this time to get yourself and your life organized. Following are some tips to help simplify and bring peace to your life.
Getting More Organized
–Learn to say ‘No’. Women so often have a ‘need to please’-we don’t want to ruffle any feathers, make anyone upset with us and most of all we love to be loved. So, many of us get stuck saying ‘Yes’ to everything-every invitation given, every favor asked for, every demand on our time. But to be able to truly focus on what is important to us, sometimes it’s necessary to say ‘no’. Politely and graciously, of course.
–Write it down! Make lists of what is important to you to focus on, to accomplish and to complete. Keep track of your progress. Make goals!
–Clean out your schedule. What is really important to you? Are you spending the majority of your time doing those things or are there things in your life that need to be ‘cut away’ to focus on the essentials.
-Delegate and don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are things we need to take care of ourselves and then there are things that can be done by others. Do you really need to clean your children’s rooms or are they old enough to do that themselves? Do you really need to spend half your Saturday doing tedious yard work, or would it be worth it to you to pay someone to do it to allow you more time with your family? Do you need to go to every single social event, or is it sometimes more important to have a night alone with the one you love?
-Reward your success! Getting organized can be easy, but sometimes stayingorganized can be a little more challenging. To keep motivated, reward yourself every now and then. Do something for yourself that brings you joy and recognize your own hard work.
Remember this Equation: Balance + Order=Peace
