The one thing that I have become totally committed to in the past year is simplifying my life. I found that I was feeling like there were not enough hours in the day to get all the things that I needed to get done done. So what was the solution?
For me it was simplifcation, on all levels of my life.
1) My House~ the first thing I started doing was going through everything in my house and asking myself is this useful and functional or does it provide some type of asthetic value and beauty for me? If the answer was no to both of those questions it went into the donation box. I had to do it quick before i changed my mind. I started with my closet with clothes, went to handbags, scarves and jewerly, then books, magazines, bedding, and kitchenware. Finally I have gotten around to getting rid of my microwave after reading all the articles on how hazard it is for your food and health. go to : http://www.twitter.com/wellnessdenver to see my tweet that did that linked to the article.
2) My social activities~ I know you are thinking how do you simplify your social activities. Very simply, you stop talking to people that drain your energy and constantly demand your attention and you spend more quality time with those that feed you and make you feel good. If you like to entertain like me, I stopped being such a perfectionist when I entertained and allowed my friends to help out. Such as community dinners potlucks, and to accept clean up help at the end of the evening, to give myself permission not to have a perfectly clean house. I also make sure that with each social activity I do, I plan down time after so I can recoup. I have also learned not to overbook myself and over commit to too many social activities.
3) My technologies~ The advent of the cell phone, voicemail, laptop and internet were all put here to make our lives easier. But they also need to be managed. Especially with new social networking sites such as facebook, twitter, my space etc. I try to limit the times I check e-mail, voicemail, and participate in social networking to 2-3 times per day for 30 minutes at a time. I have 2 e-mail addresses, one for business and friends (that I check 2-3 times per day) and another for all of those e-mail newsletters, promos and non time sensitive items (so I check and read these at my leisure or not a all if I choose).
These are only the beginning. Simplifying and living a simple life is something that requires daily commitment and consciousness. I just try to notice when I am feeling off track and take some time to reflect on how and what I have been spending my time on and if it is valuable to me and adjusting from there.
Here is to you living a simple and abundant life.
In Health,
Sharon
