It’s all about Balance! This is my motto.
I don’t always follow it, my life isn’t always balanced, I am normal, I am Human, but when I want to get back on track I know I need to get back into Balance.
If over the past few weeks I have inspired you to:
- Check your financial health
- Spring Clean
- De-Clutter
I am happy to have inspired you, but what happens after all this hard work? How do you keep on top of it all, and run a home, and take care of your family, and work and find time for your own health and fitness?
Routines, Strategies and Systems – Boring but true!
Create these for your daily, weekly, monthly and even quarterly lifestyle and you will find it easier to balance all your ‘have to’s’ and fit in your ‘want to’s’. When clients go through my 28-day Habit Makeover program we develop a morning and evening routine to suit their lifestyle which makes the new habits easier to achieve.
Where do you start?
Take a notepad (if you are anything like me you have plenty to choose from or will just be grateful for the excuse to go and buy a new one 🙂 ) and write down everything you have to do, everything you want to do, your goals, your dreams, get it all out of your head and onto the page.
Next:
Transfer the list of tasks into Weekly and Monthly ‘to-do’s’ ie:
- Washing/Drying
- Ironing
- Cleaning
- Bins/recycling
- Menu planning
- Shopping
- Gardening – or at least mow the lawn!
- Home paperwork such as bank/credit card statements, insurance etc
- Partner and children
- Friends and Family
- Business accounts (if applicable)
Then:
Put these into a calendar system. Whether you use a diary, bullet journal or digital systems such as Asana or your mobile phone. Set reminders until it becomes second nature to do your activities when they need to be done.
When I first started putting these systems and routines into my life I used a free checklist app. There are lots of different ones to choose from, but basically you add your tasks to the days of the week and check them off as you complete them. I would put simple daily tasks on the list too such as ‘Make the bed’, ‘unload the dishwasher’ etc, this gave me a sense of satisfaction as I saw the long list of everything I was accomplishing. Once everything is ticked off the app would celebrate with me, sometimes you just need someone (something!) to high five you!
If you have Spring Cleaned and De-cluttered and want to keep on top of this, schedule a weekly or monthly review so you can straighten anything out that has slipped, that way it won’t be a mammoth task again in 6 or 12 months time.
My Top 5 Tips
- Make the bed – “If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed” US Navy Seal William McRaven gave this speech about the importance of small tasks and starting your day with a completed task.
- Put a load of washing on. Get it ready the night before and pop it on while making your coffee.
- Empty the dishwasher. Get the machine ready for the day.
- Start your day the night before – Make a list of tasks to complete the following day, no more than 5 with a top 2 musts.
- Put everything back in its place before bed. Have a downstairs ‘pick-up’, straighten the lounge, don’t start the day faced with yesterday.
Whats left?
Once all of your must do’s are scheduled, plot in everything else.
What are your personal goals? Health goals? What would you like to achieve over the next 90 days?
- Lose weight
- Run 5K
- Eat more fresh fruit and veg
- Try some new exercise classes
- Learn something new
What do you need to do daily, weekly, monthly to achieve this goal?
- Menu plan and have healthy family meals shopped for and prepared
- Download the Couch to 5K app and schedule in your run time
- Plan your snacks to include fresh fruit and veg or smoothie
- Book a new class at the gym or local hall
- Find a course, online or college
I am not suggesting that any of this is easy. It is simple, but not easy otherwise we would all be super organised and supremely healthy beings but if you want change you need to make some changes. Sometimes you may just need a little help to get started or motivation to keep going or someone who understands what you are going through and trying to achieve!