RazzWorks

Say No When you Mean No

You don’t need to agree to everything you are asked to do. And guess what. You don’t need to explain yourself! You are free to say “No, I’m sorry, I can’t.” without an explanation why.

We are often so eager to please everyone around us that we over-extend ourselves. This leads to burnout and doing things begrudgingly. That’s no way to volunteer yourself and your time.

If you try to do everything that’s left over for you and/or your family and friends? If you find you’re involved in too many activities and groups it’s time to assess what’s really important to you and what matches your values and beliefs. Bow out of the rest with sincere apologies and don’t take any guilt with you when you leave them.

Now you have the time to joyfully volunteer for the things that mean the most to you and you’ll have more time for spending with those you care about including yourself.

Turn off your Phone

It’s a common scene. You walk into a restaurant to have dinner with someone special and almost every person at every table has their phone out and held up to their face. They are texting, surfing the web, watching videos, etc., and not paying any attention to the people they are with.

Put the phone away, shut it off or put it on do not disturb. Focus on the person or people you are with and encourage them to do the same. Have a ‘technology-free’ dinner, visit, or movie night. Enjoy the company and you may be surprised how much fun you have.

Other people aren’t the only reason to turn off your phone either. When was the last time you went for a walk without your phone? Or ate dinner, watched a movie, or any other activity by yourself. Look at the world around you and take it in. There are a lot of beautiful and interesting things around that just aren’t the same through the screen of a phone, tablet, or computer. Learn to enjoy spending time alone doing things you enjoy that aren’t technology related.

Walk more

Walking is such a peaceful pursuit. It’s good for your physical and mental health and it’s easy to do. When you are going a reasonably short distance don’t take the car. Walk to the store, to a friend’s house, or the park. Walk to clear your mind. Look around at the scenery and enjoy the sunshine. You can walk alone or with others, it doesn’t matter, just walk.

Live Closer to Where you Want to be

Do you find yourself driving every weekend to the country to enjoy walking trails or horseback riding? Or maybe you live in the country and drive to the city to go to restaurants, the ballet, or art galleries.

Wouldn’t it make more sense to live closer to the things and/or people you enjoy the most? Years ago I was working and living in a city about an hour away from my children and grandchildren. Every weekend I drove out to see them but with so much driving to do I only got to visit for a couple of hours and always wished I could stay longer.

But I fixed it. I moved to the city where my family lived. Yes, I had to commute to work an hour each way but I found a coworker nearby to carpool with, and losing a couple of hours each workday didn’t bother me nearly as much as losing out on time with my family.

Then I could pop over for a coffee with one person in the morning and go home for lunch. After lunch, I could spend time with my grandchildren or even have them over to my house. We had sleepovers, baked cookies, flew kites, etc. I was much happier with the new location.

Sever Toxic Relationships

This one might be a little tougher to do but will be well worth it in the end. Toxic people destroy our happiness, make us miserable and cranky, and cause us stress. If there is someone in your life that makes you feel bad every time you’re around them then don’t be around them. It might take some time to make the separation complete but try to limit your exposure to them as much as you possibly can.

You’ll be happier and enjoy the friends that support you a lot more when you weed out the toxic ones.

Declutter

Whether it’s your home, office, car, or workshop clutter is an energy zapper. Clutter makes it difficult to get things done and makes everything take longer. Take the time now to clear the clutter out of your life. You can work on it slowly, one closet at a time, but work on it every day.

Once the clutter is cleared out the job isn’t finished either. You will always need to pay attention to your space and make sure you don’t fill it up again. A simple ‘one in, one out’ policy can help keep your area clear. For every item you bring into an area you have to get rid of one. It’s simple and very doable.

Consume Less

I don’t mean food here but if you feel you are over-eating that’s a good idea too. What I mean is more about saving resources. Try to use fewer electric appliances or use them for shorter durations. Buy products with less packaging, especially plastics.

Use what you have until it wears out instead of replacing it just to get the next new thing. When your clothes aren’t fit to wear anymore reuse them as cleaning rags. And buy good quality so it doesn’t wear out so fast.

Recycle as much as you can and reuse as many things as you can. Instead of going out and buying a spray bottle for your homemade cleaner ask someone who buys cleaners to give you their empty spray bottles. Donate things you no longer want that are still in good condition rather than sending them to a landfill. You get the idea.

Let go of the Past

This is another one that can be difficult to manage. The past is in the past so nothing you do can change what happened then. Put your focus on the present and plan for the future. Hanging onto the past only causes stress and ruins today. For what?

Wake up each day thinking only of this day and how you will make it amazing. Make plans, work on your goals and be grateful for each new day you are given.

Say no to Perfectionism

There is no such thing as perfect in my opinion. We can do things very well, even excellent, but I don’t believe we can truly reach perfection. It is something many of us attempt and strive for but we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Learn to be happy with a job well done and stop at that. Yes, we should always strive to do our best but perfection is a lofty goal and one I’m not concerned with myself. Save your time for things that really matter. A lot of time is wasted doing and re-doing a thing trying to make it better, do it better, or be better at it. Go ahead and strive for even 1% better than the last time but let go of perfectionism, it will only stress you out.

Minimize your Wardrobe

There is lots of information available on capsule wardrobes. If that’s what you’re going for that’s great but you don’t need to do it to the extreme. Even paring down your clothes and donating some to charity would be a good start.

I’ve always liked the suggestion I read once to hang all your clothes with the hangers facing the same direction. When you wear them, then put them back, turn the hanger the other way. At the end of 6 months or a year, whichever you choose, take all the clothes that didn’t get turned around and donate them. A very simple way to figure out what you actually wear and declutter your closet.