Back to Simplicity

The subject of this blog is the journey to a more simple and authentic life yet since starting it my life has become more complicated. I need to refocus my energy. All isn't lost though, over the holidays I made a list of the things that I wanted to accomplish this year and assigned a time-line to those events. I posted that list in prominent places around the house and in my car so that I'd be reminded daily of my goals for the year.

I realize now that I haven't necessarily lost focus on simplicity because organizing is a big part of it. You have to know what you want before you can ever get there and the vast majority of my goals for this year contribute to simplifying my life (paying off bills, loosing weight, and finishing half done projects). Most of the things on my list have been causing me stress because I want and need to get them done but I haven't managed my time and life well enough to make it happen. I spend more time thinking about what needs to get done, making excuses for why I haven't done it and worrying about the consequences of not getting tasks done. Getting control of our lives and how we spend our time is a big part of simplifying. To help me get organized and stay motivated, I'm starting a new post where I'll list what I've done and what I'll do the each week to simplify my life.

What have I done this week to contribute to my simple dreams?

1. I made a chore chart for the kids to help me and learn how to do domestic tasks. (Again, and this time I'm sticking to it!)

2. I made a budget and vowed to document all of my spending so that I can get better control of my finances. This is extremely important to my future because my income will be cut in half in three years and I need to have all of my debt paid off and extra funds built up.

3. I paid off two bills.

4. I took my lunch to work all week to save money, eat healthier and stop being wasteful.

5. I vowed to become more productive and reduce time wasters like watching TV and worrying. I hardly watched TV at all this past week.


What will I do next week to simplify my life?

1. Get up earlier so that I can write in the morning before work.

2. Stick to my exercise plan so I will not feel bad about blowing it off when I know it's really important to me.

3. Do the office work I brought home this weekend to relieve the pressure that's causing me to loose sleep.

4. Finish transferring the GI bill to my daughter and call her college about it. (How is this part of my simplifying process? It's something I need to do that causes me stress when I forget to do it. If I did it the first time I'd planed to, it'd be a completed task that I no longer need to give my thoughts and energy to, thereby simplifying my life. That's why being organized is a big part of simplifying)

5. File my tax return. (Again having things on my to-do list hanging out there causes unnecessary stress.)

So, those are the big plans for the upcoming week. Wish me luck!