Seven Tips for Simplifying Your Personal and Work Life

Because it is so easy to get caught up in the rush of everyday life - family, job, personal commitments - sometimes things get thrown out of whack and the next thing you know, your whole life feels out of balance. The difficulty then becomes reeling yourself back in and keeping things all around you under control without feeling overwhelmed and stressed.

If you've gotten to the point where life appears to have gone off course and you find yourself floundering in a sea of insanity, here are seven tips you can use to help simplify your personal and work life.

Tip 1: If the Earth Doesn't Explode Tonight, You Can Handle it Tomorrow

Sometimes people get caught up in the idea that everything has to be done right now. Just one more email to send, one last project to complete, one final item to purchase, and you'll be ready to call it a day.

When you find yourself caught up in the idea that you need to keep plugging away at whatever it is you are doing, ask yourself this one question: if I don't finish this right now, will the earth explode? If it won't, then you'll have time to do that last little thing tomorrow. And if it will, then who the heck cares if you do it anyway? It's all about keeping your perspective.

Tip 2: Learn to Say "No" or Learn to Let Go

If you want something done, give it to a busy person; that's why people keep coming to you and asking for your assistance. If you really want to simplify your life, you have two choices: you can either learn to tell people "no" or you will have to start letting go of other activities or commitments.

In fact, you might very well want to make a pledge - right now. Before you can say "yes" to anything new, you have to be willing to give up something you are currently doing. This way you won't continually get in over your head.

Tip 3: Stop Reliving the Past and Get on with Your Future

Whether you cling to emotional baggage or old items that should have been sold at your last garage sale, it's time to move on. In order to give yourself space, both figuratively and literally, you have to clear away clutter. Let go of old hurts or expectations and eliminate things that you no longer use. Recycle paper, reduce printing, stop junk mail and catalogs, and clean out old files. You'll be surprised at how refreshed you will feel.

Tip 4: Get Back to Taking Care of You

One of easiest ways to find yourself behind the eight ball is to not take care of your physical self, wind up sick, and then feel as if you don't have the time (or even right) to rest and get well because there's just "too much on your plate." Well, get over it!

Take time now to take care of yourself through proper nutrition, rest and exercise and you will have the stamina necessary to meet your commitments. Overdo it, take on too many commitments, and neglect your health and you'll be useless to everyone, including yourself.

Tip 5: Turn off Technology and Turn on to Life

This doesn't just mean your computer, surfing the Internet and sending emails, it means no phone calls, instant messages, pager, faxes or television. Instead, take a walk, talk to your children, read a good book or better yet, get to bed at a decent hour and get a full eight hours of sleep.

Tip 6: Get a Handle on Your Finances

One of the best ways to simplify your life is to reduce your debt. Carrying a lot of debt increases your stress and causes strain on you and your family. Focus on eliminating debt by paying off and/or not using credit cards, starting savings and retirement accounts, and looking for ways to have fun for free.

Tip 7: Stop Looking for Perfection

Stop beating yourself over the head with the idea that everything you do has to be done perfectly. Not all things need to rise to the same level. Yes, you want to do the best you can. But know when something is as good as it can be and release it. Otherwise, you'll end up drowning in a backlog of projects that never get off your desk because you need to look at them one last time.

Don't waste another day doing the things you don't need to. Start now to simplify, simplify, simplify.