You Can Simplify Life as a Busy Working Mom
Simplifying life.
It sounds idyllic, but what does it really mean?
I struggle to define it, honestly, so it helps me to think about the opposite.
The opposite of a simplified life would be a complicated life. That, I can describe.
It's where:
Schedules are full and everyone's over-committed
Home is bursting at the seams with projects and stuff
There are no routines, systems, or rhythms to the daily or weekly schedule
Roles and responsibilities aren't clearly defined and boundaries are loose
You don't have a sense of purpose, a rhyme or a reason to the way you're living
I can remember a time when my evenings and weekends were constantly booked with work events, projects, travel, and activities.
When I had so much stuff, I was constantly losing important papers, clothes that I swore I'd just worn, and toys that were SO IMPORTANT to my kids.
When I was floating from day to day, not really sure of what kind of life I wanted to create, or who I was in it.
The idea of simplifying life sounded AMAZING. But how could I actually achieve it?
4 AREAS TO SIMPLIFY
Looking at the big picture, there are 4 areas of your life that when thinking about how to simplify will give you the most impact:
Environment (aka stuff)
Schedule
Relationships (with others, with yourself)
Expectations
WHERE TO BEGIN
One of the first things I always have my clients start with is doing an audit of a typical day.
Take any day of the week and jot down everything that you did that day.
Next, dissect that time log looking for any part of the day that feels challenging. An activity that caused you anxiety, that created stress or overwhelm, or that led to tense interactions with those around you.
THAT's where you start.
When I last did this exercise, I came up with 3 parts of my days that were challenging and stressful:
Getting out the door in the morning
Wrapping up my workday
Cooking dinner while everyone was hangry
After I identified those areas, I asked myself - How could you make things easier? Where could you simplify?
Here were some of my ideas:
Getting Out the Door
Pare down everyone's wardrobes so choosing what to wear is easier (including the kids)
Stick to a breakfast menu so there's never a question of what to eat
Pack lunches the night before
Make sure all coats, shoes, keys, etc. have a place to live so you can find them on your way out the door
Bring toys into the bathroom so the kids can be near you while you get ready too!
Wrapping up the Work Day
Reduce your daily to-do list so your expectations are realistic and you're not rushing to do more in the little time you have left
Set an alarm for 30 minutes before the end of the day and don't start anything new after that
Close all those extra browser tabs and just have one project open at a time
Before you leave, make a list of the things you want to do tomorrow so you won't forget
Ask yourself what it would be like to be early for school/daycare pickup.
Dinner
Revisit your expectations for dinner and decide if they're realistic
Experiment with meal delivery, meal prepping on weekends, frozen dinners, etc. to find what works
Try a small snack on the ride home to help curb hangry behavior while you're cooking
Involve the kids where you can
Set the scene with music, candles, or anything else that feels fun or calming
THE HOW
Once you’ve identified the problem areas of your day and brainstormed some potential solutions, you get to experiment.
You can:
Create a routine that automates the thing or makes it go more smoothly.
Eliminate it entirely - whether that’s “stuff” or an activity.
Change how you think about it.
It can really be that simple (no pun intended). Once you feel how good it is to have simplified a problem area of your day, you’ll be inspired to simplify more. Maybe it’s purging excess “stuff”, maybe it’s scaling back on commitments, or maybe it’s letting go of expectations around a particular event. The options are endless, and the process is never-ending. But that’s what makes it so exciting.
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to do a time audit and pick ONE area to simplify. Brainstorm ideas and then decide how you’re going to do that (automate, eliminate, or change how you think about it). Commit to it for two weeks to start and then evaluate - is this working and do you want to continue?
Want to radically simplify your life? I have openings for a 90-minute Planning Intensive where we could simplify up to 3 parts of your week or 1:1 coaching where we could tackle it all. Once you experience days that feel easy, you'll never go back. Book your consult call so we can outline how to get you there.
Here's to simplifying!