Making life easier

Making life easier is a topic we can all relate to. I'll share some of my helpful tips, and I'd love to hear yours in my comments!

First, shower time is power time. I use my shower time every morning to get an internal dialogue going about my day. What will I do? When? Who do I need to call? What's for dinner? Do I have any motions to file?

Next, I tend to use my drive time as an opportunity to focus my thoughts on building my own personal strengths. Listening to foreign language CDs, audio lectures, and news programs helps to double my accomplishments (arriving where I need to be and learning) at one time.

Another tip to make life easier is that I've cultivated the ability to say no. I'm on countless committees, groups, clubs, and organizations. Add in 2 jobs and family, and my calendar is full. Knowing my limits allows me to spread myself as thin as possible without breaking.

Alternately, know when to say yes. I say yes to myself a lot. I work hard, so I allow myself to play hard. Want to have a glass of wine with dinner? I say yes. Want to spend an hour at the gym by myself, feeling good as I sweat it out? I say yes. Deprivation is only cool if you're aiming for sainthood. And clearly, I'm not.

Taking time to enjoy life is a major component of making life feel easier, even if it's not actually making it so. We all enjoy even the tough times more when we're taking time to enjoy what small pleasures we can find.

Try help others as much as possible. I know that sounds counter intuitive, I mean, we're talking about YOUR life here, but honestly it works. Doing something to help others makes your life so much easier because you can appreciate what you have. Even the worst of our days are better than many other people's.

Cut out the middle man. We spend way too much time trying to figure out ways to succeed when we could just be doing it. I've found myself asking from the outset of any problem, "Are you able to help me resolve this issue?" Suddenly, everyone wants to help. Being pleasant, but upfront, helps to either get people on board with wanting to help, or immediately route you to a problem solver. That alone has made life a lot easier!

Stop sweating the small stuff. I can't tell you the last time I dusted the pictures in my house. Or updated the pictures in those frames even! But you know what? I went to every soccer game/practice, watched every new Disney Channel Movie Premier, and have taught the baby all kinds of interesting new signs this year. Dust-schmust.

Tell the people in your life how much you appreciate them. I've found this to be especially true with my waitressing coworkers and my kids. Everyone wants to know they're valued, and when you tell them so, they'll often go above and beyond to merit that praise. A simple, "I'd be lost without you!" goes a long way in convincing someone to help you bus a table at work, or to help you find the baby's lost sippy cup.

Finally. delegate and trust. Once I realized that Mr. LJD is perfectly capable of household and family duties, life got a lot easier. It's not hard to let go of the reigns and give up some control, you just need to realize that sometimes he's gonna do it differently. But hey, it still gets done, right? Right.

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Oral-B blogging contest, making me eligible to get full-sized Oral-B Glide products and a $30 Target gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.