Keys to Successful Living and Stress Management – Part 5

Is Saying No Difficult For You? Ask These 7 Questions Before You Make A Commitment to Any Activity or Project

Do you find it difficult saying no to projects and activities that won’t fit your time, schedule or that will compromise your mental health?

There are only so many hours in a day and taking on more projects, though in themselves may not be all that bad, may only drain you instead of enhance your life.

Your time is valuable and if you want to get the best of each day you first need to master the art of choosing and then saying no to everything else.

How do you know when to say no so you don’t feel terrible or guilty after you’ve done it?

Here are 7 questions you can ask yourself before making a commitment.

Q.1 - As good as this may be, how important is it right now? Is this project or activity taking me closer to my life purpose?

Q.2 - Is this project or activity making a big difference to others? Is it helping someone in need?

Q.3 - What can I eliminate from my life that no longer serves me so I could use this time with this new project or activity?

Q.4 - Who can I delegate this activity/project to?

Q.5 - Who can I delegate some of my current activities to so I could take on this new project?

Q.6 - Would engaging in this activity dramatically change my schedule? If yes, do I want that? Am I ready for such a dramatic change right now?

Q.7 - What’s the return on my time-investment spiritually, mentally and physically?

You can add other questions but this will give you a start to determine the direction you want to go. You can still feel good about your decision instead of feeling resentful because you accepted this project because you felt like you were under pressure.

Keys to Successful Living and Stress Management – Part 4

7 Ways to Get Organized So Everything Has Its Place

Being organized brings clarity, lessens frustration and saves time. Spring is here and brings with it a great opportunity to clean out our clutter and get organized.

Do you find yourself spending countless hours looking for stuff but don't remember where you put it? In this article we'll look at 7 ways you could use to help you get organized so everything has its place. 

#1 - Overcome procrastination with decision

Instead of saying, "Someday I'll clean that up or I'll get my paperwork organized," decide on a day that you'll get it done and stick to your commitment.

#2 - Begin the change in you

Do you have a clear picture of your life or is it all muddled altogether? If you visualize the order of your life - your paperwork, your house etc. you'll have a target to reach and a direction to follow. It first begins within you and then flows out of you. 

#3 - Use the clean sweep or all or nothing approach

Clear your schedule. Take one day and get it all done. The faster you can get things organized the better off you'd be. 

#4 - Delegate

We all have busy schedules so why not delegate some of your organizing to either your children or someone dependable. This will alleviate a lot of stress and free up your time to focus on other more pressing tasks. 

#5 - Develop a system

When you have a system in place you give your brain less work to do. When you need something, with your system in place, you'll know exactly where to go to find it, therefore saving you time and frustration e.g. have your paperwork all filed in alphabetical order. 

#6 - Follow your system

What's the point of having a system if you're not going to follow it? If you take something from one place when you're done with it return it from where you took it. That way you won't have to try to remember.

#7 - Use the turtle approach - slow and steady

A little at a time consistently until it's all done. It is better to have a little done consistently than having nothing done at all or started with a big chunk and never return to it.