Do you want to upgrade your life?

Are you not sure where to start, or worry that it’s going to take loads of time, or worse loads of money? Don’t worry! Here are 10 quick and easy ways to upgrade your life that don’t cost a lot of money or take up much of your time! 

Use (or lose!) your best stuff!

Do you have ‘stuff’ that you keep for best? If so dig it out and use it, or have the courage to ditch it completely!

Don’t spend your life using shoddy stuff if you’ve got good stuff stuffed in a cupboard somewhere! Ditto the lingerie set you’re keeping for best, and the clothes you put aside for a special occasion. Now I’m not saying you should do your Tesco shop in your tuxedo but equally having nice stuff that never sees light of day seems nothing short of a travesty!

Take your time (at least some of the time!)

It’s so easy to dash through life at a frenetic pace. How about you slow right down and notice the things that are going on around you?

Make a point of noticing little glimmers of hope. The little kindnesses you experience during your day. The compliments of strangers, the way the light shines through the bare branches of a tree, or the shadows you create as your walk along a footpath.

Take photos of things that catch your eye from funny signs to quirky drainpipes and beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

By taking your time you can often stumble across solutions to problems that you’ve been worrying about, or be able to set up systems that really work and that save you time in the long run!.

Allow yourself some ‘golden time’

Do you remember being allowed free time to play at primary school? Well now is the time to reinstate that into your life. This could be allowing yourself time to enjoy your hobbies, doing some art, cooking a new recipe, or exploring a new part of town. It could be meeting a friend for a coffee, lunch or glass of wine. Or exploring a new art gallery or getting on a train and exploring a new city altogether. 

Often we forget to put our own needs on the list of things we need to tend to. This isn’t a selfish game of putting yourself first the whole time, but a gentle reminder that you and your needs matter too.

Also if you allow yourself a bit of golden time you will likely be in a better place to deal with anything else that life throws at you. So instead of seeing having time to yourself as being selfish see it as if you’re doing your family a favour! 

Top Tip: Create yourself a ‘fun things’ list – of things you can do and places you can visit, so that when the mood strikes you’re not having to start thinking what you can do you can simply pick something off the list and go!

 

Try doing the fun things first. There’s always temptation to wait until everything else gets done, when often everything else never quite gets finished! So do the fun stuff first! 

Upgrade your morning routine

What can you do to make your morning routine more enjoyable? You could make a pot of tea or coffee, or add in a little treat. You could drink your morning tea on the patio on a nice day or eat breakfast outside in the morning sunshine.

Listen to a motivational podcast or some upbeat music whilst in the shower. Use a luxurious shower gel and wrap yourself into a fluffy towel. Slather yourself in a good quality body butter. Wear your best knickers (see above!) 

If you can, go for an early morning walk to get some fresh air in.

Say yes to more things

Do you sit there thinking ‘oh I really fancy that’ but then deny yourself whatever it is? Then please stop! Life is too short to deny yourself little treats. Life is not a spectator sport watching other people.

You deserve good things too. So go on treat yourself even if it’s just once a week or once every so often. 

Give yourself permission

As an adult you often don’t actually need to get permission form anyone else but yourself for the majority of stuff. You are the one writing the rules and who can give yourself permission to do things.

Need an early night? Permission granted. Need a massage? Book yourself in! Fancy a Chinese Takeaway? Get one! Often we loiter around waiting for someone else to give their nod of approval when what we actually need is simply to give ourselves permission, job done!

Give yourself the gift of reclaimed space!

I don’t know about you but everywhere I look at home is something that I don’t really need. On my bookshelves there are books that have moved house with me not once but twice and I still haven’t read them. 

There are dishes in my cupboard that I don’t use because they don’t have snap on lids, and shoes that hurt my feet.

If I got rid of everything that I don’t need I would have lots less visual clutter and also less stuff to dust, organise and fall over! 

Buy better stuff, but less of it! 

When I was younger I used to have a box of white wine in the fridge. Don’t judge me, it was about 30 years ago and I didn’t know any better! Nowadays I’ve realised that I’m better off having a smaller quantity of wine but upping the quality of it.

I’ve done the same thing with buying bread. I used to get the supermarket long life slice loaves but now I’ve swapped to freshly baked bread from a bakery but less often so it feels like more of a treat.

I’ve also upgraded my coffee from instant to fresh coffee and haven’t looked back. I’m probably spending a similar amount to before, but it feels way better.

Stop compromising the whole time!

If you live with other people who don’t share your tastes in food, activities or music don’t be afraid to have the things you enjoy from time to time.

I live in a household where no one else likes mushrooms and courgettes but I love both, so I’ve had to find ways of still eating them but without forcing them on the rest of the family. 

I’ve found ways of adapting what I make so I can have mushrooms and courgettes separately, for example.

I’ve also found ways of listening to the music I like, and watching the programmes I enjoy without it meaning others miss out on things they enjoy.

Get enough sleep.

Having enough sleep can make all the difference to how you function in your day to day life, and can also help improve your mood and ability to focus. We all need a different amount of sleep and if you find it hard to regularly get a full 8 hours you may be one of the people who simply don’t need that amount of sleep.

Having a good evening routine can help you drift off to sleep especially if you find it hard to unwind. Doing the same things every evening can give your body cues that it is now time to wind down to sleep. Having a set bedtime and getting up time can also help as your body is a creature of habit!  

You may find it helpful to dim the lights after dinner, to do calming activities during the evening and to ensure that upstairs is slightly cooler than downstairs as we sleep better in a slightly cooler environment.

Further Reading:

You may like to read my article on How to get a good night’s sleep https://www.sarahcooper.co.uk/how-to-get-a-good-nights-sleep/

https://www.sarahcooper.co.uk/12-little-things-that-changed-my-life/

If you struggle to sleep check out my articles on sleep 

Over to you!

What little ways have you found to upgrade your life? Please feel free to leave me a comment in the box below. If you have enjoyed this article please share it with your friends on social media.