How to make a difference to your life on a budget and with minimum effort!

Do you find that you keep doing the same things over and over again, getting the same results? What if there were a few simple steps that you could take to make a difference to the way your life flows?  It could be that taking an hour or two out of your life today could help you save lots of time and money in the future! Here’s how! 

Firstly we need to think about what will make the biggest difference

Take a few minutes and decide what one thing you could change that would make the biggest difference in your life.  What one thing annoys you the most? Let’s call this the superficial problem. This is the problem that’s presenting itself to you in its rawest form.

It could be that you’re always late for work because you can’t find matching socks! Or it could be that you’re tired all the time because you’re not getting enough sleep. Or maybe you have clutter that you no longer need but you’re not sure what to do with? Maybe you don’t have time to sort out the laundry as you’re busy at work and too tired once you get home? Or it could be that you’re feeling burnt out due to never having a minute to yourself. Or you’re tired and stressed after work so relying heavily on takeaways and fast food as you’d don’t have energy to cook? Maybe you’re working from home from the dining table and your back is hurting after staring at a computer screen for 8 hours flat sitting on a hard dining chair? 

Now we need to think of the bigger issue

We’ve looked at the superficial problem, the ‘what!’  Now we need to think about why it’s a problem? What can we do to solve it? 

Going back to the unmatched socks. Maybe the reason there are no socks to be seen is because there’s no specific place of them to live? Or creating a system of dealing with socks like having a basket for them to go in may sort the problem out. It could be that you need to buy 7 pairs of plain black socks for each family member so that everyone has a weeks worth of socks!

If you can’t sleep, think about what wakes you up on a night? Do you need to use the loo? If so consider having fewer drinks during the evening and cut back on caffeine and salty snacks. Or maybe you wake up feeling cold, hungry or too hot? These things need to be addressed in order for you to get a good nights sleep. Maybe someone is snoring or a light has been left on, causing you to wake in the night?

Maybe your head is spinning with thoughts, ideas and reruns of your day? If this is the case writing everything down in your diary or journal is a great way of offloading these things, allowing your brain to be able to switch off and rest.

Think of solutions to the problem

For this bit you may need to buy something, or speak to someone. You may need to ask for advice or book an appointment to see someone. There are often lots of different ways to solve the problem that you’ve highlighted. I invite you to be playful and creative finding a solution. Solutions can be fun!

If you find your mornings are fraught with finding things for the day ahead, try laying everything out the night before. Having a hook behind your door for your outfit can be helpful. Or create space in your hallway for your work bag and shoes. Create a space to keep your car keys and glasses if applicable so you’re not having to spend time looking for them! 

If necessary buy more storage so you have a home for everything. Also declutter if necessary so you can find things more easily!

Let go of anything you no longer need. Find the telephone number of local charities that collect big items or list things on your local online marketplace.

 If you’ve not got any energy towards the end of a busy day pop dinner into the slow cooker before you go out then you’ll come home to a hot meal with no extra effort needed on your part!

If you’re struggling with your at home office and your dining room really isn’t cutting the mustard, maybe investing in a desk chair or adjusting the height of your screen would help?

Evaluate the situation!

Once you’ve found a solution to the problem, it’s time to evaluate to see how well it’s working and if it’s managed to make a difference to your life! 

Has the solution you’ve put in place completely resolved the issue you were facing or do you need to do something else? If so what? It could be you need some labels so you can clearly see what is in your storage baskets or something else. 

Once you’re happy with the solution to the problem you can think about what other things are causing problems for you right now and start the process again!

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