In case you missed it, we officially entered spring a few weeks ago. It can be easy to miss the transition depending on where you live. It’s still fairly cold outside in many parts of the country. So what can we do to tide ourselves over until it actually feels like spring? Spring clean of course! Early spring is the perfect time to summon your inner Marie Kondo, decide what things in your home bring you joy, and toss out the rest. Once completed, we usually feel lighter, fresher, and re-energized. We are ready to welcome the new.
How great would it be to feel re-energized and ready to welcome new challenges in all parts of our lives? Amazing, right?! Let’s brainstorm ways we can apply spring cleaning to other areas in our lives.
Tech
If you have a problem these days, there is bound to be a tech tool that can solve it (or at least reduce the friction). For this reason, we have what feels like a million tech tools to help us navigate our lives. At some point, the number of tools we have reaches a tipping point where they no longer produce a net gain and instead feel burdensome or wasteful. This is when it’s time to part ways with a few of them. Is now that time for you?
Your Daily Routine
I don’t know about you, but somehow my daily routine seems to get a little longer each month. Eventually, it feels overwhelming and unsustainable. What happens is I learn about a new product, service, or practice, and test it out by adding it to my daily routine. Sound familiar? This oftentimes results in a short-term gain, which is great. The problem comes when I don’t practice the one-in-one-out rule that I use for my closet and eventually my daily routine is too much. A best practice would be to re-examine my daily routine on a regular basis and pare it down when needed. Does your daily routine feel exhausting? If yes, it’s time for some pruning!
Extra-Curricular Activities
It’s SO EASY to overload yourself in this department. You want to get involved and be helpful within the profession and your community, and the need is endless. It’s also really hard to say no, especially to someone you like and respect. Here’s the thing though. You need to put your oxygen mask on first and maintain a sustainable practice before you can help anyone else. Failure to do so will result in burnout or possibly something worse. Make a list of every activity you are doing outside of work and then prioritize them based on how closely they align with your goals. If you feel like you’re spread too thin, start from the bottom and eliminate activities until that feeling subsides.
