Reduce Stress and Keep Your Sanity

Do you hate running late for work in the morning, late to a meeting, late to dinner with friends? Who doesn’t? Maybe you can’t find your keys, your outfit wasn’t clean or pressed, or it just took you a long time to get ready because all the tools you need got strewn about the house. There easy ways your lifestyle and habits at home might be driving you crazy and adding more stress to your life. What are some simple steps you can take to help keep your sanity? Here are some ideas. 

Stop Losing Your Keys — Hands down one of the most significant stressors before work in the morning is misplaced keys. It might seem like a simple solution, and it is, but by merely designating a specific area to leave your keys every time you come home you can significantly reduce your stress and save time. Your designated space could be a hanging key rack by the door, a bowl on the entry-way table or tray on the breakfast bar. Designate a spot and practice getting in the habit of placing your keys there every time you come home, and you’ll find you save a lot of time and headache when you head out somewhere. 

Keep Your Phone Charged — A dead or dying phone can also keep you always running late. You’re ready for work or to go to the movies when you see your phone is at 1% and you’ll need to wait ten minutes to leave so you can charge it. The first step is to make sure you have fully functioning chargers. The second is to designate the primary place to charge your phone but also to have additional locations to plug-in around the house. Maybe you always charge on your nightstand at night but need a place in the kitchen or living room to plug-in so you can easily connect your phone when you get home from work. If you only have one place, you might end up moving the cord around the home and forget where it is, or you’ll give up on charging because the cable is all the way upstairs.

Stay on Top of Laundry — Not having the right clothes throws another wrench in your day. Instead of designating one day each week to knock out all your laundry try doing a little each day or every other day, so you always have most of your clothing clean. Daily washing will make you less likely not to have the outfit you need or want, for that important meeting or date.

Keep your tools organized — Not your hobby tools, the tools you need to get ready to go out each day. Whether it’s in your bathroom, at a vanity or on top of your dresser try to make sure everything you need daily is in one place. Keep your comb and hair products, perfume or cologne, makeup and brushes and accessories where you can easily find and use them. Don’t take your makeup or hair products to a different room or get ready on the couch instead of at the mirror. Create the habit of getting prepared in the same place in your home each day, so you always know everything you need will be there when you need it. 

These are just a few simple steps to reduce some of the stressors in your daily life. Start with these basics to gain a bit more time and peace of mind. If you can manage your regular stressors, you’ll have more head-space to worry about the big stuff like that next promotion or your new home search.