Overwhelmed? Let's Simplify!

I'm constantly amazed at how some people can take something that is basically a simple task and make it difficult.  Granted there are some things that you really need to do in a certain way, and changing that way could change the outcome of the whole project.  There are exceptions to every rule BUT....  99% of the time things can be simplified for the best. 

Sometimes you have to step back and think about how you want to go about it, but once you get it life suddenly gets much better.

Some ways to simplify your life....

• Plan your meals in advance, write them down on a calendar so there's no last minute dash to the land of frozen blobs called a freezer.  It really does help relieve the "Oh my goodness its 5pm and I've done nothing about dinner" panic that you get when you've been sitting doing genealogy all day.  
• Use your crockpot.  Its not rocket science (if you need recipes contact me, I've got several thousand crockpot recipes I can share), use your imagination, you'd be surprised how much you can research knowing that dinner is almost made with very little effort on your part. 
• Believe it or not, you do not have to be "connected" to the phone every waking, breathing moment of your life.  Put it on vibrate.  Trust me, the FB posts will wait.  You've got voice mail.  You don't have to take every call.  
• Turn off the TV.  Goodness,  ever hear garbage in garbage out?  When was the last time the tv did your dishes or washed your clothes.  Save your tv time for something you REALLY want to watch - like maybe Who Do You Think You Are or something like that.  Do you really care who's view they are talking about on The View?  Seriously?
• Taking time to get up out of your chair is good for you,  it also allows you to get things done.  Seriously.  Toss in a load of laundry. Set a timer.  Go upstairs and work.  Timer goes off. Move clothes to dryer. Set timer.  Go upstairs and research.  Timer goes off.  Fold Clothes & put away.  How is that hard?  Certainly manageable by anyone reading this blog I'm sure.
• I know this one isn't for everyone BUT,  I have to toss it here because it truly simplifies things for me.  I asked for and received from my son, a robot vacuum.  I know that people are skeptics but it works for me.  Lets face it, how many people vacuum under the bed, the couch and other hard to get to places every week?  My vacuum is programmed for every Monday morning and it works.  Maybe savings? Maybe a group gift from all your kids?  Either way it simplifies things for me.  
• Organize all your errands on ONE day a week. I do all my errands on Tuesday's.  Its also MY DAY.  I do no housework other than making our bed.  I do what makes me happy that one day a week.  If there are no errands to run I know I can sit here in my office and do this FOR ME.  Usually I run my errands, go to lunch with friends or family, and then work on my computer (I take my laptop with me) while I wait for my Tuesday night hang out with friends to begin. 

In the long run, we can all find ways to simplify our lives, to make things easier for us.  These are just a few things I've done to simplify my life.  Simplifying makes more time for me to do the things I have to do, but still allows me time to do the things I want to do, whether its genealogy, sewing, reading or working in my flowers. 

How do YOU simplify?