Tricks for SuccessIf you are buying into the benefits of decluttering, check out my blog posts on this topic over at militarynews.com/blog and search for Krista Wells. I offer a lot of tips in this month’s blog series that you might enjoy and I would love if you say hello or just leave a little comment to let me know you visited me there, thanks so much!!
This is just one of the many tricks that I’ve put together to make my daily chores easier to do. Saving time is a big deal in my big family of six, so I’m always coming up with new “life hacks” to make my to do list a bit easier to get through.
For example, when I need to be at work right after my kids leave for school, I put together an easy breakfast, such as frozen sausages inside Pillsbury rolls, and serve them on paper plates with fruit bowl sides. My joy at the simplicity of a stress-free morning overrides the cost of the overpriced pre-cut fruit and saltier precooked meat.
I don’t serve prepackaged food every day, nor do I always use overpriced fruit or paper plates, but this “trick” for rushed mornings serves me best at times. It isn’t so much the “once in a while” that matters as much as my regular routine of serving a homemade, healthy breakfast eaten as a family.
Your “trick” might be getting a Rotisserie chicken and a bag of premade salad to serve on paper plates when your kids have sports games. I think that, by accepting that we need little tricks to get through the week, we can focus on the things that matter most. These tricks leave us with time to do the things that really matter, even on busy nights, like allowing our kids to eat at a reasonable hour and having time to read to them before bed.
Making Chores Enjoyable
Routines and daily habits, these regularized baby steps, can improve our health, our wealth, and our relationships. Perhaps your morning routine includes taking vitamins, pouring yourself a fresh bottle of water for the day, and packing a healthy lunch. All of these tasks are connected with the goal of being healthy, so they help set the stage for your day.
Similarly, you can make seemingly mindless chores help further other goals, such as your ambition to continuously learn something new. For example, you can turn laundry day into podcast day—it’s so easy to listen to podcasts or audiobooks while sorting, running, folding, and putting away the laundry, so why not use the opportunity to increase your positive mindset?
Or maybe you like to link laundry to leisure and decide to watch a television show while you get the chore done. Sometimes, I plan to call a loved one while I’m folding laundry and I simply put the phone on speaker—or use headphones or a bluetooth. Decide ahead of time how you’ll use this leisure time so that you don’t feel like you’re getting off track, but allow yourself to have a little fun!
Find What Works for You
Military life has an undercurrent of stress, so finding little ways to lift daily stress and make routines easier can make all the difference. I told my girlfriend that I loved taco Tuesday in our home because it was one less thing to think about—meal planning can be a lot to deal with sometimes!
Start by noticing what routines work well for you and your family and consider permanently embracing them for the sake of your sanity. If you get bored, just change from chicken to fish to tofu tacos, but enjoy the fact that it’s one night in the week where you don’t have to think about what to cook!