Instead of feeling resentful for saying yes when you really wanted to say no, try these phrases:

1. Someone in my time class uses the phrase, “That doesn’t work for me.”

2. I am feeling overwhelmed and can’t put anything else on my plate.

3. I have a policy to never ….

4. I really can’t…. right now, but I can….

5. I’m sorry, I have another commitment.

6. Thanks for thinking of me, but I am not able to.

7. I appreciate the request, but I am not taking on anything else right now.

8. I am honored you thought of me, but I don’t have the time to do a proper job.

9. My heart wouldn’t be in it.

10. Thanks for the invitation, but an early night is a better option for me.

What are your favorite ways to say no?

Learn other strategies in my Change Your Relationship to Time Class

Welcome to this week’s issue of Weekly Simplicity Tips.

The 100 Day Challenge started Sept. 23 but it’s still open and my finance class starts Oct. 7

Time for Art Prize in Grand Rapids. Brea and I went Thursday. Here are a few of the entries:

Pictures by Brea Dargis

1. Put snacks in one basket for easy access for the youngsters.
2. Plan for a way to get at least 3 walks or other types of movement this week.
3. What needs to be planned for this week?
4. Are you saying yes out of joy and service or obligation and wanting people to like you?
5. Practice following through for a day.
6. Turn off the tech for an hour and get outside.
7. Quit trying to force a particular outcome in your situation.

Get into financial integrity

Starts Oct. 7

This class will help you:

• get your finances in order
• start saving
• create a plan to get out of debt
• consolidate, automate and simplify your system
• create a simple spending plan

Each class will bring you closer to financial integrity. And you’ll find you are not alone.

Let me help you simplify your money systems: https://www.mysimplerlife.com/simplify-your-money-systems-class

Welcome to this week’s issue of Weekly Simplicity Tips.

Wanting to get your financial systems in order? The next class starts Oct 7.

And the 100 Day Challenge starts Sept. 23

Here are some pictures of a recent walk:

 I was much shorter than the foliage.

Milkweed floating

Pictures by Brea Dargis

1. What do you need to let go of that is keeping your life stagnant?
2. Release some old information – magazine articles, project papers you no longer need, A papers from elementary school.
3. Do an action without rushing today.
4. If something in your life is feeling icky and out of integrity, what can you do about it?
5. Plan a seasonal delight for this upcoming season.
6. Get rid of 10 things.
7. Before you buy an item, think of how much work time is needed to pay for the it.

Get into financial integrity

Starts Oct. 7

This class will help you:

• get your finances in order
• start saving
• create a plan to get out of debt
• consolidate, automate and simplify your system
• create a simple spending plan

Each class will bring you closer to financial integrity. And you’ll find you are not alone.

Let me help you simplify your money systems: https://www.mysimplerlife.com/simplify-your-money-systems-class

I am 4 ft 11 (almost). Being this short has its challenges. From having to ask for help at stores so I can get something off the top shelf to trying to reach the bottom of my washing machine for that lone sock without falling in. Nothing is made for me. Not cars, amusement park rides, weight rooms.

I don’t get to go to the thrift shop for inexpensive clothes. I have to go to the petite section of the few stores in my area inhabited by tall, blond, Dutch people. I have to travel long distances to get certain size 5 shoes.

I hate when I drop something between the couch and the end table because I can rarely reach down far enough to get something.

I can’t help with our tent or help carry large things – my arms are too short. And they never see me at the deli counter.

Seeing at concerts and events is almost impossible. As soon as people stand I can’t see a thing. And sitting is rarely comfortable because my feet don’t reach the ground most of the time.

I have always been in the front row for pictures or singing in choir.

The lovely nicknames like Shrimp, Stump, Midget Girl got tiresome. And the jokes I’ve heard a million times.

So I’ve had to learn to cope.

Even as a kid, I knew that everyone is teased about something. Since I couldn’t grow taller, I’ve accepted it. I’ve even learned to look at the benefits. My friend grew up tall in middle school and hated it. She said she always wanted to be petite.

I’ve learned to ask for help for things like putting bags in the overhead on airplanes. I’ve become more assertive so I am seen and heard.

I have a stool by my bed and a stool in the kitchen.

I can squeeze further up in concerts.

I always check out vehicles before I buy to make sure I can see out the back window so I back up.

I enjoy having a smaller wardrobe and shoe collection because of shopping with a much smaller selection.

Being short is just one challenge. People have to deal with health issues, being too tall, things like dyslexia and ADHD, relationship issues, feeling too old, addictions, overspending. Everyone on earth has challenges.

You can complain about them (and sure venting in a journal is great. Telling your friends and family over and over probably will be annoying them.) And you can come up with workarounds, solutions and mindsets.

Think of a current challenge for you. What are 15 things you can do to work through this challenge?

A couple weeks ago I did a post on How to Catch Up. But, I don’t want you trying to catch up on everything in your life. Some things you can let go of catching up with if you get in a busy time:

• Newsletters
• TV shows you only kind of like
• News programs
• Blog reading
• Facebook
• Magazines
• Ideas you thought you might do one day
• Recipes you will never get to

All of these are about information. We all get plenty of information coming at us every day. We can’t digest it all. So often we need to trim this information sources at the beginning. Here are a few articles on information for you:

Information Reduction Plan

Simplifying Information

This infographic I found very interesting. The 9.5 hours a day living for stuff is more than I would expect. Something to think about.

Graphic from Masters in Human Resources

I noticed a trend. Work is now supposed to be your fulfillment. You are supposed to work your bliss. If you aren’t happy at work, you are doing something wrong. This new expectation adds to the pressure of perfect body, perfect house, perfect relationships, etc. Now even your job has to be perfect.

Like the other things, no job is perfect either.

My Grandma says if it were fun, they wouldn’t call it work and pay you for it.

This isn’t to say you shouldn’t try to find a job that makes you happier or create your own work. I did after all.

But, don’t expect work to completely fulfill you. Even in jobs you like, you will get stressed and have to do things you don’t like to do. (Please not another financial month end.)

If you are in a stinky job at the moment, what if you thought of work more in terms of character development and learning? Every job can teach you something about yourself, the world and teach you skills.

I was very shy when I started working as a fast food cashier in high school. Four years later I could talk to people.

You can also think of your job as being in service. You are serving someone with each job or no one would give you money for doing it. That’s another viewpoint to take.

If you aren’t in an optimal job right now, it’s o.k. You don’t have to feel badly or like this is another area you aren’t living up to expectations. Improve the job you are in with your work ethic, your attitude and making your space your own. Keep your eyes out for opportunities to do more of what you love to do.

In the meantime, find your fulfillment elsewhere – in your family and friends, in volunteering, in your spiritual life,  in a hobby. Work doesn’t have to be your fulfillment for you to have a good life.

Welcome to this week’s issue of Weekly Simplicity Tips.

This week was unusually super busy. How did I handle it? Join in the Change Your Relationship to Time class. Starts Monday, Set. 9.

I have the best readers, quite a few of this week’s tips came from you.

And here are more pictures of our Labor Day Weekend trip.

Pictures by Brea Dargis

1. Reader Mary says you can also sell old high school year books for cash. (Last week I said to sell old textbooks)
2. Another reader says we can opt out of credit card offers here.
3. And other junk mail from here.
4. Make books at Snapfish instead of scrapbooking if you don’t have time for it.
5. How are you speaking to those you love?
6. Write on your calendar when you need to refill your prescription before it runs out.
7. Sandra says "I have a board I created the width of each spool apart. My nails are longer and my bobbin fits on top the spool" But, it’s similar to this Pinterest Picture.

   

New Time Class- Limited Room – September 9, 2013

Attention: Hurried, overwhelmed individuals with too much too do and not enough time to do it

5 More Reasons You’re Going to Want This Class

6. Find out how to plan instead of always putting out fires. Yet, let go of over-planning.

7. You will get clear on what is important to you. You’ll get in touch with your soul and see what is best for you and your family.

8. You will make friends that "get you." I always love how supportive the classes are with one another. As someone recently said, "Now I know I am not alone."

9. You will learn to soothe yourself with self-compassion.

10. You will play with the fear and ego that keeps you in panic mode.

http://www.encouragingcoach.com/programs-timecourse.html

We were away last weekend and busy all week. So today I had a bigger pile of papers than usual. I did my TV pile method.

I turned on No Way Out on the TV. I like the movie but I’ve seen it quite a few times and don’t need to have my full attention on it.

I sat on the living room floor with my pile in front of me. One by one I picked up a piece of paper and decided what pile it went in. These were the piles I needed this week

• trash
• to file
• receipts
• magazines
• recycle
• coupons
• exercises
• recipes
• to do/data entry

Once everything was sorted, I used the commercials to put it all away.

Trash got thrown out. I filed the to files. Receipts I shredded (tax receipts went into the to file pile).

The magazines went into the magazine rack which I quick glanced through for any magazines to be recycled.

Coupons went in my coupon folder.

The exercises were ripped out of my fitness or yoga magazines and put in my in box. The exercise articles go in an expandable file folder sorted in categories: upper body, abs, lower body, full body, yoga, pilates, cardio, ketteball

The recipes go in my menu planner. When the slots get overfilled, I let go of recipes I probably won’t make.

Another commercial gave me time to put the local college’s arts schedule into Google calendar, my hair appointment from my schedule card, some to dos on my to do list (and I put the cooresponding paper into the take action folder)

Now my inbox is empty.

If you are feeling behind, or the house is a mess or your to do list is huge you may feel the need to catch up. But, how do you catch up in an all ready full life?

Stay current

The most important part of catching up is staying current. I’ve seen this a lot – someone neglects the daily and weekly stuff to concentrate on catching up. They never finish catching up and now they have things to catch up on that they neglected because of catching up. This is called running in circles.

If you stay current you know that eventually you will catch up.

In my time class, someone always says they don’t have time to keep current much less catch up. There are usually two reasons for this:

1) They haven’t actually kept current. It’s a lot faster to do mail daily or weekly than a huge pile every once in awhile. Doing dishes after each meal goes quicker than washing every few days once food is dried on. Clearing off the kitchen table before every dinner doesn’t take as long as trying to sort through a week’s worth of stuff. Keeping current also alleviates some of the procrastination of seeing a big mess.

2) They have too much on their plate. They said yes to too many things. Their kids are in too many things. Maybe at the moment they are parenting kids and taking care of elderly parents. Maybe they are taking care of little kids all day. Some periods of life are busier than others.

If you start doing just the current things first and discover you never have enough time, you will want to evaluate what you don’t need to do. What you can delegate. What needs to be put off until a different time in your life. You need to make the hard choices or your life will always feel out of control.

Add on to your current by a little bit

If you do the mail daily, add on 5 pieces of paper from an old pile. Do yesterday’s email, glance for urgent recent emails plus two older dates of email.  When you put clothes in the closet from laundry, evaluate a couple clothing pieces that can go to Goodwill. When you get a new magazine, recycle the old one before you even read it if you haven’t had time so you can start fresh. When you make your bed, declutter a couple things from the bedroom while you are there.

This is where people start getting uncomfortable. “I will never catch up that way. It’s not enough.” Then they start neglecting daily stuff to concentrate on the backlog. They never catch up.

If you are doing anything over the current – you will eventually catch up.

Make time to catch up faster

If you want to go faster, plan time. Turn off one TV show and gain 30-60 minutes. Get someone else to drive the kids or have them bike to practice for a month. Take a day off work to catch up at home. If you are catching up at work, come in early or stay late. Miss some meetings you attend regularly. Get someone to cover a volunteer duty for a couple weeks. Go on a facebook, magazine, gaming or news fast for a week or two. What can you let go of for a time so you can catch up faster?

Get help

A client of mine hired some people for a Saturday to get a bunch of things done at the house that have been on her list for a long time. It was so satisfying to get those checked of on one day. My grandma had a housekeeper when she was a working mom. Even a couple hours every couple weeks will save you time. Declutter with a friend who can keep you on track. Hire a teenager to do some yard work, filing or computer tasks. Hire a handyman to for a couple hours to fix all the broken things. Order online and have things delivered. Get in an accountability group to keep you motivated. If no one at home is helping you, make that a priority. What help do you need?

Catch up day

Have a regular monthly catch up day. This is a day you don’t have appointments. You don’t plan social events. You don’t go to meetings. At the beginning of the day, you write down what you want to catch up on. Start work then take a break. Work, take a break. Breaks will help you keep up the energy. Use a timer to keep you on track. It’s also helpful to check in with a friend. In some of my groups, they meet online at the top of the hour work for 30-45 minutes, then check in for “way to gos” and support.

Notice what you have done

It’s easy to beat yourself up about falling behind. When you are de-motivated, you tend to quit. Catching up seems to take too long, so you don’t try anymore. One way to counteract that is to notice when you have done something. Really notice the clean table and smile. When you get through a bunch of email, congratulate yourself. Look at your beautifully made bed for a few seconds before leaving the room. You will feel more successful which will make you want to keep it up.

Feeling behind? What is one thing you are going to do to catch up?