ZenChill Power Tools Blog

10 Effective Ways to Simplify Your Busy Life

2013-05-15T21:58:00.000-07:00

by Raymond David Salas

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Stressed? Burnt out? Is there's too much on your “plate” and not enough hours in the day to get it all done? Do you feel trapped in your daily "grind," with no apparent way out?

Well, you're not alone. According to the American Psychological Association, the majority of Americans are experiencing moderate to high stress daily. More importantly, 44 percent indicated that their stress levels have actually increased over the past five years.

The obvious problem here, of course, is that stress is a killer. Literally.

Along to the way to killing you, stress can also increase your levels of anger, fatigue, anxiety, and depression which leads to headaches, adrenal fatigue, digestive problems, change in sex drive, and heart attacks, to name a few.

Ironically, most of us know all of this already. That’s great! So, why can’t we stop it?

Although it may not be obvious, the key to managing stress lies in learning how to simplify. No, I’m not suggesting becoming a minimalist or something extreme. Rather, by making a few simple, yet powerful changes in our daily life, we can tame the “wild beast” of daily life and keep our stress levels balanced and in check. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Here are ten effective ways to simplify your busy life:

- Clear the clutter.

Face it. Most of us have too much damn stuff. And, in most cases, we have trouble letting go or getting rid of it once we have it. As a result, we have become clever “pack rats” who organize and find better ways to store and collect more stuff. Over time, this all piles up. Then, the burden is not just physical, but also mental and emotional, as we hold on to all of our stuff.

Here’s a different approach: try getting rid of everything you no longer need, use, or enjoy. If you haven’t picked it up in the last six months or longer, get rid of it.

Sure, it may have been needed or enjoyed in the past, but its time has come. Throw it out. Or better yet, donate it to Goodwill, Salvation Army, or another charity. You will feel better and your mind will feel clearer. No, really!

- Go for a walk.

That’s right. Start moving. Why? Because we sit too much - in our cars, at work, while on our computers. The truth is that too much sitting can kill you. A recent study found that spending 11 hours or more a day sitting increases your chances of dying over the next three years by 40 percent, REGARDLESS of how physically active you are.

No, you don’t need to join a gym, get a trainer, or run a marathon. Keep it simple. Just start walking. Results of a study released last year concluded that even 15 minutes of brisk walking or other moderate exercise a day can increase your life expectancy by three years and reduce your risk of death by heart attack, stroke, or any other cause by 14 percent. Just 15 minutes. What could be simpler?

- Shut down your electronics at night.

Blasphemy, I know. But, if left on while sleeping, the light from your television, computer, and other electronic devices can interrupt your brain’s ability to produce melatonin which is needed to induce sleep naturally. Melatonin also plays a vital role in synchronizing our biological clock, regulating the body’s rhythms, and promoting overall health.

In addition, the electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) from cell and cordless phones, wireless routers, computers, and other devices can drain our energy and impact our health. Dr. Thomas Rau, medical director the Paracelsus Clinic in Switzerland, believes that the loads from EMFs can lead to cancer, concentration problems, ADD, tinnitus, migraines, insomnia, arrhythmia, Parkinson’s, and back pain.

Furthermore, studies have found that children are even more susceptible to these effects than adults.

To minimize some of these dangers, Dr. Frank Lipman, director of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center in New York City, recommends shutting down your devices at night and keeping them out of your sleeping area, especially away from your head while you sleep.

- Be present in your daily activities.

The idea here is simple: when you’re eating, focus on your eating and eat. Enjoy your food. Be aware.

When you’re with someone, be present. Give them your full attention and focus.

Most of us have seen...

...families or groups of people sitting at a restaurant or out socially, with each person (including children) busy on their phone or other electronic device and no one talking to each other.

...or someone talking on their phone, while checking out at the grocery store or giving their order at a restaurant, paying little or no attention to the person assisting them.

We may even be one of these people.

The remedy is simple: Be mindful and truly present in each moment. Let go of the distractions. Be here now.

- Spend time in nature.

Ah, the great outdoors!

Spending more time in nature has numerous psychological and physiological benefits.

Researchers have found that the negative ions from rivers, waterfalls, and the ocean, act as natural antidepressants, boosting energy levels and improving immunity. Other studies have concluded that being outside in nature can heighten a sense of well-being, keep away exhaustion, and overall, make you feel more alive.

Dr. Susanne Preston, a clinical mental health counseling instructor, adds: “Research has shown that spending time in nature has been associated with decreased levels of mental illness, with the strongest links to reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, in addition to increased self esteem.”

So, get outside...what are you waiting for?

- Consciously breathe.

The simple act of stopping periodically throughout the day to take 2-3 slow, deep breaths, while consciously keeping your awareness only on your breath can relieve stress, improve concentration, increase energy, heighten intuition, and bring your attention back to the present moment.

When stressed, our breathing pattern changes, becoming shallower and more rapid. If this continues, it can lead to greater stress, anxiety and even, panic attacks.

Here’s an easy, conscious breathing technique that can help you get rid of stress and anxiety in about two minutes.

- Be willing to let things go.

When we hold onto things mentally or emotionally, we complicate and make our life more difficult by adding unnecessary burdens to our mind and emotional heart. This can keep us blocked, unable to make real progress and move forward in our life.

So here’s my advice: Let go. That’s right, let it all go. Surrender. Allow everything. When you do, you’ll likely feel better and experience relief, opening yourself up to all that life is trying to offer you now for your highest good.

- Stop complaining.

When you complain or criticize, you are using the power of your energy, attention and focus on what you don’t like and what you don’t want. This only creates more resistance within you.

Why is this a big deal?

Because...

“You think that your resistance stops you from suffering but it actually causes your suffering and limitation. The situation always is as it is – neutral – it’s your resistance that causes you to feel stuck. When there’s no resistance, there’s no stuckness and you are free to change and improve.” - Alex (@unleashreality.com)

In other words, complaining only keeps you stuck in the problem...and it doesn't feel good. So, stop it!

- Limit your daily information flow (email, texts, internet, etc.).

The internet and modern technology has changed our lives in countless ways. We are more connected now than ever before. If we don’t know something, we can easily find the answer in seconds. We can have a video chat with someone on the other side of the Earth with just a few clicks. We can shoot a video, play our entire music collection, or manage our daily life or business literally from the palm of our hand with our iPhone or other smart phone.

As a result, there is an increasing number of things calling for our attention every moment of every day, including email, text messaging, social media, and daily reminders.

How do we best manage it all? Simple. Give it a rest.

How?

Try checking email only once or twice a day. Limit your time on social media to 15-20 minutes daily or every other day. Text only when necessary. Turn off all notifications. Take technology breaks for a full day, half a day, or even a few hours...and go outside, talk to real people face to face, experience real life, not just a digital version of it.

Ideally, technology should serve us. Not the other way around.

- Slow down.

What’s the rush?

Instead of cramming and filling your day with multiple tasks, running around like a crazy person, pick one or two tasks that you really want to do instead and focus on those.

Multitasking is so common that it's considered normal. However, I found that it's better and more satisfying to do one or two things really well for the day, giving them your undivided attention, than many things half-assed and exhausting or stressing yourself out in the process.

"It's in the slowing down that you can have clearer perspective. When you are moving so fast, it's not always easy to integrate, appreciate and let in the fullness of all that is happening around you. When you are moving so fast, it can be hard to really experience the joy of the moment fully...When you slow down, you allow the perfect people, places, situations to fall into place in alignment, so that when you do arrive everything you need is there right on time." - Kute Blackson

Your life is now. Slow down. Simplify. And enjoy it.

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around...you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller

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14 Shocking (But True) Things About Love and Romance

2013-02-13T21:04:00.000-08:00

by Raymond David Salas

Regardless of what you may feel about Valentine's Day, for many, it has a way of shining the spotlight on the current state of love and romance in our individual lives.

Questions come up like...

"How is your love life...really?"

"Have you found the one?"

"Are you truly happy in love and romance with the person you're with? Or are you just settling?"

With that in mind, I searched through my blog archives and found "14 shocking (but true) things about love and romance."

And, here they are...

14 Shocking (But True) Things About Love and Romance

- Who you’re attracted to now may or may not be the person you imagined or pictured on your vision board.

We often think that we know who (or what) would make us happy. The truth is that our preferences are always based on the past, which may have little or nothing to do with the present or future.

As a result, we may find ourselves attracted to someone who doesn’t fit what we believe to be our ideal “type.”

When then have the choice to deny and resist what we are truly feeling in the present moment or be open and follow where our heart is leading us.

Love and attraction are never logical.

- Just because you broke up doesn’t mean the relationship failed.

Maybe it ended because it was simply over. In other words, it had run its course, played itself out, and there was no more growth or good that could come from it.

In this case, it’s time to move on to whatever is next for you.

The amount of time that it takes a relationship to reach this point varies. For some, it’s days and weeks. For others, it’s months and years.

It happens however it happens.

- There is no “special” one just for you.

This is a concept that many people struggle with: “Who is my soul mate and how can I find them?”

My response to this is "There may not be only one person who is right for you. There could be more, with each person being right for you in different ways, at different times of your life."

“While the idea of each of us having an ideal soul mate might seem reassuring...it could deprive one of the opportunities of discovering many suitable partners. This fixation of the mind on just ‘one’ soul mate will make you miss living your life while you wait for the arrival of the ‘one.’ You could equally just be placing too much pressure on your existing relationship, which could lead to its failure.” - www.loving-relationship.com

- The first 3-6 months of a romance are no indication of whether or not it will last.

Yes, it’s true. The first few months of a new romance can feel like magic.

However...

“Realistically it is not advisable to commit to someone in the first 3-6 months of a relationship when you are likely running on Oxytocin. which is a chemical found in chocolate. Oxytocin creates the sense of well-being and euphoria that comes with ‘falling in love.’ This might as well be dubbed the period of temporary insanity, because you are not in command of all your faculties; your brain is hijacked by those lovely chemicals, interfering with your ability to think clearly.” - Yangki Christine Akiteng

- If you’re needy or desperate, you won’t find what you’re truly looking for.

Whether it’s with love and romance or anything else...

“When we ask for what we want, while being grateful and not being needy, we increase the odds of attracting it to us. It’s the feeling of desperation that pushes away the very things we want. Attachment isn’t good for manifestation. You have to let go.” - Joe Vitale

Ironically, when you no longer need the object of your desire, but would welcome it, that’s when it usually comes...when you are free from attachment.

- How attractive you are has nothing to do with anything external.

This includes your job, job title or work, income, the size or shape of any or all of your body parts, your age, hairstyle, clothes, home, the vehicle you drive, etc. ...despite what advertising and the media may be telling you.

While each of these things can influence how you feel, how attractive you are in any given moment all comes down to how you feel inside, your self-esteem. Nothing more.

“...self-esteem has nothing to do with anything external, such as looks, approval, money, relationships with others, or having a baby. Self-esteem, or the lack of it, is solely the result of how we treat ourselves.” - Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

- Just because you both _______ doesn’t mean you’re right for each other romantically.

You can fill in this blank with anything that you both have in common, such as:

- like to “mambo”
- are from the same city, state, school, gym, yoga studio, etc.
- love sushi, Thai food, etc.
- enjoy hiking
- love going to the beach

You get the idea.

While common interests are definitely a good starting point, they don't necessarily mean that there will be "sparks" or romantic compatibility and harmony.

- Like you, the other person will change over time.

Each of us is continuing to grow and evolve as individuals. Therefore, the person you’re attracted to now will be different in a year from now... or five years from now... or ten years from now.

Expecting them to remain the same is contrary to nature, love, and life, where change is the only constant.

How you respond to these changes will make all the difference.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin

The same could be said for relationships, love, and romance.

- Being involved in a romance may or may not be the best thing for you right now.

Sometimes we just need some space, time on our own to “fly solo,” without a partner, to clear our mind, balance our emotions, rest and rejuvenate ourselves.

The good news is that we never have to figure out the timing or necessity for this. Life automatically does it for us.

“How do you know that you don’t need a romantic partner? You don’t have one. How do you know that you need one? Here he/she is! You don’t call the shots on this. It’s better that you don’t.” - Byron Katie

- Another person cannot make you happy.

The bottom line is: either you’re happy or you’re not. It has nothing to do with the other person or anything outside of yourself.

“Nasty people can’t make you mad. Nice people can’t make you happy. Events or people are simply events or people. They can’t make you anything. You have to do that for yourself. Whatever emotions arise in you as a result of external events, they’re powerless until you pick them up and decide to act on them.” - Adrian Savage

- You will never like the other person in the same way 100% of the time.

“No relationship is perfect, ever. There are always some ways you have to bend, to compromise, to give something up in order to gain something greater...The love we have for each other is bigger than these small differences. And that’s the key.” - Sarah Dessen

- The only thing that really matters (after being romantically involved and together for at least six months) is how you truly feel when you are with this other person.

Do you feel truly comfortable and at ease around this person? Do you trust them? Can you express yourself, who you really are, warts and all, with this person? Can you just be yourself around them? Do you have fun and enjoy being with them most of the time?

- To attract the person, romantic relationship, and life of your dreams, you first must become the person who would be attractive and a match to this ideal person, relationship, and life that you desire.

How?

“When you visualize your new reality, you must imagine yourself BEING the kind of person who can attract and hold on to all the good stuff you wish to manifest. That means you’re going to have to work on yourself and grow into that kind of person.

In order to manifest what you desire, the total package must be congruent. There must be harmony between what you’re attracting and what’s attracting you. Too often people fall into the trap of trying to attract something that would naturally repel them, such as...trying to attract a loving relationship without becoming a loving and attractive person.

This is largely common sense, which many people seem to lose sight of when trying to apply the Law of Attraction.” - Steve Pavlina

- Opposites do NOT attract.

Despite what romantic comedies and Hollywood would have us believe, numerous studies and social psychologists have found that opposites do NOT attract.

In fact...

“Opposites tend to attract in the short term, but not in the long-term. Over the long haul, one of the biggest predictors of success in relationships and marriages is similarity.” - Catherine Sanderson, psychologist

And when you do find the love and romance you're looking for...

Here's the real secret to enjoying it fully:

“Forgive quickly; kiss slowly; love truly; laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.” - Mark Twain

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Have another question? Ask Raymond.