Goldilocks Approach to Stuff

There are countless opportunities to acquire stuff.  And, acquired stuff requires attention, whether it's actual use, display or storage.  Too much stuff is hard to manage.

The beginning of the year is a great time to assess what we have; what we want; and what we need.  Loving and using what we have brings joy and simplicity to our hectic lives.

Just like Goldilocks, we are happiest when we have enough.

Task List

In a meeting this week, one of my co-workers extolled the virtue of using Microsoft Outlook tasks to provide a single, visible to do list.  I'm a fanatic about putting all of my appointments in my Outlook calendar, so it made sense to further consolidate my activity view.  This is only day two, and it's a long weekend, but I'm cautiously optimistic that this may be just the tool I've needed to simplify my life.

Are You Carrying Too Much?

For many years, I was a terrible packer.  Because I didn't take time to plan what I would actually want and need to wear during a particular trip, I packed far too many items.  In recent years, as I've taken time to anticipate my wardrobe requirements, I've lightened my load and simplified my life. 

Planning streamlines nearly all aspects of our lives.  We can get caught up in such extreme busyness that we don't think we have time to plan.  I find that is when I most need to invest the time to accurately assess all that needs to be done and develop a plan to successfully execute.  When I don't stop to plan, my mind becomes like my formerly over-burdened luggage - full of way too much disorganized stuff.