Simplicity Values - 5 Ways to Guard your Time

It is so easy to lose our direction, fall into doing things by rote, or based on others goals and needs. Here are some quick and easy tools to keep you living your life the way you want.

1. Take 10
Know what you want. Make a list of the 10 things you want to do over the course of your life, year, week, even day. Get in the habit of dialoguing about what you want, in the now and in the future. You can't guard your time if you don't know what you want.

2. Be real
Learn to be honest with others. Say no, make them aware honestly of what you want, like or need. For instance, don't let someone know you for 5 years before they find out you really don't like that ethnic restaurant you always go to together.

3. Assert yourself
Stand up. Sometimes even when people know what you want, they still push their agenda. Know what you want and don't be afraid to say so.

4. Check in
Check in with yourself regularly. "Is this what I want to be doing, the direction I want to be going?" Be mindful and aware that you are going in the direction of your wishes and goals.

5. Slow down
Make sure you stop now and then. With down time, you are really able to look at your life and what you want and make sure you are getting there.

Have a great week.

Maria

Simplicity Values - Cards Sent Simply

Sending cards to loved ones to acknowledge their accomplishments and painful experiences is a time honored tradition that makes us all feel stronger and more connected with each other. Sending cards and notes is a simple, kind and inexpensive way to send our support and love to the people in our lives. Here are some simple tools to help you get there.

Do you fall into the trap of thinking, “a card is not enough?”

This is pretty common and a tricky little thought. What it often leads to is DOING NOTHING! So, to do battle with that, tell yourself you are starting with a card. “I’ll send a card right away. I can always do more later.” Simple and it will pull you right out of the doing nothing trap.

Are you a train wreck?
Is your life full of chaos to the degree that these simple gestures get lost? You are not alone!! Try this. Work on breaking it down. “I will just send this one note, do this one thank you, stop at the store for this one card.” Break it down and start small. In time, build it as a discipline and it will feel like nothing at all.

Systems Failure
Where are the supplies? Where is Aunt Mabel’s address? Does someone have a stamp? With systems failure, the plan is simple. Have blank cards, address book and stamps all together. This will take you 15 minutes at most. Keep them together in your appointment book, at your desk, in your kitchen, in a zip lock bag in your car (that is a good one.) You can also purchase a cheap book of quotes for all occasions and keep it together with the other supplies. You won’t have to worry about finding the “right” card because you can add your own quotes.

Try these easy tools and enjoy how you feel when you keep card sending simple.

Here is a great book of quotes. You can support my website by ordering through my Amazon store! Click here to check it out!

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Simplicity Values - Make it at home

This week in my e-letter, I wrote about making a favorite restaurant dish at home. It is good for a challenge, a savings and an awful lot of laughs.

Do some research online. Have you always wanted to be able to make that great soup, pizza, chinese dish? Get someone you love and a few needed groceries. Turn on the music, pour the wine and get ready for an inexpensive, laugh filled and illuminating night.

Have a wonderful week!

Maria

Simplicity Values - Break down your Monster List and get it done

Breaking down tasks is a key element to handling our "monster" lists, those things on our "to do" lists that frighten us so much all we want to do is avoid them!

Try this:

Make a Monster List
All the things you need to do and tend to avoid.

Take one thing on the list and break it down, into tiny steps.

Do one thing a day. In a matter of days or weeks, you will have "slayed" that terrifying task. Just try it!

Guaranteed, this practice will save you time, money and stress!

Have a great week and remember to make the moment happen!!

Maria


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Simplicity Values - Simple ways to start the New Year off right

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5 Ways to Make the New Year count

1. Get physcial. Get your body moving. Make it a habit to move your body, to get up and get what you need for yourself. Add steps into your day instead of deleting them.

2. Stop. Every couple of hours stop and regroup. Just take a brief time out in order to center yourself and remind yourself to restore.

3. Say it. Reach out the to people that matter to you. If you love someone, don't wait to say it. Tell the people who matter how much they do matter. Let 2009 be the year you say how you feel toward those you care about.

4. Prioretize. Decide what matters to you and begin to spend more time doing just that. No more days, weeks, years of "what if's." Decide what makes you happy and go there.

5. Let go. Stop being angry or worried about things that just don't matter. Focus, instead on the things that may you happy and at peace. Try and reduce your focus on the things that dishearten, anger or stress you.

Try these simple goals for creating a great New Year!

Simplicity Values - Easy tricks to thrill the kids on New Year's

This is a great tool for your kids. During holidays, I bring the kids grocery shopping and I give them each a budget. Last week it was a measly $7 each. They each get to pick out treats for the week. Chips, candy, whatever. I buys the usual healthy stuff and leave the junk to them. Guess what happens? No, they don't buy fruit. But they walk through the store making decisions like, "If I get those pretzels, I can't get that candy. Those chips are half the price of the other ones." It's pretty funny to watch, when you give them the reigns.

And guess what else! The snacks last longer. There is more of a connection to the value of the treat and the kids don't try and eat everything in 24 hours. They self regulate. (Gasp). Interesting. Try it. Even for sleepovers, I give them a budget. Usually a horribly cheap budget, but they find a way to create a smorgasbord of junk with no work on my end and half the cost. This is a great one to try for New Year's Eve if your kids need a little entertaining. A movie from Red Box and ten bucks of treats of their own choosing.....and they will be set. Try it and see. Makes you wonder. What if we did the same for ourselves? What if we gave ourselves a "budget" for junk food or treats or silly things to do for ourselves? What would we do? Would we use our budget wisely for what we wanted? Would we appreciate what we chose more?

Comments? Click below.

Happy New Year!

Maria

Simplicity Values - Challenging Thought and Word

This week is election week and a very heated election season. I personally would rather have it intense. At least that means we are all paying attention. About half of this country is going to get the candidate they want voted in office tomorrow and the other half will be disappointed. What can we do, simply speaking?

1. If your candidate wins, don't gloat. It's one thing to be happy and another to be a bad sport. Be kind, knowing that many people who don't get their candidate in office will be sad, angry, and afraid.

2. If your candidate loses, try no to be too afraid or angry. Calm yourself and remind yourself that it will be okay.

3. Whoever you vote for, if you are angry tomorrow night or grinning from ear-to-ear, let this sentence guide your thoughts and words toward each other.

WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT.

Best to all my fellow voters!

Maria

Simplicity Values - Go Old School in the Kitchen

This is a stress, time and money saver for the kitchen. Most of us have such busy lives, the thought of making great homemade meals every night conjures up nothing more than a giggle, or for some of us, a boisterous guffaw. Really? We work, have outside activities and commitments, many of us have children. Please. Well, here is the tip of the week, guaranteed to save you $$$$ and time.

When getting gorceries, get a large container of meat, chicken, etc. Whatever you usually cook with. When you buy in bulk, it is almost always cheaper. At home, on the day of shopping, invest one hour and do the following. Cook all the chicken. My husband just puts some spices on it and tosses it on the grill. At the same time inside, we make a triple sized vat of meat sauce or chili or stew or soup. You get the idea. After the chicken is done, it is sliced up, tenderloin size, medium little cuts, put into double plastic bags in one pound increments and frozen. The sauce or stew or whatever is put into one pound containers and frozen, too. So, here is the thing, all week, you pull out the pre-cooked item. It takes no time at all to thaw. It is so easy to add simple sides, like cous cous and veggies. The food, becuase it is quickly frozen, tastes fresh. Even fancy gourmet meals are easy to put together. I cut off about 20-30 minutes a night. Its more fun. The hard work of raw chicken or browning meat, yuck, is done. Just have fun with simple spices, save money, save time and relax with a great meal!

Here is a quick gourmet chicken meal modified from my friend, Renee.
Apricot Chicken with spinach and cous cous
Thaw your chicken and toss with apricot jam in microwave bowl. Heat till warm.
Cook cous cous on stove top.
Steam fresh or frozen spinach with a bit of garlic or garlic salt.
Lay a large amount of steamed garlic on plate.
Cover with cous cous.
Pour chicken and apricot mixture over the top.
Add some almond slivers to the top.

Simplicity Values - Weekly Wallet Check

Organization saves time and money. This weeks tip is an easy one. Commit to clean out your wallet or handbag every week. Make sure the bills are organized, the reciepts are filed somewhere important and the gum wrappers are gone. This takes about 5 minutes a week. Guaranteed, you won't lose that receipt, you will keep track of how much cash you have and won't be humiliated every time you pull out your wallet at the checkout counter.

Tip: I look for "wait times" to do this chore, like at a doctors office or waiting for one of my kids to finish an activity. Its easy and guaranteed to be a time and money saver!

Tip: Put it on the calendar. Assign it a time each week, either the same time every week or attached to one of those "wait times" we all experience regularly.

Have a great week!

Maria

Want simplicity and organization every day? Check out my annual planner, Simply Put Together.