Up until I did my knee injury 3 years’ ago, I always thought I led a fairly simple life. And then BAM! Life slaps you one and you learn the hard lesson. The fact is, I was living anything BUT a simple life. I was the President of both a Lions Club and Toastmasters Club. I was host of a Heartlink Network group, a Savvy Circles Network Marketing Network Group, Melbourne Entrepreneurs – the largest Meet Up group in Melbourne at that time. I was playing high level tennis, swimming, working out with the trainer, doing woodworking, ceramics, raising two boys’, managing a 50 acre farm and running 4 businesses. I know – it’s exhausting reading it, isn’t it? Needless to say, I wasn’t too successful in any of it. I learned the hard way – you get what you focus on. You see for many, many months’ prior to my injury I was begging, pleading with God to give me a break – stop this rollercoaster ride because I wanted to get off. And the lesson was thus presented. I had a break alright! Quite literally!! So it’s taken me a good 3 years’ to drop all of the Lions, Toastmasters, networking groups and 2 businesses in order to gain the required clarity in order for me to find peace, contentment and success. Here’s some pointers on how you can simplify your life a bit more so you can also find that peace and success I know you are looking for.
- Give up the committee service. I know that seems harsh and for me it’s been a huge one. I’ve been involved in Lions for 16 years’ so it was definitely a tough choice. But as with most Clubs – it invariably lands in the lap of the few to take the necessary actions. And if that is you, it is probably taking up precious time you could be spending with either your family or on your business and those are the priorities.
- Quit the networking groups if they are not working for you. Especially if they are costing you money to attend. They are some of the biggest time, energy and money wasters of all! Unless of course you have a lot of customers from doing that then absolutely continue on. But if not – stop doing them immediately. If they are comprised of mainly women, I hate to say it but they end up becoming a coffee catch up session and frankly, who has time for that?
- Give up the travel! Now most of you reading this won’t be like me and live in a remote regional area. But if you do, absolutely think critically about how much time you spend on the road. The nearest town to me is a 10 minute drive away so I make sure that when I do go into town, it’s for longer than an hour and incorporates more than one thing to do. I do drive a fair distance to get my kids’ on their respective school buses, tennis and swimming lessons, however I make sure I plug into training calls whilst I’m driving to maximise the time spent.
- Question everything you do and how much of a priority is it to you. For me, if it’s not business, family or my passions of tennis and motorsport, then it’s not really that important to me and is low on the priority list. Yes I do still work out with a trainer, however I’ve cut it back from twice to once per week. Cheaper and more time efficient. I have continued with ceramics and woodworking – mainly as I find them very relaxing tasks that take me physically away from the office twice a week. But to me if it doesn’t involve business or family or friends or tennis or motorsport – it gets put on the backburner and I’ll get to it when I have the time. Always ensure you have some time allocated on weekends as free time.
- Outsource where you can – especially tasks that you dislike. I have a HouseKeeper who comes in once a week because I despise cleaning. I also have someone do my ironing and I also have a VA (Virtual Assistant). She does most of my social media posting, she sends out my weekly e-mails, posts my blogs to my site and does any designing that I need. All tasks that I either dislike or know that someone can do them much faster and more efficiently than me goes to someone who enjoys them. There are just some things that I’m not interested in learning as it doesn’t make me fitter or stronger or faster or more profitable in business or a better parent. It doesn’t all cost as much as you think.
- Find software or apps that can do things faster for you. I use apps to make international phone calls. I use a fitness tracker app. I’m able to monitor my marketing on apps. I use an app called “Seconds” that I use to stick to my morning rituals on time. Apps for travel. Apps for looking up local restaurants. Apps for finding local public toilets. Apps for finding me the best shopping deals. Anything that can save me time and money – I find an app for that.
I’ll leave it there, but hopefully you have some ideas where to start that will set you on a journey of saving time and money. For me it becomes a bit of a game. I also like to regularly look at what I spend money on and see where I can get a better deal. Things like phone plans, insurance, CRMs, binge watching services, food, supplements, marketing – you name it! Pop it in your diary to have a regular review of where your money goes – do you need it and if so, can you get a better deal? Unfortunately because of where I live, there isn’t a lot of options with respect to phone providers, internet and power companies but if you live in a city – there are plenty of options! You just have to spend a little bit of time and in the long run, your bank account will thank you and then use it to invest! Now that’s what I call keeping it super simple and smart.