Discardia_ More Life, Less Stuff - Dinah Sanders [89]
Most of all, be honest with yourself. Prioritize and let stuff go. Do the most important things well and skip or skimp on other things. You can't always do it all and that's okay.
Cushion yourself against the little irritations, too
Help yourself avoid headaches outside of a crisis. Communicate clearly now to save time and avoid hassles later.
At the start of your day, identify what absolutely must happen today as well as one other thing on which you most want to make progress. Keep focusing on those things until they’re done.
Next time you have to travel, think ahead and bring the stuff you run around trying to find and on which you spend too much money. Have a master calendar and add everything that affects more than one person in the household, which keeps everyone coordinated. Even a simple thing like storing the trash bags in the bottom of the bin, so it’s effortless to restore the bin to use after you take the trash out, can make your future days more pleasant. Whenever you see an opportunity to take a little time now to save yourself more later when things may be hectic, take advantage of it.
One last and almost entirely avoidable hassle is agonizing over having to wait for someone. Whether it’s a long line, a delayed appointment, or a broken-down subway, sometimes you’ll be stuck waiting. You know this will happen, so prepare things that will allow you to consider it a treat, like an unexpected downtime bonus or a surprise lull granting you a pleasurable moment. You’ll be astonished at how much more tolerable errands and appointments can be if you’re prepared.
What could you take care of this week that would most dramatically reduce your risk of future hassle? Improve your odds and do it now.
Symptom #35: Overspending, Underenjoying
Solution #35: Bang for Your Buck
Avoid a life of chasing prizes not worth winning.
—Caterina Fake, entrepreneur
Contentment doesn’t always have a price tag
Above a certain baseline, the correlation between money and happiness grows weak; however, we easily fall into the habit of spending too much and getting too little return on our investment. A financially struggling startup once laid me off, and I went through considerable stress over how I could possibly enjoy life while I got by on unemployment insurance and hunted for a new job.
A wise friend walked with me to a beautiful park in the middle of a warm weekday, and pointed out that I now had access to all kinds of free or cheap pleasures, for which I’d been substituting while putting in my long days at the startup. Don’t tie your perception of relaxation or satisfaction to the act of spending money; they aren’t the same thing at all.
Drop the unrewarding extras
What do you shell out money for every month? Sure, rent or mortgage, utilities, and food, but what about nonessentials? Look at your routine expenses and the time you spend enjoying their results.
How many hours do you watch those extra cable channels? What are you therefore paying per hour for that service? Do you still want to spend time that way or are there other things you'd do if the temptation weren't there? Do you read the paper every day? Is it worth the subscription? What about the magazines you get or that gym membership? Are there free exercise methods you'd use just as often? Is food spoiling in the fridge before you eat it? It doesn't matter if it's a small expense; if it's not giving you enough benefit, then stop spending that money. Save it or spend it on something that matters to you more.
As you focus on what you want and don't want in your life, there are probably some things for which you'd like to save up some money. It can be hard to do that, though, if you never seem to have extra at the end of the week. Keep your eyes on the prize. Look at what you have to spend each month (for