How I Make Life Easier for My Future Self
7 Simple Ways I Make Life Easier for Myself Later
Let’s talk about how I make life easier for my future self.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how much easier life can feel when I do small things to help myself out ahead of time.
And when I say ahead of time, I don’t just mean like next week or next month.
Sometimes, I’m just trying to make life easier for myself in the afternoon or when dinnertime rolls around.
When my kids get home from school, there is a shift. Especially with my new little kindergarten kiddo. And I’m not labeling this shift as good or bad, it’s just there.
There are certain parts of my day when I have more energy and motivation or simply fewer people asking me for things.
This is my first time having alone time in five years, and it’s taking some time to get used to.
I almost feel like I got very used to doing everything right alongside my little one. So while I do love the time when she is at school now, it also feels stranger than I thought it would. (Using the bathroom alone has been pretty nice.)
But I am trying to use that time alone to help out the version of me who is going to be tired, distracted, or juggling seven things at once later. It really does make a difference.
It’s not like when my kids are home, I throw these ideas completely out the window. I just have to get a little more creative with them.
This isn’t about constantly staying one step ahead or turning my entire life into a preparation project. Been there, done that. And the outcome was not always what I was aiming for.
I definitely don’t need another long list of things I’m supposed to be doing. I am a list girl through and through, but my love for lists needs some hard boundaries.
What I am trying to do is notice some regular old pain points in life and ask myself if there is something small I can do now that would impact later in a positive way.
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Here Are Some Simple Ways I Make Life Easier for Myself Later
1) Pay Attention to Parts of My Day That Usually Feel Hard
This might sound a little laughable.
Stop, drop, and pay attention to times that raise my blood pressure.
But it’s okay to reflect back on times that always seem to be a little rocky.
It’s been really helpful to notice when things tend to fall apart.
For me, the after-school hours can get chaotic pretty quickly. The kids come home hungry, tired, and with absolutely no chill. Then it can feel like there are all these things that need to get done between them walking in the door and bedtime.
So anything I can do before that time rolls around goes in the pro column. That doesn’t mean I spend the entire school day preparing for everyone to come home. No way.
I have things I want and need to do during that time too.
But very often, a few small moves by me can take the edge off a little and make me better able to manage the after-school release.
Maybe mornings are your hardest time or getting out the door. Maybe it’s Sunday night or the hour before bed. (Does the witching hour ever go away with kids?)
Also, don’t take this as you need to be doing anything you can to make these times easy breezy.
It’s just about noticing where a little effort now might make things feel a little less off the rails later.
2) Get Things Out of My Head
I love a good brain dump.
Many days, the number of things I have to do isn’t exactly the problem. It’s trying to remember them all.
That running mental list can make everything feel much more overwhelming than it actually is. So I write it down.
I keep a simple notebook on my kitchen counter and this mini notebook in my purse.
There’s no hard and fast rule about when you need to do this. Sometimes the more extreme sides of social media can make me feel like I am doing everything wrong. It can feel like there is a right way to do things and that flexibility is off the table.
Oh no, I didn’t do my brain dump first thing in the morning so I am doomed to have a stressful day. Heck no.
And even writing everything down is not a straight line to you accomplishing everything on that list. That’s not really the point.
Again, I don’t like to fall into traps that make you believe there is a surefire way to make something easy or effortless. I think for many people that is unrealistic.
And taking it upon ourselves to control everyone or every outcome sounds exhausting and unfair.
That said, my future self doesn’t have to keep carrying around information that my current self could have simply written down.
Think of this as doing yourself some small favors.
3) I Use a Timer
I got this visual timer for my younger daughter a few years back, and now I use it for myself.
The biggest way I use this is for tidying up. I set that bad boy for 20 minutes, put my earbuds in, and get busy.
I like a timer because it gives whatever I am doing a boundary. I’m not setting out to clean the entire house. I’m seeing what I can get done in 20 minutes.
And I surprise myself often by the amount I get done when I know there is an end in sight.
These timers are also great for both my kids and random things throughout the day. Sometimes it’s less about keeping track and more about keeping myself from getting carried away with something.
Because your girl is superb at turning I’m just going to do this for a few minutes into a runaway train situation.
I’m not suggesting you use a timer to track every minute of your day. Although, I would love for my husband to start using one for his bathroom vacations.
They are a simple tool that reminds me that everything doesn’t need to be finished or a big production. It’s okay to give something a little bit of focused time and then move on.
4) Try Not to Put Things Off That Will Bite Me Later
This one is so much easier said than done. I am great at getting things done, and great at putting things off. I excel in both of those areas.
And I think that’s the norm for a lot of us.
But I have really been trying to make decisions when I have more mental energy. Because yes, if I put something off, I will come back to it and chip away at whatever it is.
But at that point, it might feel very different than it would have at a different point in my day.
The version of myself that is spent and tired of making decisions is not going to enjoy making a grocery list one bit.
Now, does that spent version of me still produce some kind of grocery list. Yeah, of course.
But if I can give something a few minutes of my time now instead of handing it over to a much more tired version of myself, I try to.
And in true life fashion, sometimes I make a list that only contains snack-ish items and we make it work. If we have eggs, beans, and something for sandwiches, then all is not lost.
5) Stop Downplaying The Small Things
I used to think getting ahead meant doing something big.
I can literally remember sitting on the couch and thinking that once I got every single room of our home looking like it was ready for a camera crew, things would be good. Like, I had convinced myself that that was the goal I should set for myself.
All the little moves I was making during the day were being brushed off. I didn’t give them or myself credit because there was something bigger and better I could be doing on the horizon.
Life is a lot, and there are so many moving parts.
My current self and future self were almost always aligned in one massive way : feeling like I was falling short.
I’m not saying I do a dance and celebrate every time I finish putting away a load of laundry. (Why is that so hard some days?)
I’m not giving myself pats on the back every time I cross something off the list either.
But I am trying to stop acting like the small things don’t count just because something bigger could technically be done.
A 20-minute cleanup counts. Making the appointment or putting away the laundry counts. Writing down random things I need to remember counts.
Those small things make life feel more manageable.
This is also just a good practice in general because it is too easy to be hard on ourselves. I don’t want to be the one cutting myself down to size in hopes that it will bully me into being some unrealistic version of myself I created.
6) Having Simple Routines I Can Fall Back On
Life is going to keep moving no matter how we show up for it. The show must go on.
Routines in general can go in so many different directions. And it can also feel like there is a routine for every area of life.
I used to think that routines were the end all be all of me thriving in life or not. I do think routines are valuable.
But they should support my life. My life shouldn’t become about maintaining routines at all costs.
I love to lean in to things, but too much leaning here and I am very susceptible to getting sucked in.
When both of my girls were babies, I was chin deep in letting routines rule my life. The thought of veering from that was not an option in my eyes.
I still love routines. But I also love when they don’t make me feel like I am hanging on by a thread just to keep them going the way I have convinced myself they need to go.
One routine I’m doing right now is doing a quick reset after the kids leave for school. I’m not busting out every cleaning tool I have and heading into battle with the dog hair and dirty baseboards.
I’m straightening up. And that also looks different every day.
I used to set out to develop routines that had standards that were maybe a bit insurmountable. Like how I mentioned earlier getting my house ready for an imaginary camera crew.
A routine is valuable to me if it makes the rest of my day easier in some way. It doesn’t need to be flashy or impressive.
7) Talk to Myself Out Loud
I was a little hesitant to add this idea to the list, but now I’m just going to go with it.
There is something about narrating your day or your life in general. It’s hard to describe. And I’m not saying it’s this life changing routine you need to implement ASAP. (See what I did there?)
But out-loud conversations are like laxatives for your mind. Wow, not my best comparison, but it is very on brand for me.
Sometimes I just need to say all the things swirling around in my head out loud. I need them to stop fighting for attention and my voice comes in handy with that.
I can think something in circles for an impressive amount of time. It’s one of my many unwanted talents.
Being able to hear what I am actually thinking is way more helpful than it has any business being.
It’s the perfect way to wade through things that feel like a tangled mess in your head. Maybe this is why everyone has their own podcast these days.
Final Thoughts…
Wanting to make life easier is something that has always been on my radar.
But I think I used to think there was a way to make life easy. To almost eliminate stress or challenges.
Life did not cooperate in those instances. No surprise there.
There’s so much information out there that we have the option of taking in. I do my fair share of taking things in, but I also know something about myself.
My ability to absorb is off the charts. So I know that I have to tread lightly. I have to do some trial and error for myself.
If I can find some ways that keep me from making that mom face where my top lip goes on hiatus for a few, then great.
If I can find some ways that keep me from rushing around as if there is a ghost chasing me, then also great.
I’m no longer interested in finding systems that make every day run perfectly. I don’t think that exists. Those ideas do creep back in every now and then if I spend too much time on social media, but no one is perfect.
Is it too much to want some small things that make life feel a little manageable? No, it’s not.
My future self is going to have things to deal with. That is a recurring theme in all of our lives.
I’m just trying to help a sister out a little.
Which of these ways I make life easier for my future self resonated with you?
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