I was totally going to write an epic post this week about how to get anything done. It’s in my drafts folder. It’s going to be awesome. But it’s not going to be awesome today.
Why?
Because today everything in my body is screaming, “keep it simple.”
Simplify.
Make it short.
Doable.
Useful.
And most importantly, get rid of anything that isn’t absolutely necessary or beautiful or inspiring.
I am in the process of decluttering my home, my life, my schedule, and deciding over and over again,
What matters?
What lights me up?
How can I help best?
Is this the best use of my space/time/attention right now?
Over and over again I remind myself as I add to my eternal to-do list, “Keep it simple. Doable. And, whenever possible, fun.”
So today’s epic post became, this short invitation to simplify. To remove, re-think, re-decide.
What do I really want?
Is this action/idea/project/commitment going to help me get it?
Am I over-thinking this? How can I keep it simple?
My business coach was giving a presentation yesterday, explaining how best to design coaching programs and she reminded all of us in her class to “keep it simple.”
If you can do something in 8 steps, don’t add 14 more, go with 8. If you can convey an idea in one paragraph, don’t use 20.
That might be hard for me. I am like a word-loving-machine, and sometimes you really do need to expand and explain and linger on an idea or two. I will be experimenting. We shall see how that goes…
Then she brought out the Chanel. Quoting Miss Coco when she said, “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and remove one thing.”
I love this quote for so many reasons. First of all, Chanel wore a thousand accessories. So when she said to remove one, she wasn’t saying, take it all off and just wear a watch. She was saying, enjoy it all, love it all, go big with your pearl necklace fabulousness, but don’t be afraid to leave some of that awesome on the table for tomorrow.
I also love that she says, “Look in the mirror.”
Look. See. Reflect. Assess. Stop. Pause.
Look at what’s in front of you right now – at home, at work, in your relationships, with your honey and what is one thing you can leave on the table for tomorrow so you can….
Breathe.
Read a book.
Go on a date (yes, at home dates count!)
Take a longer shower or bath
Have a few minutes to just be?
Play with the kids/dogs/cats/PlayStation. Whatever play is for you.
Kiss again.
For me, today it was the decision to leave a long, epic post on the table for another day.
Tomorrow it might be saying no to something that would take me away from spending time with the Hubs.
For now I have these two mantras on repeat in my head,
How can I make it simple?
Remove one thing.
This week’s LOVEWORK is about loving ourselves better so we can love others even more. We start by taking loving actions towards ourselves, taking a look in the mirror of our lives and removing one thing at a time, whenever it’s needed.
What’s your one thing this week? Tell me in the comments or tweet me @modernmarried.
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