Wait – 2 blog posts in one day… What?!

Don’t get too excited, it’s not going to happen often…

I posted last week about Emily Ley’s Process of Simplifying 2014. And, I told you I was going to be going through the process publically, on this blog; my goal is to have accountability AND to encourage you to do it too! (I’d also LOVE to hear how the steps are going for you!) She posted Part 2 today and, even though I already had a scheduled post for the day, I wanted to go ahead and post my part 2 of the simplifying process.

(Background: Emily’s Part 1 and Emily’s Part 2)

Now, here’s a recap of my Part 1:

…….

PART ONE: “Prioritize (figure it out, decide WHY you’re doing this)”

I’m simplifying because I’ve come to the realization that I am incredibly materialistic. I love shopping. I love Target. TOO MUCH. I don’t need a new pair of earrings every time I go in to buy dog food. I don’t need any more Christmas décor, as cute as it may be. What I NEED is more time spent with God. More time reading & PRAYING God’s word. (I’m HORRIBLE at praying y’all). I need more iPhone-free movie nights with my husband. More time cherishing the non-materialistic things in my life – because they’re the only ones that really matter.

 ACTION STEPS: PART ONE: “Name WHAT matters. List priorities so that future decisions are made FOR you.”

1. God. Have I spent time with Him today? No? Okay, then I need to do that instead of watching yet another episode of House Hunters.

2. Matt. I will NOT constantly be answering emails & checking my phone when we’re together. I will be PRESENT in his life, in our marriage.

3. My relationships. Family time. Girl time. HUMAN-time, not just social-media-time, is SO vital.

4. DSE. My business. My brides. Being passionate, fearless & confident about my business.

5. My heart. Me-time. Ahh. So needed, right? Remember to say “no” to others so that I can say “yes” to myself, too.

 …….

Part One was a tangible list of DAILY priorities in my life. At the end of the day, if I have done those, then I should sleep easy. I may not have finished the laundry, or gone to the gym  – but I made dinner with my husband & talked on the phone with my best friend. Day won.

…….

PART TWO: SHRINK TIMESUCKERS

Ugh. Timesuckers are the WORST, y’all!! How many times have you found not that there’s not enough time in the day? Why is that? Because we tend to WASTE time on things that DON’T matter!!!! Emily pushes us to make a physical list of the distractions in our life; here are mine:

1. Social Media (Instagram/Facebook)

2. Over-planning to the point of OCD-ness.

3. Telling myself “no” instead of “yes”.

4. Blog Stalking.

Yuck. It’s really embarrassing to look at your life & think about all of those things that take away time from what’s actually important. So, how can I change that? What are feasible, practical and REALISTIC solutions for me to have to get rid of these areas of my life?

1. Social Media (Instagram/Facebook): Check myself when I go to click on them. WHO CARES how many people liked my photo, or who posted what on Facebook… I need to spend more time in the PRESENT and less time in the digital. Yes, both of those are great ways to connect both personally and professional, but I can’t surround myself in that world 24-7. Over Thanksgiving I hardly looked at my phone. I get horrible service at my in-law’s house, and we were so busy eating, playing games or shopping that I wasn’t thinking about who did what… it was refreshing. It may be SO much better at priorities #1 and #3. So, my goal is one social medial free weekend a month. Friday night-Monday morning of relaxing in the PRESENT, no Instagram or Facebook. It’s going to be HARD; but I’m going to do it.

2. Over-planning to the point of OCD-ness. Huh? Let me explain. I LOVE TO PLAN SO MUCH. Meal planning, weekend planning, WEDDING planning… but sometimes I even need to tell myself to CHILL OUT. (If my husband is reading this, he is in complete agreement!!). Example: the other day I starting thinking about how NEXT Christmas would work. Do we celebrate with my family on Christmas Eve or December 26? Whose house will we stay at? When will we go home? CALM DOWN KAT; CHRISTMAS 2014 HASN’T EVEN HAPPENED YET. See what I mean? I need to realize that every detail can NOT be planned out. I need to do focus on priority #1 – God. HE’S got it; not me. I’m supposed to relax & LIVE the life He’s planned for me, not spend my days planning it for Him.

3. Telling myself “no” instead of “yes”.  I wasted a lot of time telling myself I couldn’t ever make this business a reality… comparing myself to other planners, being jealous of what they had, where they were in their business. I sucked away SO MUCH TIME telling myself “no”, when I needed to tell myself “Yes, you CAN dream big. You CAN do this.”  Even the little things in life… telling someone “no” so I can tell myself “yes” is vital for that “me time” I’m craving so much (priority #5). Sometimes, you just need to sit on the couch in your husband’s sweat pants with a large bowl of popcorn & a good book. Amen? Amen. I need to limit my “yes’s” to others, so that there’s still time to say “yes” to me.

4. Blog Stalking. Oh how I love thee. But I truly need a time limit… Last night I really wanted to catch up on a few blogs, but instead I had “work on Christmas cards, do laundry & make chai tea” on my to-do list. I did them instead. Why? Because my number #2 priority is my husband, and my role as a wife. Blog Stalking doesn’t help him at all. It just takes away from the time I could’ve spent with him or doing household things. Practical solution – make it a reward. YAY you just answered 5 DSE emails – go take a look at the new SW feature. YAY you folded all the laundry & cleaned the bathroom(s) – spend some time stalking SMP & Heart Love Weddings. I can’t expect to read every single blog I follow, every day. If I do that, chances are I did NOTHING else that day. Ouch. I need to check myself so that I don’t “waste-away” HOURS of my day looking at pretty things online, when I have a lot of pretty in my life to do!

…….

Whew. Simplifying Part 2 is done. Now, I need to actually DO them – I need to make those top 5 prioritize happen, consistently. And make those timesuckers go away (or at least significantly decrease!). Simplifying life. Yes? Yes.

Friends, I’m off to eat alfredo with my sweetheart & watch Carrie belt out My Favorite Things on NBC.  I hope you have a great, SIMPLIFIED night:)

xo, kat

(( Image from Emily Ley by Shay Cochrane ))