Humans are creatures of habit. So often we do things a certain way without really thinking about why we do it or why we do it that way. It’s just the way we’ve always done it. It’s so nice when we have those aha moments when it dawns on us there may be a better way to do something that removes complexity from our life.
Here are a few of mine:
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It occurred to me that it takes the same amount of time to prepare for the day whether I do it the night before or the morning of, And for me warnings usually feel more crunched for time than evenings. So I started doing everything I could for the next morning the night before. Laying out my clothes, fixing my breakfast, laying out my morning hygiene items, packing my bag for work, etc. This ha really decompressed my mornings and given me less decisions to make first thing.
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I realized that having notifications for email on my phone spurred me to react to them immediately, Even though the emails I receive rarely require immediate action. I disabled them all together and put a weekly calendar reminder to sit down at my computer and review my emails.
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Picking what to cook for supper was always a chore every single day. Figuring out what we were in the mood for, do we have what we need to make that, etc. To eliminate this daily aggravation, I made a list of every supper I know how to cook and numbered them. Once a month I sit down with my list, roll a dice for everyday, and put down what’s for supper each day So I don’t have to think about it for the rest of the month.
What are some of your aha moments?
I was shocked how much getting a password manager simplified my life. No more trying to remember obscure number conbinations, or going the ‘forgot password’ route for sites I rarely use. It’s honestly even better than I expected. Bitwarden FTW!
I swear I don’t unseratand how people live without it
They use the same password for everything… Success.
I try to plan dinner the day before, my wife is a mood eater, so it rarely works.
Other people: the hardest to remove complexity
Buying from second-hand online platforms is making me save a ton of money. I’m not necessarily buying second-hand stuff, because it’s not uncommon to find new products for as low as half the original price.
Also I often walk to places I could reach using the car/bus and try to reach 2kms (≈4000 steps) doing so. It’s good for your health, for the environment and it takes little effort
I developed a habit of going out to get sweet pastries until I realized that I can easily make, for example, puff pastries at home just combining some cheaply available base ingredients and getting more for less money and have it taste just the way I like.
Great prompt OP. It’s great to reflect and share those moments.
For me it’s a management trick that I realized after having my files (computer ones and physical ones) all over the place.
You don’t have to have a file for everything. Instead create a dump.txt file in every directory instead of having few paragraphs scattered in files.
This way I separate “organizing files” from actually typing out my thoughts.
The meal plan idea is genius!
Mine is that everything in my house needs a place. If I can’t find a designated space for something, it must not be important enough to keep around. Makes cleanup easier too.
