The Circus of Life

Do you ever think that your life just needs to be narrated by a ringmaster and then it will be complete?  So many of us are spiraling out of control on our agendas and to-do lists.  Our nights are hardly ever spent at home, and the obligations keep coming, coming...coming.

Simplifying can help you take control of your time.

If you are not nursing an out-of-control shopping habit, you may get your nights and weekends back because you are staying out of the stores and are no longer trolling online for new sneakers.  If you have control of your money (and are completely debt-free) you may have more choices about your work situation.  If you are less stressed, whatever time you do have will feel more rich and satisfying.

(There is a testimonial coming.  Wait for it.)

In 2013, three years after beginning to simplify, I was able to work part-time (and I was not yet debt-free, but we were getting there) and with that part-time privilege I  was able to explore my creativity.  Sound exciting?

I also had control over my calendar to the point that I had a lot of nights at home.  Too many, actually.  I experimented with loafing and being lazy.   I can tell you now that it is great to have a break, but humans are meant to move and do.

Fast forward to today, in 2019.  I am part-time again, and pleasantly busy.  I work when I want to work, and I work as much as I want to work.  My husband and I are learning the art of saying "no" to what we don't want to do.  We have cultivated a back bone after becoming completely debt-free in 2015, and our income streams are important, but not imperative.  Our jobs are viewed differently, and less central to our survival.

So, what does this mean?  If we don't want to work extra, we don't.  Our annual reviews are not a source of angst.  If we don't want to go to a company function, we don't.  We keep our word, and if we say we will do something, by golly we are going to try our best to follow through on the commitment.  However, we don't enter into commitments lightly or often.

My schedule is as I want it.  I see my friends and parents.  I buy groceries.  I even spend quite a bit of time at home, enjoying my home and time with my hubby and cat.  I don't feel stressed a lot of the time.  My weight has been stable for years, and that is without dieting and exercise. (Did I just admit that out loud?)

Ask yourself, "Can I drive the speed limit at all times?"  Are you so stressed that you double book yourself to squeeze everything in during your precious time off?  Do you want out?

Simplifying can help.  The time management skills that come with a life of minimalism really help.  And, when you get to the point that your debts are paid, and your boss is not your owner, you will have the power to say, as a wise woman of senior age once told me,  "Not my circus.  Not my monkeys."

Simplify.