What are you going to eat for breakfast? What are you going to wear to work? Will your coat go well with your shoes? Where will you get lunch? Will you go out with your friends after? Should you take a cab or carpool home? These are just some of the questions making your days difficult.
You could do with fewer of them, and in the long run, it might be the secret to a better life.
A Schedule Helps You Prepare for the Day
It’s hard to prepare for difficult situations when you have no idea when they’ll attack. And while the majority of surprises may be hard to predict, when it comes to a regular workday, you can be more prepared if you keep a schedule. Simply knowing what time you should be out of bed to avoid the morning traffic can already make a big difference in your mood for the day. Knowing that you have a meeting with your least favorite people will help you psych yourself up mentally and emotionally. You can keep a good mood throughout the day if you know you’ll be seeing your loved ones after work.
Planning Ahead Frees up Brainpower
Making fewer decisions isn’t just realized by knowing your schedule and acting accordingly. You can make the same decisions but at an earlier time so that they will not seem like a stressful spontaneous decision. For instance, you can plan your meals for the week so that you will not have to stress about each meal as they happen. You can also apply the same principle when it comes to your clothes.
For purchases, one trick is to load up your online cart even before you get your paycheck. This gives you an idea of how much you need to buy your eyebrow products and face mask online, so you can already deduct the amount from your budget. This also helps you remove impulse purchases. When you get back to your cart, ask yourself if you still want to buy the items you loaded up.
Each Decision Is a Smart Decision
There’s a lot of stress involved in decision-making when you’re pressed for time. You only have an hour for lunch and if you can’t figure out where to eat yet, you might just go with the easiest option, even if it’s not the healthiest. Anxiety also makes an appearance when you think of what you’re missing when you don’t choose one option, or you consider the potential problems of going one route. In the workplace, each minute matters.
Your indecision might be causing other employees to miss their deadlines. If you delegate tasks as soon as they arrive, you’re avoiding the pressure of nearing deadlines and you’re giving each contributor ample time to complete the task assigned to them. Then, if there are things to be polished, you as a team will have enough time to work on it together.
You don’t realize how much time you’re wasting until you need more. But sadly, you can’t buy more time; all you can do is use what you have wisely.