How I've started setting myself up for success

Even though I basically want to sip champagne all day while people bring me things

I had a real win the other day.

I was paying at Target and it asked me if I wanted any cash and I got out $20.

I get how ridiculous this sounds, but here's the thing. The next day I was going to get my bangs trimmed and needed a tip for my hair dresser. Normally, I would skip the option at Target (because it seemed to hard? because I didn't want to push the extra buttons? WHO KNOWS!) and then remember as I was driving to the appointment so I'd have to race around to try to find an ATM, which invariably would be out of order, so I show up frantic and late.

Instead, I've been trying this new thing where I (wait, for it) set myself up for success.

WAH?!??!?!?!?!?!?

I know, I know, didn't we all learn this in elementary school?

For me anyway, it seems to have, ironically, gotten lost under the endless to dos and revved up pace of life.

For the longest time, I've felt two steps behind and struggling to keep up. The kids getting older has definitely helped, but I also think being intentional with creating space and spaciousness has also made a difference.

There are two questions I keep asking myself:

👉 Will spending two minutes on this now make my life easier in the future?

👉 How can I remove friction from this task?

The first one is pretty self-explanatory. If a task takes less than two minutes to do, I HAVE to do it IMMEDIATELY.

This includes things like:

• cleaning up spills in the moment

• taking in everything from the car

• writing down ideas, to dos, things people tell me in the moment

• ordering things when I notice we're out

• going through the mail

• paying bills (especially parking tickets!) as I get them

• making my bed

It’s hilarious how every one of these items make me want to roll my eyes, like, “Of course you should do that” and also “WHY DO I HAVE TO DO SO MANY MEANINGLESS THINGS WHEN I WAS CLEARLY BORN TO BE A DIVA?!?!?”

Doing them, though, has had a huge impact on my mental health and the way our house functions. In the past, I would have "saved it for later" for when I had "more time" and then been constantly irritated by these little energy drains.

Instead, every time I complete one, I get a little boost of adrenaline that I'm taking care of my future self, Diva Kara be damned.

The second question (how can I remove friction from this task?) has taken a bit more awareness and time, but has also heavily paid off.

These tend to be bigger annoyances that drain my time or affect our family's quality of life.

This includes things like:

• letting go of the idea that I am willing to dedicate time to learning to cook and instead buying meals that are pre-made or very simple to make (it is never going to happen so give it up, lady)

• buying and labelling containers for basically everything in our lives to help keep the house tidy

• meeting friends to work out every day so I'm excited to go

• going to a skin care professional who taught me a regimen that works for my face (instead of buying everything Instagram thinks I need that week)

• creating and printing cleaning lists for every room in our house so there aren't any questions as to what makes the job complete, as well as lists so people can stop asking me questions 🥳 (see photos!)

• researching and creating a system for all our paperwork, notes, and ideas so I have it all in one place and don't have to spend hours trying to find the envelope I wrote that doctor's phone number on 😭

• planning our weekends on Fridays and our weeks on Sundays so we all know what to expect and are sure we're getting in fun/important stuff

None of them have taken more than a half day to organize, but our life, honestly, feels much more spacious. It feels like we have room - in our cupboards, in our calendars, with our time.

I always have to add the caveat that, of course, I don't do these things perfectly (and, omg, my family certainly doesn't 😂).

There are days I still pile everything up to deal with later, or can't quite remember to put the cap on the toothpaste because it feels too hard, or we're running late and leave the house in a state of chaos.

But, the upward trajectory is there, even with the slips, which keeps the momentum going.

How does this hit? Do you already do this? Is there any area where you could remove some friction?

Let me know in the comments ways you’ve been able to create space in your life or might want to undertake - I’m always on the look out for ideas. 🎉

Have a SPACIOUS week!

Always a diva in her mind,

xx. Kara

PS: If you want my lists that I’ve been using to get the kids ready, let me know below and I can send you the link to all of them (I have them for bathroom, kitchen, living room).

This one has been really helpful when trying to cut down on screen time:

And here’s an example of one of the room ones: