In this episode, I talk about 5 of the most straightforward changes you can make in your life that will have huge returns for relatively low effort invested.
Check out the socket timer I mentioned here (Amazon Affiliate link)
Transcript
Hello and welcome back to another episode of the minimal minds podcast. I am your host. My name is Alex. And today we’re going to be talking about some of the easiest things you can change in your life that could potentially have massive results for you. For relatively little effort. And these things might take an upfront investment in terms of your time or money, some more than others, but they’re the sort of thing that just keeps on giving and giving. Even though you only had to make one change, one time.
So my first suggestion, which I’ve talked about on the show before, is get yourself a socket timer. And now this one decision has saved me so much time. I can’t even begin to tell you. If you don’t know what a socket timer is, it’s a little device that you plug into an electrical socket. It’s got a timer on it, and you can set it to turn on and off at certain times. So most people use these for when they’re on holiday. What they’ll do is they’ll plug in a light into the socket And they’ll set it to come on and turn off at certain times it looks like someone’s home.
I personally use mine for my internet router and the reason I used it for my router is because this socket completely removes my ability to stay up into the early hours. I just mindlessly browse the internet. Obviously the internet is an incredible thing, but it’s so, so addictive. And if you’re not constantly aware of your actions, it’s a very common experience to end up mindlessly scrolling well past the time you should be going to sleep.
Obviously there’s nothing stopping you from just getting up and unplugging it. But the friction that the soccer timer adds to your internet browsing habits, it’s enough to make the change. Usually.
So overall you buy the thing once, you set it up once, and then from that point forward, you will consistently get more sleep. So my opinion it’s a no brainer. If you want to pick one up on Amazon check in the show notes and I’ll leave you a link to the one that I use.
My second suggestion for an easy change, you can make with a big impact is to remove clutter from your living space. Removing clutter, in my opinion, it’s pretty easy, but it can be quite time-consuming. Cluttered spaces can make you quickly feel overwhelmed and stressed. And when your environment is disorganized, it can be really challenging to focus and find what you need when you need it.
A tidy space allows your mind to relax. Allows you to concentrate better. Reduces your stress. And will also boost your productivity because it makes things easier to find. Suddenly all the time you spend trying to find stuff just disappears.
If you’re unsure how to declare that here are the five steps as simple as possible.
Step one, set a clear goal and plan. And we start by visualizing how you want your space to look and function. Identify the areas or rooms that need the most attention and create a realistic timeline and break down the de-cluttering process into manageable tasks. So you don’t get overwhelmed.
Step two is sort and to categorize. You’ll want to begin by designating three main categories. Which you are going to put stuff into. Have a keep pile, a donate slash sell pile. And then a discard pile. Take one area at a time. Such as a closet or a drawer and just go through each item. Assess its usefulness, its sentimental value or its relevance to your current life. You’ve got to be honest with yourself and then make decisions accordingly.
Step three is purge and let go. You’re gonna want to donate or sell items that are in good condition, but no longer serve a purpose for you and dispose of broken or unusable items responsibly. Remember that de-cluttering is about creating space for what truly matters in your life.
Step four is to organize and find a home for everything. So focus on organizing the things you’ve decided to keep and assess your storage needs, and then you’ll want to invest in appropriate storage solutions. So just like bins and shelves and organizers and stuff like that. IKEA has it all.
Find a designated home for each item, keeping in mind, accessibility and functionality, keep similar items together to make it easy to find and maintain. And then the last step is maintain and regularly review. Because de-cluttering is an ongoing process. So you have to establish habits that prevent clutter from accumulating again. You’ll want to regularly review your belongings to identify any items that no longer serve you. You can practice the one in one out rule by removing an item whenever a new one into your space. And that’s how you declutter in five steps.
My third suggestion is always have water with you. And it goes without saying that drinking water is very, very good for you. The idea of carrying a water bottle with you is so simple. Yet, the amount of people that don’t do this, but they just don’t bother to drink water when they should be is just absurd.
And even I do it. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve had brain fog. I’ve had a headache. And it was literally just because I forgot to drink more that day. Get yourself a nice water bottle that you enjoy using and drink more water.
My fourth suggestion is to shift your sleep schedule earlier by a couple of hours. If you can.
This will vary from person to person, but for most people, your first few hours in the morning will be the ones that are most productive. And your final hours of the day. So about 8:00 PM and onwards will typically be your least productive. Because you’re worn out from the day you’ve just had.
So the idea with this tip, is to trade an hour or two from your night. For another hour or two hours. In your morning.
Starting your day early gives you a headstart on your tasks and allows you to take advantage of the quiet and uninterrupted time in the morning. You can tackle important projects, engage in focused work and prioritize your to-do list without distractions. That’s the key thing, without distractions, because everybody’s still asleep.
And especially in the summer when the sun is up really early, There’s something amazing about going outside and it’s nice and warm and there’s literally nobody else outside. It’s surreal and I highly recommend you try it.
When you wake up earlier, your mind tends to be fresh and alert and you have the opportunity to engage in activities, Like meditation or journaling or exercise. that are just gunna clear your head, reduce stress and improve your overall focus for the day ahead.
This mental clarity can lead to better decision-making and increased effectiveness in your personal and professional pursuits.
A thing about getting up earlier that is often overlooked, is that it provides you with additional time for self care activities that contribute to your physical and mental well-being.
You can do stuff like exercise, yoga, meditation, whatever you want to do. This dedicated time for self care helps you prioritize your health and wellbeing, and it sets a positive tone for the rest of the day.
And that leads me to my fifth and final suggestion for this episode, which is to keep a notebook with you or make use of your notes app on your phone. The key idea with this one is that your brain is for coming up with new ideas and not storing ideas. A notebook provides a convenient and reliable place to capture your thoughts, ideas and moments of inspiration. Whether it’s during a brainstorming session or something like that. Or reading, or just simply going about your day and you have something you want to remember.
Having a notebook on hand allows you to jot down those fleeting ideas before they slip away. It ensures that you don’t lose valuable insights. And allows you to revisit and expand upon them later.
Personally, I prefer to carry a notebook with me, cause I don’t always want to take my phone with me everywhere I want to go. But using your phone might be more convenient for you. I’ve had good experiences with apple notes. So if you’ve got an iPhone. I recommend using that over anything else, because it’s already installed and it’s free and it’s genuinely really good.
So that’s about everything I have for you today. Let’s summarize the five things that we talked about. Number one was to get yourself a socket timer (link in the show notes). Number two is remove clutter from your living space. Number three is always have water with you. Number four is a shift. Your sleep schedule a couple of hours earlier. And number five is bring a note book with you to reduce cognitive load.
I hope you gained value from this episode. And if you’d like my ebook titled the self development, starter guide, you can get it for free by signing up for myself development newsletter. At theminimalminds.com. And if you want to support the show, check out the link in the description. Thank you so much for listening and I will see you in the next episode.
