If your life is not going as you want it to right now…….

If you are not satisfied with the way you live your life right now, here are some things you can do to make it better. Start with the first task in Week 1,  then add a further task each week so that you are covering all 8 areas by Week 8.  

Week 1– Join the wake daily up at 5am club.  It does not have to be so early, as long as you can find one hour every morning when you will be alone without any interruptions. Use this hour to complete these three 20 minute tasks in any order you want:

20 minutes of exercise with at least 10 minutes of cardio, 5 minutes of weights or resistance and 5 minutes of stretching. If you are not sure how to do any part,  find an online video. 

20 minutes of reading to learn a new skill or acquire knowledge. 

20 minutes of gentle relaxation and meditation.

Repeat this one hour routine daily, even at weekends or days off work.

Week 2– Make a plan to declutter your possessions.  Assign some time each week to tackle a specific room or area and put things into keep and dispose piles. Organize the things you keep so they are accessible, anything in a container can be labelled for easy identification. Donate or dispose of stuff every week.

Week 3– If your spending is out of control, cut up the credit cards or reduce them to just one. Cancel subscriptions to things that are non-essential like cable TV, music streaming or Apps. Track your spending with a free App or a notepad to accurately record your outgoings.  Make decisions on what you can afford and create a realistic budget for essentials like food, shelter, heating, commuting and self care/medical.  Allocate spending for entertainment and fun but stick within your budget.   If you are overwhelmed go see a financial adviser. Allocate time to this task weekly.

Week 4– Reduce your screen time from phones, computers and TV.  Put your phone on silent for most of the day so you are not interrupted by unscheduled calls, texts or notifications.   Consider giving up social media completely, it is not an essential part of healthy living.  Spend more time in nature taking walks or bike riding. Stop and smell the roses. Make a plan to focus on this each week.

Week 5– Prioritize experiences over material possessions.   Find joy in simple things like writing, reading, spending time with loved ones or just taking a walk. Every week, find time to reach out to a friend or loved one you have drifted from.

Week 6– Plan your time effectively and leave gaps between tasks to allow for over-run or downtime. Practice single tasking and try to finish a task before starting a new one. Learn to say no to things that are not important to you and focus more on what is. Check in on this aspect weekly

Week 7– Practice self care to ensure your physical, mental and spiritual well being is not being ignored.  If you need to lose weight, start a diet and exercise program. If your drinking habits are excessive, considering having a totally dry month. Join a group with shared interests and consider volunteering as a way to donate your time helping others. Verify you have addressed this at least one a week.

Week 8– Look back and reflect on how your life has improved, allocate more time on areas that are not yet yielding results.  Reward yourself with some outrageous, decadent, delicious, guilt-free self indulgence.

Kevin the cough – part 6 The plan

Kevin did not know what to do so he sent a message for Billy who came round fast

Hey Kevin this is a really difficult situation you got going on man

Its strictly forbidden for any cough to have a relationship like this

They only allow it if both hosts are living together already

So what am I going to do? asked Kevin

Janet is going to have a baby and her host is single

Well there is only one way to make this work said Billy

We have to get Ralph and Suzanne hooked up

Then you and Janet can be together 24/7

Billy whispered the details to Kevin

Next time Ralph was with his drinking friends, Kevin made sure he coughed a lot

Especially when his friends were talking

They got very annoyed and told Ralph to get his cough checked out

Ralph agreed to go see his doctor and of course he had another coughing fit there

The doc asked Ralph how much he smoked and rolled his eyes

Look Ralph let me put this clear and straight to you

Give up smoking immediately and start exercising

Eat healthier food and cut down on the booze

Otherwise you will be dead soon, this lifestyle is killing you

Ralph went into shock and quit smoking immediately

He took on a personal trainer who gave him a healthy eating plan

Within six weeks Ralph was looking like a new man

He even had a haircut and bought some new clothes

He still went to the same bar but drank lite beer instead of hard liquor

All his friends were making fun of the new Ralph

The commotion caught the attention of Suzanne the cute bartender

She called Ralph over saying I need to ask you something

Whispering to him can you help me give up smoking because its done wonders for you

Sure I will Suzanne, come round and see me after work

And so a friendship developed between the two of them

Allowing Kevin and Janet to spend a lot of time together

A few months later Suzanne developed a little baby cough

Kevin was now a proud dad and deliriously happy

Suzanne moved in with Ralph and they were all two big happy coughing families

The years passed without any drama and baby cough grew bigger

One day a cough showed up in a suit asking for Kevin

Handing him an envelope saying you have been served

Inside there was an eviction notice

You gotta leave soon because your placement is being terminated 

I’ll be back tomorrow to serve papers to Janet said the suited cough