3 Quick Ways to Start Improving Your Life Today

The truth is there is no wrong first thing unless it's something that's truly out of sequence, like trying to run a half-marathon tomorrow when you haven't gone for a jog in years. Doing something is usually more important than what you actually do. Below is one thing in each area that can take you a step ahead in self-improvement. Often, this is all you need to break your resistance and keep moving forward.

Picture 1 of 3 Quick Ways to Start Improving Your Life Today

Decluttering

Most people have more stuff than they need, but there are so many steps to getting rid of it. What should you get rid of and what should you keep? Should you sell it or donate it or give it away? How long will it take? As is so often the case, the answer is to just do it. Get one cardboard box and tell yourself that when you fill it, you'll stop.

You should also have a plan for what to do with it. Don't make it difficult, like listing each individual item online. Instead, it should be something like dropping it off as a donation or with a friend for their yard sale. Once you've taken this initial step, you can do this activity regularly, once a day or once a week.

Finances

You know you should be doing better, including budgeting and tracking your spending and maybe figuring out more ways to save. To start with, just take one step to reduce your debt beyond your usual payments. If you have student loans, it doesn't take long to figure out if you can consolidate multiple balances into a refinance loan with a private lender. This can lower your monthly payments as well as make the overall time to repay your loan shorter. After you've taken this big step, look at other ways to reduce your spending.

Time Management

You aren't alone if you've spent more time than you'd like to admit reading up on various time management techniques without ever being able to fully put any of them into practice. Or perhaps you've succumbed to the common error of trying to schedule every minute of your time and found that you just naturally rebel against this regimentation. A great way to make a quick change in your approach to time management is to break your tasks into blocks of 25 minutes followed by a five-minute break.

This might not sound like much, but many people find their productivity soaring when they work in short intense bursts. During your break, get up and walk around, stretch or do something else that takes your attention away from the project you are working on. Try this for a day or two and see how much more you get done. If it works for you, look at some other quick-fix time management hacks you can employ rather than trying to implement an entirely new system.

Marvin Fry

Update 17 May 2021