What’s on your to-do list? This week I was on spring break and had a big to-do list I created for myself. Items on my list included tasks to get caught up at work, ideas for my 52 Weeks of Wonder Challenge, and lot’s of cleaning and minimizing.

However, I caught myself dreading my list. I had opportunities to go out for lunch and connect with friends and would think about what I “should” be doing on my list. It was ridiculous. I wasn’t prioritizing my time off to connect with others. I decided early in the week to let that list go and just be flexible with my time during the week.

Coincidentally, I decided to take a walk instead of work on my list the other day and was listening to Ruth Soukup’s Podcast and she did an interview with Michael Hyatt on focus. He spoke about what he calls the “drugery zone.” He says that if you have activities you don’t like or are not good at these activities fall into the “drugery zone.” He suggests three actions you can take to handle these tasks. Eliminate, Automate, or Delegate. While I listened I noticed that I have been working on these three things throughout my 52 Weeks of Wonder Challenge and it gave me some perspective on my to do list.

Eliminate

I have prioritized minimizing things around the house to eliminate the clutter. When I created my capsule wardrobe I eliminated the morning routine of trying on different clothes and tripping over things in my closet. When I minimized the drop zone and the mudroom I eliminated the clutter in a space that should be welcoming. I eliminated the feeling of overwhelm and annoyance of tripping on shoes and staring at piles of mail.

Automate

I have slowly been creating processes and habits for things I don’t enjoy. For example, we have multiple people who help with the kids on school days. Each Sunday I would connect with the grandparents to see who was available on what days and then would list off what we had going on. It’s a lot of repetition and I decided to automate the process by creating our personalized family planner that listed everything we needed to know, including dinner. What do you want for dinner is another sticking point for us. Now it is on the list and we do not have to have the conversation every single day.

Delegate

To me, delegate means askign for help. I HATE going through my kids clothes with them. But my mom is great at it! The kids enjoy the time with her and she enjoys helping.

These small changes have allowed me more time for conncetions with family and friends. Less time worrying about what I should clean up, less mind chatter around what I should be doing to keep our home clean and more time and space for enjoyment.

I challenge you to consider what you can eliminate, automate, or delegate to help make your days easier and open up your time for things you enjoy!