My goal with these Sunday posts is to quickly convey something you can do to achieve your health and wellness goals. I also aim to find things that are easy steps that can build incrementally to a healthy lifestyle. Many of the posts in this series have hinted at today's tip: minimize the choices you make in your life.
I've had this on my list of things to write about for a few weeks, and was inspired to go through with it when I heard Tim Ferriss read his essay "The Choice-Minimal Lifestyle: 6 Formulas for More Output and Less Overwhelm" on his weekly podcast. It's worth the time to read/listen because it outlines the science behind minimizing choices.
Essentially you only have so much mental energy to expend on making decisions each day. You can call it motivation or willpower or another term of your choosing, but it's all on the same spectrum. If you can automate many of your daily choices, you will use less of that energy. This can make you more productive and feel happier in general.
Here are some easy tasks you can turn into routines:
1. A daily meal - I know I always eat a smoothie for breakfast, and that I bring oats and fruit with me if I'm traveling.
2. Your commute - You know what type of commute fits your personality, and if you can automate the route you take each day and the time you leave.
3. Exercise - Even if you can't control your daily schedule you can control your workout routine. You can set a plan to alternate forms of cardio and do the same strength workouts in a pattern.
4. Clothes - Take 10 minutes on Sunday to hang your outfits for each day of the work week in your closet in sequence so you don't have to decide in the morning.
5. Shopping - There are a ton of great free grocery apps for phones and tablets. You can put them to work for you - they remember what you've bought in the past and you can easily tap your most common items to add them to your list. You can also set quantities to help make your store experience as easy as possible.
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