By Lisa Caplan

We can probably all agree that we spend time on people, places and things  that add to our stress and zap us of our energy. 

Here are some tips to help you move forward in a more healthy way and reduce the time spent on those things:

1. Organize your work and personal space. A calm uncluttered space can lead to a calmer mind, making it easier to get things done. In your home take time to throw away items that are broken or don’t work and make a give away pile.  Starting with a fresh, clean slate will quiet your thoughts allowing you to move from task to task easier.
2. Detox your social media. Social media can cause a lot of unwanted “noise” in your head that can cause anxiety, self-esteem issues and uncomfortable feelings. With intention, decide what and who is healthy for you to follow. Pay attention to your body when you are on social media and if you feel uncomfortable, you may want to take a social media break or limit who you follow.
3. Detox your contacts. Personally and professionally look at who in your life adds to your happiness and who does not. Are you emotionally drained when you spend time with them, do they cause drama in your life, take more of your emotional resources, cancel on you often, are not there for you and constantly causing “fire drills”? Also, look at your clients and decide what kind of clients you want to accept and what clients require  too much energy to make it worthwhile. 
4. Delegate or hire help.  If you find yourself unable to get tasks completed at home or work, overwhelmed and not having enough time to do what you want to do, it might be time to delegate or hire help. Maybe you need an accountant at work or a paralegal.  Maybe it would be helpful to have someone clean your house or order groceries online to pick up at the store. Decide what tasks personally and professionally that you don’t want to do or don’t have the skills to do and look into getting help.
5. Build in a few minutes of calm each day. Find time to take a deep breath, close your eyes for 90 seconds, or do a mindfulness exercise on one of the many apps available. Mindfulness, meditation and relaxation exercises are great tools to help us decompress, feel grounded and help us accomplish all the things that need to be done.
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