How to Automate Your Life

I have a confession: I did nothing for my blog last week. I didn’t email my following friends, I didn’t blog for my readers, and I didn’t write an article for my writer friends. I barely worked on my novel, despite the fact that I am literally in my final read-through before I send it off my friends who have offered to add their strengths to check my storyline.

Was I on vacation, you ask? Why, no! I worked my day job, cleaned my house, traveled to visit my sister, ate dinner with friends, fixed my car, paid bills, scolded my cats...In other words, I lived life. Productive, right? Except, I’m still behind. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

I have a lot going on and not enough sleep, so I’ve been looking for ways to think less about everyday things and more about what I need to focus on. And though I am sure our lives look very different, there are common things we all have to do and we’re all short on time. So I thought I’d share and see if you have anything you’ve used to add.

Creating My Routine

I know some of you hate routine. It feels restricting, regimented or OCD. But look at it this way: You don’t have to make choices when you’re in a routine. When you have found a routine that works for you and melded it into habits, your brain can do things on autopilot. You save time because you have decided ahead of time when you will do which things and in what order. I am playing with my routine right now, but I know what has worked best in the past.

Using Other People’s Routines

One of the things that always seems to be coming out of my mouth is, “And then I’ve got to clean.” In full confession, I have a Cozy Add-On App from FlyLady that I need to work back into a habit. But I have found in the past that Flylady has a good routine. Seriously, this lady has an entire website built around cleaning your house, but she knows her stuff. I have been working on fitting chores back into my routine. She already has things broken down into daily tasks: basics like dishes and a load of laundry. Then she has spliced your house up into zones that you focus on each week. So you do one easy task every day that keeps you on top of your decluttering and deep cleaning without the marathon sessions I am currently using. This is a work in progress for me: I am trying to get my sleeping schedule back to 5:00 mornings where my routine works well, but lately I’ve been getting to bed too late which leaves me just enough time to get ready for work. Anyone out there using FlyLady and want a buddy? Let me know! I need help.

But I love the idea of piggybacking on other people’s systems. FlyLady’s house is probably cleaner than mine. Dave Ramsey’s bank account is definitely larger than mine. These were normal people who struggled, found systems that work, and now excel in them. So I’ve been making things easy on myself. Let’s just do what we know works and then we have the next step. If FlyLady suggests I clear off my dresser today and Dave recommends that I save until I can cover my expenses for 3-6 months, why waste time working out a chore chart and researching investment options so I can make my own plans? Let’s just stick to what has been proven to work and free up the time to finish editing that novel!

Automate Bill Paying

This may be the most common automated service, but it can really help. Assign a day your reoccurring bills will draw from your account. I space them out but put the larger bills a day or two after I know I will get paid. Because I have budgeted for the month, I know exactly how much money I need to leave in the account and what I should pull out for spending. I purchase food, gas, and my fun things out of cash using an envelope system so I know what the money is designated for. I also know how much needs to sit untouched in the account so the payments will go through. And then I don’t do anything except check off the bill as paid.

Automate Common Purchases

I started taking vitamins by Meleleuca and they are shipped to my house every month. It made me wonder what else I could arrange to show up on the doorstep. This is definitely still in the experimental stage, but it has been fun. I am working through Financial Peace University and am currently saving as much as I can, so I have focused on the necessities but I like to purchase directly from individuals or companies when I can. But if I am going to be making emergency runs to the small stores nearby anyway, why not see what I can automate. Here are some of the thing I am trying:

Cat Litter - Yeah, I said it. I wanted to try a new litter I saw anyway after an ongoing battle with keeping cats inside and away from recent animal attacks in my neighborhood. So I tried out Pretty Litter and I have to say so far it has been worth every penny, even if I’m pretending I only have one cat instead of two.

Cat Food - I needed to upgrade from the “Cheap Stuff” and locally sold cat food isn’t cheap at all. So I went to the source and got a percentage off for reoccurring shipping.

Vitamins - Right now I am using the Meleleuca Power Pack but before I had my vitamins from New Chapter which I highly recommend with this referral link.

Groceries - So this one isn’t quite in gear yet (as my refrigerator will attest). I have been eating out a lot lately because I don’t enjoy cooking, especially when I don’t have a lot to work with. I have used meal services in the past but they were expensive. But I also need to be healthy. I don’t want to spend my Sundays grocery shopping, certainly not driving as far as I would need to to have a lot of healthier, harder-to-find things. So I am planning on choosing some recipes and using the “Curbside Pick Up” option of a store about half an hour from me. Sure, I’ll still have to drive, but I won’t have to spend two hours, wandering around trying to think of what I could use to cook something that tastes good.

It’s been fun and I have only scratched the surface of what I could do. As long as these are things I buy every month anyway, why not see how many I can put on standby or even automatic shipping? So that’s where I am at this month. What about you? Do you have any routines, tools, or door-step packages that make your life easier? Please share!