Last time, in Part I, we looked into detoxing our minds, relationships, tech, body and home. Part II brings up areas that we often neglect when cleaning up our lives.
6. Detox Your Calendar
That’s right: you can and should detox your schedule. As you detox other areas of your life, remove from your calendar anything that would re-toxify it. Keep track of what you spend your time on. Reassess what’s worth your time and energy, and schedule activities that are aligned with your goals and higher purpose.
Try not to plan out every second of your life. Leave some time unscheduled to go with the flow.
7. Detox Your Sleep
Most people don’t realize how crucial sleep is until they can’t sleep. By detoxifying other areas of your life, thus limiting stress and negative experiences, you automatically help detoxify your sleep. Work on improving your sleep hygiene; there’s plenty of information about it online and offline. Abstain from caffeine at night and reduce it throughout the day. Exercise; it will make you sleepy earlier than usual.
8. Detox Your Habits
Habits, rituals and routines make up the fabric of our lives. Exceptions to this model are, well, exceptional. To detox your habits, make a list of things you do every day and/or week. Then ask yourself how each habit serves your priorities and purpose. Decide to eliminate habits that don’t help you achieve your goals or actually hinder you.
Keep in mind that it’s not enough to kill a bad habit. Like weeds, they grow back unless you replace them with something good and productive.
9. Detox Your Job
You don’t have to love your job. If you do, good for you. Some people have jobs that give them meaning and purpose. Others take jobs that help them grow professionally while on their way to better positions. Most people work to pay the bills. Unfortunately, many people have jobs they hate. It may be because of crazy hours, low pay, ineffective managers, lack of benefits or antagonistic co-workers.
If you’re in the last group, you can detoxify your work situation by taking a leap of faith toward a more fulfilling and rewarding position.
10. Detox Your Finances
Yes, you can detoxify your finances by evaluating how you make and spend money and by making healthier financial choices. Think about it: If you work hard for your money, should you spend it so easily?
Start by taking a look at your bank accounts, loans, credit card bills and other spending records, and evaluating where your money is going. You might be surprised to discover that you’re spending a lot of your money (after essential expenses) on things that don’t serve your goals and purpose but that actually distract you from it. Do you really need another expensive watch, another face cream, another large-screen TV, another pair of designer shoes, another another?
Ultimately, you’ll find that spending money on experiences is more satisfying than spending money on things.
