5 Simple Ways to Make Life Easier to Manage

INSIDE: Welcome to this week’s instalment of my favourite finds. The series where every Friday, I share my favourite book, podcast, YouTube video, blog post and freebie. All of which will help you not only become the BEST version of yourself but make life easier to manage too. Want to know what they are? Keep reading!

(This post might contain affiliate links which means that if you click through and make a purchase, I make a small commission. Read my disclosure policy here.)

Making life easier…

Let’s be honest, life can be pretty hard to manage at times. I’m all for making things a little easier where I can. And if I can share a few hacks with you so that your life becomes easier too, well, that’s even better! And so, for this week’s favourite finds, I’m sharing my favourite resources to help you do just that!

Here are my top five intentional living resources of the week. All of which are guaranteed to make your life that little bit easier to manage! How do I know? Because they’ve made life easier for me…so I know they’ll make life easier for you too!

MY FIVE FAVOURITE FRIDAY FINDS: JANUARY 17th

BOOK OF THE WEEK: The Activity Journal by Mrs Hinch

Okay, so when I first picked up this book, I’ll admit I had to Google what ‘hinching’ meant as I had no idea what it was…turns out it’s to do with deep cleaning your home. Did you know that? I had no idea. But now I’m hooked!

Anyways, whereas her first book, Hinch Yourself Happy, is all about ‘ways to shine your sink and soothe your soul’, this activity journal is more about time for you and ways to relax and destress whilst juggling all of those daily home-related tasks.

No matter how busy things are at home or how much cleaning we have to do, we all need a little time out. And this book is perfect for when we have a rare few moments to sit down with a cup of coffee and enjoy a few minutes to ourselves. Especially if you like journals as much as I do!

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A post shared by Sophie Hinchliffe (@mrshinchhome) on Aug 15, 2019 at 1:19pm PDT

What’s inside?

Self-reflection journal come weekly cleaning planner, the pages are pretty and beautifully illustrated (I wish I could draw like that!). And as well as space to plan out your hinching priorities for the coming week, there are lots of fun activities to help you unwind and relax. Activities like:

Weekly journal reflections
Counting your blessings
Category challenges like ‘name something beginning with an H‘
Creating a hinching playlist
Colouring pages
‘This OR That’
Hinch Sudoku
…and many more!

It might sound silly, but as a kid, I loved to do ‘spot the difference’, dot-to-dots and things like crosswords and wordsearches. And it’s actually quite nice to take a few minutes to sit and return to my youth when I would have probably otherwise have been scrolling mindlessly on Facebook.

If you want something that’s going to stop the social media scroll and give you the opportunity to unwind and regroup for five minutes here and there, this is THE journal to add to your Amazon basket!

Follow Mrs Hinch!

And if you want to follow Mrs Hinch’s love for all things cleaning, you’ll find her hanging out on Instagram at @mrshinchhome and @mrshinchcleaning. I’m following her…so make sure you follow her too. Oh, and if you’re not already, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram too!

PODCAST OF THE WEEK: The Purpose Show – Episode #130: Sunday night prep

I discovered Allie’s podcast about 18 months ago and I’ve not stopped listening to it since. Great for binge-listening – especially when you’re in the car or doing the housework, I’ve listened to many of her episodes several times over. And I’m sure I’ll listen to them many more times again yet!

If you’re looking for a little help with decluttering your life so that you can make life easier to manage and want a little reassurance that your best really is good enough, Allie’s podcast, The Purpose Show, is THE podcast to listen to.

My latest favourite episode which you need to put at the top of your list is episode #130 which is all about using Sunday nights to plan your week ahead – or what Allie calls ‘Sunday night reset‘.

I’m a big fan of prepping my week ahead once Harrison is in bed on a Sunday evening but this episode has some great tips I hadn’t thought of before. Tips like:

Setting an intention for the week
Sharing what my Hubby and I are worried about for the coming week
Intentionally planning time together – both with my Hubby and my boys
Ordering my groceries at the same time as writing my meal plan for the week

If you’ve never tried a Sunday night reset, I highly recommend it and this podcast will help you to get started. Whilst checking it out, be sure to subscribe because once you’ve listened to this episode, you’re going to want to listen to the rest of Allie’s episodes too!

More than just a podcast…

Allie has tons of other great resources all designed to help make life easier including her courses Your Uncluttered Home and Unburdened (which isn’t open right now but you can join the waitlist). She also has a Supermom Vault that’s packed with videos and workbooks to help you declutter your home, simplify your life and structure your day…so make sure you check that out too!

CHECK OUT ALLIE’S SITE HERE >>

YOUTUBE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: How to create a life you LOVE

Did you know that A Simple and Contented Life has a YouTube channel? Granted there aren’t many videos on there right now but that will be changing very soon!

In a few weeks, I’ll be launching two brand-new weekly episodes, #ChallengeMonday and #WellnessWednesday. So, head on over and hit the subscribe button so that you’re one of the first to know when they go live!

In the meantime, I wanted to share this video with you…

The live video I did for Health and Style Club for their How to Create a Life You LOVE masterclass, in it, you’ll find my best tips for reducing overwhelm, taking back control and making life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable so that you can create a life you LOVE.

Make sure you have a pen at the ready because you’re going to want to take notes!

BLOG POST OF THE WEEK: An A-Z of a life LESS stressful

Some of you have shared that one of your goals this year is to make life easier to manage. And so, for this week’s favourite post, I thought I’d share the post that hit the #1 spot in my top ten posts from 2019 – as voted by you!

What is it? My A-Z Guide on How to Make Life LESS Stressful!

Life can be pretty stressful at times and we all have things going on in our lives that stress us out. Thankfully though, there are a few ways to reduce those stress levels and take back control. And in this A-Z guide, I show you what they are!

No matter how stressed you might be feeling, adopt some of these practices, and you’ll be leading a life less-stressed before you know it – I promise! And, because I’m all about keeping things simple, there’s a FREE cheatsheet with all 26 ways on it for you to download, print and keep!

FIND OUT HOW TO MAKE LIFE LESS STRESSFUL HERE >>

And if you want to know what other posts made it into the top ten – both for 2019 and the two years before, just click on the links below!

FREEBIE OF THE WEEK: My subscriber’s Resource Library

Did you know that as a member of the A Simple and Contented Life community, you also have EXCLUSIVE access to my FREE Subscriber’s Resource Library? Inside, you’ll find a ton of cheatsheets, checklists, printables and workbooks all designed to help you become the BEST version of yourself and create a life you LOVE. Including:

Daily planner
Gratitude journal
Habit tracker
Weekly meal planner
12 habits to adopt for a better life cheatsheet
Kick-start creating a life you LOVE eBook and workbook
…and many more!

PLUS, as an added bonus, you’ll also receive weekly emails packed full of motivation, inspiration and reassurance you’re not alone on this journey called life.

Already a member? You’ll find the password to gain access at the bottom of your latest email. Not yet a member and want to get your hands on the printables? Sign up here!

The Resource Library is getting a makeover…

In a few weeks, I’ll be giving the Resource Library a makeover. I’ll be retiring some of the printables to make way for some amazing new ones. So if you’ve not checked it out yet – or it’s been a while since you have – head on over, take a look and download the printables you want BEFORE they go!

SIGN UP FOR THE SUBSCRIBER’S RESOURCE LIBRARY HERE >>

THIS WEEK’S BONUS: Make Over Your Evenings

Last week’s bonus was Crystal Paine’s Make Over Your Mornings course and so, as the theme for this week’s favourites is all about making life easier, I thought I’d stick with Crystal and share her Make Over Your Evenings course!

We all know that getting up earlier and having a morning routine can make life easier to manage. But our evenings are just as important too. It’s so easy to let those precious moments between dinner and bed slip us by. But if we put down our phones, turn off the TV – just for a little bit – and get more intentional about how we use that time, not only will we feel less exhausted, but we’ll feel less discouraged too.

And that’s where Crystal’s course comes in. In it, the founder of Money Saving Mom shows you how to:

Establish a realistic evening routine that works
Design a prioritised to-do list for each day
Figure out your most important activities and create a ‘best stuff‘ list
Assemble a wardrobe of simple outfits ready for tomorrow
Put your own self-care first
…and much more!

Self-paced and spread across 14 days – or longer if you want, Crystal shows you how to get your evenings back on track in just 15 minutes a day. With videos and a workbook, her tips and strategies are simple to follow and easy to put into practice. If you want to stop sleep-walking through life, Crystal’s Make Over Your Evenings is THE course for you.

I’ll be doing a full review of both this course and her Make Over Your Mornings course very soon so watch this space. In the meantime, be sure to get your hands on a copy of the course so that you can make your life easier to manage too!

GET THE MAKE OVER YOUR EVENINGS COURSE HERE >>

Make life easier this year…

There you have it, this week’s five favourite finds – all of which are guaranteed to help you make life easier to manage! Which was your favourite? I’d LOVE to know! Tell me your choice and share what you thought of it.

Send me a DM over on Instagram or drop me a line HERE.

Here they are again:

Make life easier every week!

Don’t forget to check back next week for the next instalment of my five favourite Friday finds. Not only will they help you become the BEST version of yourself, they’ll make life easier to manage too!

Better still, subscribe to A Simple and Contented Life so that you’re one of the first to know when it’s published! You’ll gain exclusive access to my Resource Library packed full of FREE printables designed to help you make life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable at the same time.

SIGN UP HERE >>

Do you have a favourite book, podcast, YouTube video, blog post or freebie? If it’s helped you make life easier to manage, I’d love to know what it is. I’m always on the lookout for new resources to dive into!

That’s it for this post! Which of my ‘making life easier’ resources will you be checking out first? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time…

P.S. Like what you read? Subscribe to A Simple and Contented Life!

Join my community and receive weekly emails packed full of motivation, inspiration and reassurance you’re not alone on this journey called life. As an added bonus, you’ll gain EXCLUSIVE access to my FREE Resource Library. Inside you’ll find a ton of cheatsheets, checklists, printables and workbooks all designed to help you make life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable. Simply fill in your details below and I’ll add you to my mailing list!