Phasing Stress Out and Inviting Quiet In

Stress is a major factor in many of our health-related problems. A key way to reduce stress is to simplify. By reducing clutter, commitments, tasks and expenses, your life will streamline into the Stress-Free Zone. Elaine St. James tells us how.

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After I had simplified my life and my first book, “Simplify Your Life,” was published, I found myself facing a new challenge as life started to get complicated again. It was wonderful to see so many people embracing the idea of simplifying, but I saw how easily I could be swept back into the frenetic lifestyle that led me to simplify in the first place. Like many people of my generation, my natural tendency was to overdo. But I knew I’d be an ineffective spokeswoman for simplicity if my own life were in chaos.

Now, four books, hundreds of radio and television interviews, dozens of speaking engagements, a nationally syndicated newspaper column and 17 foreign book translations later, I’m often asked if I’ve been able to keep my life simple. In fact, even with all the newfound and continuing demands on my time, my life is simpler--and more rewarding--than ever.

Here are some steps I took to ensure that I could maintain that much-needed balance in my life:

First, I started going to bed earlier so I could get up at 5 a.m. Now I have four uninterrupted hours in which to think, meditate, do nothing, read, have a leisurely breakfast, and then take a brisk walk with my husband, Gibbs, before I start my workday. I’ve made sure not to be a fanatic about getting up early--if I need more sleep, I’ll take it. But creating an unhurried morning routine has gone a long way toward keeping the rest of my day--not to mention my life--simple.

If you have kids, getting up earlier than they do is a practical way to ensure that you get some time on your own each day. Depending on their ages, you can even teach them to enjoy that quiet time with you, without TV, radios, Walkmans, computers or the Net.

Second, I realized that one of the primary reasons our lives are so complicated is that we seldom take the time to think about how our lives are, compared to the way we’d like them to be. So I decided to schedule a block of silent time each week just to think. I started with lunchtime on Fridays, then gradually extended that time by several hours. I found this so beneficial that over the past few years I’ve built up to at least one full day each week in silence. I arrange my schedule so that on this day I don’t have to drive anywhere, attend any meetings, conduct any interviews, answer the phones, read faxes, or be interrupted by the outside world. If I’m on a deadline, I may work through that silent day, but my family, friends and business associates know not to call me during that time.

Because I set my own hours as a freelance writer, it might seem as though it’s easier for me to make that time in my schedule than it is for someone who’s responsible to an employer or a time clock. But having that time is possible for each of us if we make it a priority. Start with an hour or two on Saturday or Sunday morning and write in that time on your calendar. Make it sacred and think of it as the most important appointment you have each week, which, in fact, it is.

Third, I make sure I take an even larger block of time each year to get some distance from my schedule. This could mean getting away for a two- or three-day weekend, or even an entire week, on my own. Or it could simply mean turning off all electronic devices for the weekend and creating that quiet time in my own space. Keeping all the other areas of my life simple--the cooking, grocery shopping, laundry, housekeeping, yard maintenance and bill-paying--makes this easier.

I hear so often from people who crave time on their own but haven’t yet been able to take it. But once you get started, and experience how joyful and fulfilling it can be, you’ll see that making time is really quite simple.

* Elaine St. James is the author of “Simplify Your Life” and “Simplify Your Life With Kids.” For questions or comments, write to her in care of Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111, or e-mail her at estjames@silcom.com.