At my agency Tribe, we have a pencil that says SET IT UP TO BE EASY. We also have one that says DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE. Those are our company maxims, along with four or five others.
For our business, SET IT UP TO BE EASY means don’t book a 5 am flight for a 9 am client meeting. Instead, go in the night before, get a good night’s rest and be fresh and ready to do business when you arrive at the meeting. It means writing BUY MORE in Sharpie on the last ream of printer paper or box of coffee K-cups, so we order before we run out completely.
An easier life
But SET IT UP TO BE EASY is even more important to me in my life. It took me until maybe my mid-30s to really get it, that we don’t score any extra points for making our own lives difficult.
When I was much younger, I’d sometimes fall into the trap of relaying a long litany of frustrating setbacks to a friend or coworker. “First my car wouldn’t start, then I got caught in a flood, then a meteor fell from the sky, then I was snakebit.” It’s like bragging about one thing going wrong after another. Who wants to hear all that?
Now I try to focus on what’s going right. (Although I definitely still winge plenty, I try not to put anyone through a long story of domino-like difficulties.) They say that what you focus on expands, and I’d rather have the good stuff expand, if I can.
Like a moving sidewalk
I like to imagine moving forward in life easily, like walking on the moving sidewalk at the airport, each step propelling me forward. Some days are more like that than others, but you can increase the likelihood of smooth progress if you look more closely at the various aspects of your life and develop ways to make them easier.
Where are you hitting snags?
There can be simple solutions to so many sources of constant frustration or chronic stress in our daily lives. I always figure that if you can avoid as many of the little headaches as possible, you’ll have more energy to grapple with the big problems. If there are minor (or major) issues that are creating friction for you, identify the problem and set it up to be easy. Only you know what things are most likely to have you muttering a string of cuss words.
The cliché solutions
The solutions your mother might have suggested are cliché for a reason — they work. These basic strategies can be applied to stumbling blocks at home, in your health habits, at work, or almost anywhere you need a better system.
• Same place, every time
For example, have one consistent place you put your keys when walk in the door, so you don’t waste time trying to figure out where you saw them last. (I do that in my car too, so I don’t have to stand around in a parking lot rummaging through cup holders and door pockets.)
• Set it and forget it
A tried-and-true solution for saving money, among other things. Follow that old saw about paying yourself first by setting up an auto draft from your checking to your investment portfolio and/or cash savings account. This also works, of course, for money moving in the other direction — such as paying bills on auto draft.
• Schedule it now
Before you leave the dentist, the hair salon, the massage therapist, the whatever, schedule your next appointment. You might end up needing to change it, but that’s easier than having to remember to call or go online to book the next appointment. This also makes it easier to score an appointment for a day and time that’s most convenient for you. If you have to call at the last minute, the spot where they can squeeze you in might not be the easiest time for you.
• Make it an easier lift
When we first moved back to Atlanta from Florida 30+ years ago, I joined a fitness studio near our condo. But it was wintertime and rainy, and I’d forgotten about the hassle of Atlanta traffic. It felt like so much trouble to drive over there to work out. It was a heavy lift, for sure. And it took plenty of self-talk (or self-bribery) to convince me to do it.
We set it up to be easy by beginning to invest in exercise equipment at home, starting with a few barbells and dumb bells and some kind of cardio machine. (I think it was a used stair climber.) Talking myself into going down to the basement for a workout was much, much easier — and achieved the same end result of effective exercise.
If it’s a priority, make it easy
For us, staying active and strong is a priority. So now our basement gym has a cable weight machine and a larger rack of free weights. Most importantly, we’ve gone whole hog on Peloton machines so I can vary my workouts with the bike, the tread and the rower, as well as their strength training classes. A big investment, yes, but we both use that stuff several times a week. Having it at the house makes it easy, which means exercise is much more likely to happen.
If it’s a hell yes, make it hella easy
The funny thing about recognizing a hell yes and making it a priority is that it often falls into place easily. But other times, they are hurdles and hard work involved. If so, look for ways to organize, automate or simplify the steps in front of you. Apply the strategies you’ve used in other areas of life to make yourself successful in whatever this hell yes endeavor might be. As far as possible, be kind to yourself and set it up to be easy.
