Ten Ways …
to spring clean your life By Robert Ashton
This spring will bring greater freedom after what has been a year of lockdown restrictions. Most of us have spent more time than usual at home so perhaps have already tackled many of those DIY jobs that had been put off for ages. But with now more than year having passed since we first went into lockdown it would good to prepare for the future by spring cleaning our lives. I’m not suggesting that we question our relationships, because
they will already have been strained or strengthened by the enforced proximity. Instead I think we need to take an objective look at how we spend our time and hasten our evolution to become the people we deep down know we want to be. Still not sure what I’m driving at? Here are ten ways I’ll be spring cleaning my life that you might just want to try yourself.
1. Get fit – I’ve missed the gym and the winter weather has not always encouraged me to go out for long bike rides. But I know that when I’m physically fit and not carrying excess weight I perform better at work, feel better and am far better company. I’ll be making time for plenty of trips to the gym. How about you?
2. Purge the address book – Over the years I’ve got to know many people from all walks of life. But as time had passed, particularly over the past year, I’ve drifted away from some whose company I enjoy and become a little burdened by others who frankly I feel a little sorry for, but could do with letting go. Social media encourages us to maintain contact with a wide circle of ‘friends’. People won’t notice if you unfollow or unfriend them, so be tough and cut those you won’t miss loose.
3. Treat the people you love – I’ve been married now for almost 40 years, and find it all too easy to take my wife for granted. I’ll be making a positive effort not to take her for granted and plan to try harder to show her that I care. For example this morning, when out on an errand, I bought her a cream cake. Remember, it’s the thought not the cost that counts!
4. Be more charitable – I don’t mean drop more coins into the collecting tin that sits on the counter of your village shop, but consider that as the world wakes up those businesses with a social purpose, as well of course as a desire for profit, will outperform those focused on just making money. I predict that many new community led ventures will step into the space left by the recent collapse of many debt-laden corporate businesses.
5. Follow upward trends – Nobody wants to be a stick-in-the PAGE 16 MARCH/APRIL 2021 FEED COMPOUNDER
–mud, but it can be surprisingly hard, a little scary even, to change the habits of a lifetime. Electric cars are a good example of what right now seems a little daunting, after a lifetime driving a diesel, but my next car will be powered by battery, not oil.
6. Don’t forget the lessons we’ve learned – I’m sure that you have found yourself meeting people via Zoom or Teams who once you would have thought nothing of driving 50 miles to meet face to face. Of course it’s important to visit people, see things, shake hands and negotiate deals, but I won’t be jumping in my car to go to every meeting. Instead I’ll conduct some online and some face to face.
7. Rediscover ambition – In many ways, personal goals have been parked for a year as we’ve wrestled with the day to day challenges of coping with the pandemic. But we’re now a year older than we were last spring, so those goals need to be taken down from the shelf, give a polish and put back where they belong, in the forefront of your mind. Only if we plan to succeed will we enjoy success.
8. Dig the garden – I’ve been reading about biophilia, which is that innate sense of wellbeing we are hard-wired to enjoy when in touch with our natural environment. It’s why I always have flowers on my desk and why I’ll be outside whenever I can to grow things in my garden. Making time to reconnect with nature is time well spent. If you don’t have a garden, take walks in the park or countryside, or volunteer to help someone old or infirm with their garden.
9. Break addictions – I don’t know about you, but I’ve found it all too easy to slump in front of the TV each evening and sometimes, even during the day. I’ll be making more effort to go out now; replacing evenings on the sofa with evenings of discovery, visiting restaurants, theatre and cinema. It will take effort to break recently formed habits. Work at it!
10.Imagine you’re moving house – I’ve not moved house for more than 20 years and you might be the same. Take a critical look round. What would you need to change if you were to put your home on the market? What would you expect to see if buying your home today? We never noticed the gradual wear and tear that all homes acquire over time. Why not spent some time and yes, money too, on giving your home a good once over.
On my mind, but not included in my checklist, is the sorry fact that
the Church of England is being forced to rethink its role in our society. We’re likely to see fewer clergy managing larger number of parishes, as church attendances continue to fall and many who until spring 2020 were regular worshippers, will not return, having found other ways to occupy their Sunday mornings. I’m not suggesting for a moment we all start going to church, but
more making the point that even practices with more than a thousand years of history are changing. The future is going to be very different to the past. Let’s embrace change!
Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd
www.cfegroup.com
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