This post is sponsored by Thistle.
You want to be able to do it all, but here’s the thing –– there’s only so much time in the day. You can do it all, just not on your own.
I’m always trying to figure out ways to better myself, in all aspects, but I’m also working on acknowledging that sometimes I’m trying to do too much, and it’s not sustainable. I need to make some things easier on myself, in order to function as my best self –– or else I’m constantly feeling like I’m on a hamster wheel, going nowhere fast.
When we set our expectations for ourselves too high, we end up putting ourselves in a position to constantly let ourselves down. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. We can outsource and automate our lives in a way that still allows us to be our most productive, healthy selves, without having to do it all on our own.
Here are five things that you can make easier on yourself with automation and outsourcing.
Meals
Eating healthy is hard, especially when takeout is the easiest thing to do when you have a really full schedule. You don’t know what’s in the meals at restaurants, even if it’s the healthiest option. And cooking can take a lot of time, that you don’t have to spare. From shopping to preparing the meal, it is just not the most efficient.
So, the best way to make it so that you can automate eating healthy is to find a meal delivery service that works for you.
This was the mission I was on, because I was tired of trying to figure out what to do for food every day. I’ve researched almost a lot of the meal delivery services in my area in Southern California, and the only one that met my criteria fully was Thistle.
I reached out to Thistle for a partnership, because I personally use and love Thistle. I am constantly telling my coworkers and friends about how great it is. I have a lot of standards for meal delivery service, because I like efficiency, and I like to stay healthy without thinking about it too much.
Photos by Laurie BullockHere is my criteria for meal delivery:
1. A good and flexible delivery system.
They deliver to me two days a week, before I leave to work and have a great texting notification for when it arrives. It’s super low-key, and convenient. You can skip at any time.
2. Food that’s fully prepared and ready to eat.
One of the best parts of Thistle is that the food is already ready for eating. At most, you might need to heat something up. I love that it’s ready to eat, and it’s already done for me. It takes the work out of eating healthy.
3. Truly healthy, delicious food.
I love wellness, and I’m really into superfoods. I love the ingredients that Thistle does and doesn’t include in their meals. I truly haven’t seen another brand with the same level of variety and nutrition that they have, while still being so delicious. They include over 40 superfoods on their menus and I feel so good after every meal. Meals are 100% gluten and dairy free. They choose local and organic whenever possible.
4. Affordable
I am a girl on a budget, and the companies I’ve seen online with the same level of nutrition are way out of my price-range. I love that Thistle is top quality at a budget-friendly price.
If you can relate, and those are the things you’re looking for too, I highly recommend Thistle.
Thistle delivers locally to San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange County. And they also ship across California and parts of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
You can get 30% off your first order from Thistle with the code LIFEGOALS30.
Social media
It’s hard to be present when you’re trying to craft the perfect caption on your Instagram. Sometimes it’s better to batch your tasks and do social media all at once, and schedule it out. I use Planoly personally and Later for work. Those are both great options for seeing what your posts will look like ahead of time, and crafting your captions in bulk.
I learned from Jenna Kutcher, marketing queen of Instagram, that she takes all her photos on a professional camera –– not necessarily because of the quality but because taking photos on your phone takes you out of the present moment. So she’ll never post on social in the moment, and she also chooses not to be on her phone. While her best moments are not captured for Instagram, she still shares beautiful content from her life. I aspire to do things like that, and really curate my social media feed so that it works for me.
Cleaning
My next automation goal is to find someone to deep-clean my apartment. If you have the option and cleaning is your least favorite task, it’s worth the money when you can spend that time doing things you care about.
If you can’t afford to have someone else come clean, you can create systems for yourself that make it easier to maintain. Maybe you have one morning a week that you dedicate 30 minutes to cleaning, and every day you dedicate 10 minutes to a quick clean.
Designate a place for everything, so that when it’s out of place, it’s easy to put things back in their proper spot. Whatever you find works for you to keep your place feeling inspiring.
Bills
If you’re missing payments or trying to keep track of more than five payments, it’s time to start automating that. It’s good to know what’s going in and out of your account, so making time two weeks or once per month to check in with your account is smart. But, trying to keep track of things that can be set on autopilot is making you work harder than necessary. I only keep a couple charges not on autopilot like my credit card (which I pay the full amount on each month) and rent. Otherwise, catch me not worrying about it. Same goes for savings. If you’re having trouble saving, automate payments each month to go straight to your savings account. There are apps like Qapital or Digit that do it for you. (Here’s a list of budgeting and saving apps you might like.)
All your staples
From skincare products to toilet paper to tampons, there are some things that are tried and true for you that you should just set on autopilot –– because you’re going to need it. Amazon gives you a discount to subscribe to a recurring service. I do this for my skincare from Bioclarity. You just want to make sure you’re not getting charged too frequently for your usage, but otherwise, it really eliminates stress. Think about the products you’re always using and if you can buy them on Amazon or elsewhere and get a discount by doing a recurring subscription.
Don’t forget that you can get 30% off your first week of Thistle with the code LIFEGOALS30.
