6 Ways to Make Life Easier One Small Step at a Time
Small Steps for Future You: How Tiny Choices Can Make a Big Difference
Do you feel like you're constantly rushing, barely keeping up, and unable to add anything extra to your plate? The cycle of catching up can be exhausting. But what if small, simple choices could make things easier for future you?
The good news is, they can! And I promise, we’re not adding anything overwhelming to your to-do list. These are realistic, sustainable strategies that will help ease your load and set you up for success.
Small action steps can change your day and make life easier
The other day, after a long, errand-filled afternoon, I was driving home and noticed my gas tank was nearly empty. I debated stopping to fill up but decided I’d just do it in the morning instead. Then my brain started spinning: If I do it now, I won’t have to wake up earlier. If I forget, I’ll be stressed in the morning. But I was exhausted and just wanted to get home.
Then I asked myself a simple question: Would this be helpful for future me? The answer was yes. So I stopped, got gas—it took less than five minutes—and went home. The next morning, I was so grateful. That tiny decision made my day start smoother and with less stress. It was a small gift to myself that made a big difference.
The Power of Small Acts for Future You
When you're overwhelmed and in constant hustle mode, adding one more thing to your plate might seem impossible. But shifting your mindset to ask What would help future me? can create a ripple effect. It won’t magically solve everything, but these small moments of self-kindness add up over time, creating more space, calm, and ease in your daily life.
5 Simple Ways to Help Future You
Want to try this for yourself and make life easier? Here are a few easy ways to start:
1. Ask Yourself: What Would Help Future Me?
Here are a few examples of small actions you can choose to take:
Pack a lunch or snack so you’re not scrambling when you’re starving.
Write out a grocery list instead of winging it.
Respond to that email or text now instead of putting it off (when possible).
Start a load of laundry before it becomes an emergency.
2. Follow the Two-Second Rule
If something takes less than two seconds, do it now.
Take that empty glass to the sink when you pass by.
Bring the mail inside when you get home.
Close an open tab on your browser that you don’t need.
3. Protect Time in Your Calendar
Think of scheduling self-care as a necessity, not a luxury.
Block out time for a real lunch break.
Schedule a short walk or movement break.
Physically turn off your laptop at the end of the workday to create a boundary.
Give yourself buffer time between meetings to avoid burnout.
4. Slow Down in the Moment
When taking small steps feels impossible, taking a few seconds to yourself can make a real difference.
Take 30 seconds to pause and breathe when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
Give yourself permission to step away and reset when needed.
Plan ahead to prioritize what truly matters instead of rushing through tasks.
5. Ask for Help and Delegate
You don’t have to do everything alone. Future you will be grateful if you lighten the load.
Delegate tasks at work or home when possible.
Communicate your needs instead of pushing through silently.
Accept help when it’s offered—whether it’s a carpool, a meal, or a small favor.
Use tools like grocery delivery or task management apps to offload mental clutter.
6. Consider Therapy or Coaching
Sometimes, the best way to support future you and make life easier is to invest in support now.
A therapist can help you navigate stress, anxiety, and emotional challenges.
A coach can help you build routines, break through procrastination, and create sustainable habits.
Support from professionals or peer communities can make a huge difference in feeling less alone and more equipped to tackle challenges.
Future You will be Grateful
Helping future you doesn’t require massive life changes. It’s about tiny, intentional decisions that create more ease over time. The more you practice, the more natural it becomes. So, what’s one small thing you can do today that future you will thank you for?
Curious about working with a coach to make life easier? Learn more about Executive Function/ADHD Coaching.
Curious about joining the Stuck to Started coaching membership?
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Sarah Lovell (00:01)
Do you feel like you're constantly rushing and it feels impossible to do anything extra because your day is so jam packed? So then you get in this cycle of constantly trying to catch up. It's absolutely exhausting. And so today I'm talking about how doing small, simple things can make all the difference for future you so you don't feel as overwhelmed.
And I promise we're not adding anything crazy to your plate. I know you're busy and I'm all about realistic, sustainable strategies. So that's what we're talking about today. Simple steps to make things better for future you. And we'll do the music and the intro.
and
So the other day I was driving home from a long day of running errands, going to the grocery store, returns, the post office, just like one of those weekend days where it's like, you know, yes, things are getting checked off the list, but it was just absolutely exhausting. And I was on my way home and I was passing the gas station and my car, I like noticed that I was like almost on empty.
And so I had the thought of like, could stop and get gas right now, but I'm just gonna do it tomorrow when I'm on my way out in the morning. And then my brain started going as it does. And you know, I started like going back and forth with myself of like, well, if I do it now, future me doesn't have to get up as early.
Or if I like forget, then I won't be as crunched in the morning trying to get gas and like getting out the door. But I'm currently tired. And all I want to do is get home and crash on the couch and have like a relaxing rest of the day. Future me can handle it. And then you know, back again. Well, but what if I did something nice for future me? And this is something I have been
trying to practice and integrate into my daily life. Something super simple as asking myself, what could I do for future me? Or would this be helpful for future me? And so I did. I stopped and got gas and it took less than five minutes. And yeah, in that moment I was tired, but I had this little feeling of like,
I am glad I'm doing this now and getting it off my plate. And the next day when I had to wake up, get out the door and get moving, I was so grateful to past me. Like it may, it only took a couple of minutes, but it made a huge difference the next morning for me. And I think it can be really hard for us to do this type of thinking for ourselves.
especially when you're so busy. And especially if you're already in the rush and the hustle and catch up mode and the to-do list never ends and more people are asking things of you and a wrench just got thrown in my day, why would I possibly add one more thing to my plate? But when we shift our thinking a little bit of like, would this help future me? It kind of.
breaks that cycle just a little bit. I'm not saying that like going and getting gas, you know, like fixed my day the next day, like, but it did make enough of a tweak that I started my day less rushed. I started my day, you know, feeling a little bit calmer, having one less thing to do, right? Especially when we live in a world where there's always one more thing to do. There's always a hundred more things to do.
So by doing this like small gift to future me, it created more space for me to continue doing this. And I'm not talking about, you know, massive things, although maybe there is, maybe we create more space to do bigger things for ourselves in the future, but doing a small kindness makes such a big difference. And so we do kind things for other people all the time, right? People ask us for favors.
People ask us, can you help me with this? We like look to help people, right? Most of us. I think we're a very friendly, welcoming, lovely community here. I'm guessing you are a kind person who offers to help other people. But how often do you do a kind thing for future you? And so that's what we're gonna talk about today. We're gonna look for opportunities to take these small, simple steps.
that can fit into your day in a realistic way. And then they're going to add up and create more space over time. So I'm gonna pause for a second to blow my nose.
So part of the problem is that you live in the moment so much that you don't have time to kind of plan for future you. I'm gonna start that over, I don't like that, sorry.
So if you are constantly hustling, chronically feel behind, always in catch up mode, I totally understand that it can be hard to think of like adding something more to your plate. But I think it's an important shift of thinking that you're doing something now to make life for future you calmer, easier, slower.
more peaceful, whatever phrasing you want to use, you're reframing it for yourself. So let me share a couple of ways that you can practice this and add this into your daily life. So the first one is a question that you can ask yourself. What is something I could do for future me? What would make things easier for me in the future? And so you might have a running list of these things that you're like, whenever the opportunity presents itself,
I'm going to do this, right? So, whenever it's possible, right? So it might be stopping to get gas before you're on empty or not on your morning commute. Could be packing lunch or a snack. That way you're not trying to figure it out the next day when you're starving and have 15 minutes of free time. Could be writing out your grocery list instead of winging it. It could be responding to that email or text message right now.
instead of pushing it off. And I totally know that that one can be a heavier, more complicated one. So does not apply to all situations. It could be even just acknowledging that putting on a load of laundry today, like while you still have extra socks is a gift to future you that you're not like
crunched trying to get laundry done, right, in an emergency situation.
So you might have some of these things that you're like, yeah, this could be something I do regularly for myself. I know some of those are more complicated than others, but it might be setting yourself up so that the coffee is ready to go in the morning. All you have to do is press the on button or heat the water, right? Little things. Another way that you can look for these opportunities is the five second rule or the two second rule or whatever number of seconds fits for you.
And so it's a very simple rule. If it takes less than two seconds or five seconds, do it right now. And so that might look like when you're walking past a glass next to your bed, bringing it to the kitchen, because you're already going that way, right? It takes two seconds, no extra steps. It might be stopping to get the mail and bring it in when you get home.
Right? So these things that are like on your natural path. And it takes some practice to like look for these, but it is kind of this question of like, if it takes two seconds, can I do this right now? A gift to future me that I don't have to do this, you know, when I'm already busy or stressed.
Okay, this one's a little bit more involved, but protecting time in your calendar. And I'm using the word protect intentionally. So this is blocking things off in your calendar to protect that time. So it might be taking a real lunch break. I know not all jobs have the environment for this or the ability for this.
But can you step away from your computer or your screen for a few minutes and take an actual lunch break, right? Future you is going to be refreshed. Can you schedule self-care? And it might be something like, you know, super concrete, like I'm going to go to this yoga class, but it could also be, I'm going to get up and walk for 10 minutes as a break during the day. I'm going to put this in my calendar.
as reminder to myself, as a schedule block so nobody else comes in and schedules something with me then, right? And I think exercise, I mean, I'll go off on a little tangent here, exercise can sometimes be a tough one for people because it's like, well, I'm tired or I don't have time. But I think it's like truly a gift to future you because most of us feel better after we move, whether it's 10 minute walk or an hour long exercise class.
even if you have some lower energy, oftentimes doing some sort of movement is going to help future you have some increased energy, right? It's endorphins, it's good chemicals in your brain. And that then helps you focus better, think better, feel better, do things in a different way. Like it's truly a great gift to future you. And it does not have to be big. can be,
whatever fits your day, right? Whatever fits what life is looking like right now. Another way that you can protect time in your calendar. If you're someone like me, I have a really hard time stepping away from work. I am like in work mode a lot of the time being self employed. I love what I do. It is all encompassing sometimes. And so I literally have to like,
turn off my laptop, not even just shut it, like physically turn it off so that I'm not tempted to come back and do one more thing, right? And that is a gift to future me because I deserve space from work. And so if you resonate with that, I challenge you, I know it's a challenge, I challenge you to set some boundaries around your work. If you're like, Sarah, I love leaving work, then this one doesn't apply to you. And that's okay. But yeah.
Give yourself some boundaries. And maybe it's setting boundaries around other things, right? Maybe it's social media, maybe it's other screen time, but that's a gift to future you. Another one is giving yourself breaks between meetings or even like coming back from big projects or vacations, right? Like you deserve breathing space in your schedule. And so this requires
Forward planning. This is a big executive functioning skill of looking ahead in your schedule and saying, okay, I have a marathon Monday of meetings. So on Tuesday, I'm going to carve out some time in my calendar, protect it for myself, and give myself a slower day when possible. And again, I know not all jobs can do this, but if you're like, this relates in this way, take what fits for you and adjust.
Another way to give yourself, give future you a gift is give yourself permission to slow down in this current moment. Especially if you're hustling, rushing in chronic catch up mode. We are at peak stress in that moment and stopping for or pausing for 30 seconds to breathe.
is literally going to make a difference for you. And I know it can feel really hard to be like, but I have so much going on. I can't pause right now. I can't stop right now. But physically pausing, giving yourself a micro break of 30 seconds to just breathe and process, create space. And then, you know, on a more complicated level, this is where I help clients.
plan and prioritize. Because when you're in hustle mode, catch up mode, trying to figure out what to do on your to do list, taking time, whether it's five minutes, an hour, to sit down and plan and prioritize is actually going to save future you time. It's going to allow you to work with your energy. If you listened to my last episode on buckets and menus,
This is where you're able to kind of pull from the different tools in your toolbox to help you do things with more intention that align with where you're at energy wise, what life is looking like, all of those things. Cause I think this is where a lot of people get stuck in this cycle of catch up mode because you don't have the right tools to help you plan and prioritize.
So you're just trying to hustle to get whatever is right in front of you done. And then future you continues to be in catch up mode. having tools to plan and prioritize and pick from your menu of options is truly a beautiful way to give future you some space.
Another gift to future you is asking for help or delegating because you can't do it all. And that's okay. It's okay to ask for help. It's okay to delegate tasks. And this ties in with that planning and prioritizing to be able to look at, okay, what things are a fit for me? What are some things that I can ask other people to do? What are some things that I can ask for help on? This is a gift to future you.
It saves you time, it saves you energy. Like you deserve to have a community of people to lean on in your personal life, in work, in all areas. And if you feel like you're constantly rushing and stressed and it feels impossible to think ahead, you deserve new tools and new systems to support you with that. And that the foundation of all of that is self-talk.
Right? So if you're saying, well, it's always going to be this way. I'm always going to be rushed. We have to start with first adjusting that self-talk. And so this is where therapy can be an amazing gift to future you. Like you deserve a designated time and space to talk things through, to process, to get that support. Different than therapy is coaching. And coaching is where
I help clients look at their systems and figure out what's going to help them break out of that cycle of being in catch-up mode and being in hustle mode and how can we create some tools and systems that are going to support future you, also current you, but they all build on each other. And so that's something I hear oftentimes when people join Stuck2Started.
is they're like, well, I'm so busy. I don't think I have time to commit to this. And so I think it's a reframe of if you are constantly in this hustle cycle, that you have to break it. And what's going to help you break it is having new systems and tools, having new questions you can ask yourself, having new supports. And so putting, putting some
time and energy into a new resource, like working with a coach or working with a therapist, a different type of support is going to, yes, it takes time and energy to show up to those appointments or meetings or to use those resources. But the goal of those types of supports is to really create space for future you. So I will wrap up this episode.
by asking you to do a little bit of pondering today, what is something you can do today for future you? It can be two seconds. It does not need to be this massive life-changing thing, but you deserve a gift to future you. So I challenge you on thinking about that. It does not need to be big. It does not need to be complicated. Those small things really do add up and make a difference.
And while you're pondering kind things that you can do for yourself, I'm going to ask you a favor. If you enjoy this podcast, would you consider sharing it with someone you think would like the reminder of doing something kind for themselves? So thank you so much for being here today. I'm so glad you're part of my community. My goal here is to spread kindness to yourself and to others. So I will talk with you next week.
