3 Ways to Stay Sane during a Move
On the one hand, a home move can be a very exciting and positive process.
You are getting a fresh start, turning over a new leaf, and are – hopefully – moving to a place that you like the look and feel of, and that you will enjoy living in.
Of course, there’s a bit more to moving homes than that. Unfortunately, the process also involves plenty of stress, and requires quick thinking, potential micromanagement, and more.
In order to stay sane during your move, so that you can better enjoy the positive elements of the process, here are a few suggestions.
Work to re-establish familiar routines as soon as you arrive at your new home
One thing that makes moving homes potentially stressful, is the fact that you are essentially disconnected from your usual routines, habits, systems, and practices.
When all is said and done, this has the effect of causing you to feel out of sorts – and out of place – and it can make it difficult for you to establish a sense of familiarity in a hurry.
Although you’ll properly have boxes all over the place for at least a few days after your move, and will still find the home itself more or less unfamiliar, you should work to re-establish your familiar routines as soon as you possibly can after arriving at your new home.
That means, stick with your usual wake up time and breakfast routine. Stick with your regular nightly rituals before heading to bed. Try to “import” as much of the positive structure as you can from your old environment.
Have an effective system in place for tracking the steps you need to take to complete the moving process
There are many things to deal with when moving homes. Beyond finding the right home and handling all the financial matters, you will likely need to contact removalists, arrange bills and services such as Internet at your new address, and various other things.
In order to stay on top of things, and to prevent yourself from feeling overwhelmed, you need an effective task and project tracking system that can keep you focused on the next step at any given point, while also giving you the peace of mind of knowing that you aren’t going to be forgetting anything important.
Whether you use Apple Calendar, Microsoft To-Do, Todoist, or any number of other services, you should definitely have some tools working on your behalf in this regard.
Find opportunities for a bit of calm, stillness, and silence in the midst of the chaos
When moving homes, you will, of course, need to be on your toes. You will also have to be energetic and switched on as you go about your business.
If you spend too much time firing on all cylinders, though, there’s a good chance that you will burn out and become a lot more stressed and frustrated than you need to, or than you would like to.
Find opportunities for a bit of calm, stillness, and silence in the midst of chaos, when you can.
That might mean finding an hour a week to go for a walk, or a few minutes each morning to spend on mindfulness meditation.