Christa, Day 70 and Day 71:

I can't believe we are one day away from the final day. When I first decided to do the 72 Ideas in 72 Days Project, 72 days seemed like such a long time. And such a lot of simplification! But I guess I'll ruminate on all of that tomorrow. Because right now, I am a day behind! Here's Day 70's voluntary simplicity idea:

Leave space around things in your day. Whether they’re appointments, or things you need to do, don’t stack them back-to-back. Leave a little space between things you need to do, so you will have room for contingencies, and you’ll go through your day much more relaxed.

I think I do this? Notice the question mark. The confusion stems from the fact that I don't lay out specific times to do specific things. So you might say that time for contingencies is built right in since overall my schedule is flexible. Then again, you might say there is not time for contingencies built in because I tend to have a lot on my to-do list. THEN THEN AGAIN, my to-do list is often for the week and not for the day, allowing me an even greater degree of flexibility. Making the whole thing entirely too complicated for a simplicity exercise. Let's just call this one done.

And on to today's idea:

Live closer to work. This might mean getting a job closer to your home, or moving to a home closer to your work. Either will do much to simplify your life.

I live eight minutes away from work by car, which includes some stop signs and traffic lights. Add daycare drop off to that, and I'm still close since P.'s daycare is just walking distance away. Biking to work took, oh, fifteen minutes or so? Compared to my husband, I live quite close to work. However, I am currently trying to convince my boss to let me work AT HOME, which would have me living as close to work as is ever possible. Working where I live, aka living at work. I am okay with that. In fact, I love working at home, in isolation. You might say it is my favorite way to work! So far, I have been allowed to do a test run of working from home on Mondays and Fridays. I think it's working out well, but also have yet to hear feedback from the bossman. We shall see.

See you tomorrow for the big finale!