I’ve been reflecting on the adjustments I’ve made in my behaviour this year; little permutations that have freed me up in different ways.

I’m not talking about finding capital F Freedom, the kind that artists write songs about and people spend their lives searching for. I mean the tiny little freedoms we experience on a daily basis: things like freedom from a tedious chore, freedom from pervasive technology, freedom from unnecessary guilt and perceived failures. We often live with these kinks in our lives, when sometimes a slight adjustment – whether in our attitude or behaviour – is all that’s needed to bring in some much needed fresh air.

Here are four such ‘adjustments’ I’ve made this year:

1. I learned how to decline an invitation
Someone once told me it’s perfectly okay to say ‘no’ to an invitation or event, simply because you don’t want to attend. You don’t need an excuse, nor do you need to feel guilty for turning someone down in order to rest or spend time with the family. I’ve finally put this into practice rather than following my usual pattern, i.e. running duty-bound from one thing to the next when what I really wanted to do was to sit alone on my couch, being very quiet and still. And I discovered there’s more integrity in simply saying, “I’m sorry, I won’t be able to attend/help out”. You’re less likely to scramble for an excuse, lie or promise to attend, only to pull out at the last minute when you realise you have too much on your plate.

2. I started shopping for my groceries online.
The $5 delivery fee is worth the one-and-a-half hours I save each week doing my grocery shopping online. No more driving through heavy traffic, no more hauling a cranky toddler through supermarket aisles, no more circling for a car park. If it was a choice between saving pocket money or precious hours in my week, I choose the latter.

3. I stopped equating how much television my child watches with how good a parent I am.
I remember once reading an online forum where parents compared how many minutes they allowed their babies to watch each day, then feeling guilty about the times I plonked the little man in front of ABC Kids without a second thought. So many parenting articles go on about how children watch too much television – how anti social the habit is, how it kills brain cells, how it’s a sign of lazy parenting. Although television should be watched in moderation, we’re not super mums. We have days when we overly rely on television because we’re sick, have too much to do or in need of some sanity time. And that’s okay. It doesn’t make you a bad parent. Sometimes, you just do what you have to do.

4. I turned blogging into work, not leisure.
I was adamant when I restarted The Fountainside this year that I would treat it as a job with specific goals, not as a hobby. As such, I’m a disciplined blogger. I flatplan my posts two weeks in advance. I write/edit 5-6 posts over two nights a week (when the husband is busy studying or leading Bible study), then schedule them for release during the week. I set aside one afternoon a month to brainstorm post ideas and interview topics. By following a routine and not writing things as the mood takes me, blogging is less likely to compromise my spare time, giving me freedom to hang out with friends and family, do ministry or pursue other interests. I also never post things I regret later, as I generally have a week between writing a post and it’s scheduled publish date. Sounds a bit dreary, doesn’t it? But it works for me.

Have you found freedom in certain areas of your life lately? Have you ever made a small change that significantly improved your life?