Reasons Why You Should (and Shouldn’t) DIY this Holiday

The smell of pumpkin spice lattes and Michael Bublé music in the air means the holidays are here and the coming weeks will be joyfully (and stressfully) filled with food comas, shopping, and family.

These hectic times can bring out the best and worst in us all. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we are running a thousand miles-per-hour, yet aren’t getting anywhere. In these stressful moments, it seems counterintuitive, but it’s often best to pause. Pause, reset, and take control.

A great way to regain a sense of control is through do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Sites like Etsy and Pinterest can provide inspiration for projects ranging from fixing a leaky faucet (the one your mother-in-law always complains about), to remodeling your bathroom, to painting a bedroom mural. Here are three reasons why you should consider taking on a DIY project:

 

1) A Sense of Control & Accomplishment

When you start a DIY project, you are in charge. It’s up to you to learn how to make the magic happen, how to acquire the materials, and actually put in the work. The process itself will excite you; the result will inspire you. See a project through from beginning to end for a nice boost in confidence. A lot of mini-disasters in our lives are out of our control, so it can be therapeutic to take full ownership of a project.

 

2) Pick up New Skills

Did you achieve your 2017 New Year’s Resolution? Research has shown that only 8% of people follow through with their resolutions. But it’s not too late to learn a new skill or challenge yourself before the year ends! Was your resolution to channel your creative side more often? Head to Pinterest for some genius DIY ideas. Was your resolution to finally start a home garden? Check out DIY Network for helpful step-by-step’s.

Family DIY projects or outsourcing unpleasant projects are good ways to increase quality family time

 

3) Beautify Your Home and Life

If you redecorate your living room, you get bragging rights and permission to introduce yourself as an “interior designer” at dinner parties. More importantly, you’ve improved your living environment, which in turn, improves your mood. Consider starting a family DIY project to bring everyone together behind a common goal. Here’s a helpful list of hundreds of family DIY ideas from Country Living.

 

When You Shouldn’t DIY

You may be wondering, “how am I going to make time for a DIY project?” I’m already overwhelmed with my to-do-list. Well, not all DIY projects are created equal. You need to remove certain projects or day-to-day tasks to make room for the projects you truly care about and enjoy.

For example, let’s say you need to clean your closet. If you enjoy cleaning your closet, by all means, do it. However, if you have been dreading it and putting it off for weeks, perhaps you should outsource the job. It doesn’t make sense to do something you don’t enjoy when you could be working on a project that you can learn and grow from.

Outsourcing will save you time, and time is money. Let’s say you get paid $20 an hour at your job. That means an hour of your time is worth $20. If it takes four hours to clean the closet yourself, you are essentially losing $80 (opportunity cost). But, what if you hire somebody to clean it for just $50? You are technically saving $30 while avoiding an unenjoyable activity. TaskRabbit is a great website to help you find people to clean your closet or other tasks.

Simply put, you are buying life’s most precious commodity, time.

For most of my life, when faced with a cleaning-the-closet scenario, I thought I was losing $50 if I outsourced a project like this. Then, my economics professor, Dr. Tomlinson, gave me the above formula which shows that I’m actually saving $30, not losing $50. My hope is this formula has as great of an impact on your life as it has mine.

Being more efficient in the tasks we do also saves time. Sleeping well is the foundation for productive days. There are bedroom DIY projects and lifestyle habits that can improve sleep, but it all starts with a great mattress. I love my Sleep Number 360 Smart Bed because it adjusts to my body position throughout the night, rolls me over when I’m snoring, and tracks my sleeping patterns. The bed does the job for me, just like my closet cleaner.

Now that you have some time on your hands, you can finally start your DIY project. What will you make? How will you do it? Who else will join you on this quest of self-discovery and creation? Projects like these make us thankful for what we have, which is what this season is all about. Happy Holidays!

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