Secrets to a Stress-Free Home: A Lesson in Letting Go

Most of us believe that being busy means being productive and efficient. In fact, the opposite is often true. Spa directors like Carl Pratt, general manager at Hanover Inn, New Hampshire, and former managing director at Canyon Ranch Tucson, in Arizona, know that too much busyness can not only decrease your productivity but also take a big toll on your health. That's why they strategically pace and plan daily offerings to ensure that even a classic type A spagoer gets some wind-down time built into her day.

How much would your life change if you blocked out your day like a spa program director would—setting a pace that feels comfortable, organizing unified activities, and building in variety so you could decompress instead of feeling like you're always racing to some kind of crazy, climactic finish? You can use these cornerstones of spa thinking to help set your daily priorities and goals for a better way of living.

Ban multitasking: Rather than constantly doing three (or more!) very different things at once, save up similar errands to do together. For example, set aside a specific time when you check your voice mail and return calls, rather than doing these tasks on and off all day long. Or, if you can, group all family- or kid-related errands and calls into one time of day (like spas, which devote entire buildings or areas to a single type of activity).

"It's about organizing like tasks to promote a sense of focus," spa consultant Sylvia Sepielli says. "Doing this allows you to be more effective and less frazzled. You accomplish just as much, but you don't feel scattered."