6 Ways to Easily Simplify Your Life

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My last post covered my new yearly theme, simplicity. So, this week I'd like to share some of the ways to simplify life. I really want to take simplicity seriously this year, so that means not rushing into simple living. It's all about enjoying the process.

I've thought about simplifying my life for months. 2020 hit me like a bus, and I felt tired all the time. I was exhausted from everything in my external environment, and my internal environment. I knew I needed to simplify my life. So, for simplicity's sake, let's keep this intro short and sweet.

6 Ways to Easily Simplify Your Life

#1 De-cluttering.

De-cluttering is probably the most talked-about way to simplify your life. This year is all about understanding that LESS IS MORE. I want an environment that makes me feel calm, peaceful, and happy.

Those who have read my read blog post "10 Ways to Boost Motivation and Get Things Done", already know that I strongly believe our environments play a huge part in helping us make decisions and choices throughout the day. My environment can seriously make or break my day sometimes. I have always hated cluttered spaces, but I was also lazy when it came to re-organizing and trying to find homes for incredibly random items.

I'm challenging myself to get rid of a single item every. single. day. So at the end of the year, I would've gotten rid of 365 items. A really common challenge is the 30-day challenge where on day one you get rid of one item, the second day you get rid of two, etc. I thought doing one item a day would be easier to tackle, especially for those who have a difficult time letting go. If I do end up purchasing an item, I simply get rid of the number of items I purchased + one so that I am always reducing.

#2 Being frugal and sticking to a budget.

Frugality can help you identify your true priorities, reduce clutter, and reduce waste. By trying to own less, you also stop purchasing unnecessary things and wasting money. I am super guilty of purchasing so many unnecessary items, but I’m getting better and learning that happiness isn’t found in things. Using a no spend tracker as a reminder and way to help save money and ensure I’m not spending on unnecessary things, has definitely helped.

I can totally make a post talking about a few things that I no longer purchase and the amount of money I saved no longer purchasing them.

#3 Turning notifications off and unsubscribing from emails.

This is something I have actually started doing last year. I’ve had my notifications on my phone off for quite a while now (with some exclusions) and it has honestly been life-changing. I spend way less time on my phone because it’s not going off every minute and saying “ hey check me for the millionth time this morning”. Reducing screen time is very important to me. Reducing screen time has so many benefits such as better sleep, reduce anxiety, help you be more present, and help you stay focused.

Also - UNSUBSCRIBE! I don’t know about any of you, but I hate seeing that annoying notification of 20+ on the mail app on my phone. It drives me insane. For one, emails can just add to the list of crap you need to delete in the future and it adds to your digital clutter. Secondly, emails can probably convince you to make purchases by telling you that you NEED these new pants, or perfume, or whatever it is. I always unsubscribe once I realize my emails are starting to get bad again, or I'll go through it around once a month.

#4 Reducing to-do lists and prioritizing.

Last year I lead myself into burnout. I filled my to-do lists with so many different habits, tasks, and projects and I started to feel discouraged, stressed, and was slowly destroying my self-image. That is why I'm going to place my focus on 1-3 major priorities for that day (depending on the level of difficulty, time, etc.)

Another thing I learned was creating a done list. I've been slowly incorporating done lists into my daily planning and it honestly is such a great feeling to look over a long list of things you did, yes even the simple things. From eating breakfast, cleaning the dishes, reading, taking a shower, to simply getting changed out of your PJs, anything goes for your done list. Done lists are meant to inspire.

#5 Taking responsibility for our own happiness.

I strongly believe that if you want to change your circumstances, you need to change the way you think. Remember, YOU create your reality. I believe that the way we react and respond to situations is completely our choice. From positive thinking to learning how to forgive and let go, and by approaching situations in a more productive way.

One of my current reads is You are a Badass by Jen Sincero. The chapter I recently finished was called forgive or fester. This chapter thought me that forgiveness is about taking care of ourselves, not the people we need to forgive. Jen wrote that forgiveness is about putting our desire to feel good before our desire to feel right and having to take responsibility for our own happiness. This truly spoke to me in so many ways, and I really started to understand how my reactions to things can always change my mood, attitude, and state of mind. If I truly want to endeavor simple living, I must approach with a different mindset.

#6 Learning to do nothing.

It is so weird to write out that I need to LEARN how to do nothing. I thrive on being productive and getting a lot done, and doing nothing will be hard for anyone who also enjoys filling up their days and checking off something on their to-do list. I wrote a post a while back discussing the pressures of being productive, I use to think if I wasn’t productive I was wasting my time. This point is closely related to reducing my to-do lists, but I want to start scheduling more time of doing things just for my own enjoyment, or even doing nothing.

“Life doesn’t have to be FULL to be fulfilling."

We try and fill every hour of the day with things to do and work on. Multitasking and PRIDING ourselves on it, and when we don't do something or finish everything, we feel guilty. We completely work ourselves to the ground and don't even realize it. The whole point of simplifying my life is to incorporate more space to breathe not more things to get done. I'll be adding in a 10-minute time slot called my 10 minutes of silence. Where I will stop whatever task I am doing, and just sit there in silence. 10 minutes of silence a day is about showing up for yourself on a mental, physical, and spiritual level and focuses on your well-being. Plus, I've read that sometimes taking a break can actually increase our creativity.

So those are the few ways I will be trying to simplify my life this year.