There are many reasons to make life easier. We live in the era of consumerism and materialism. Life has become a hectic struggle. We are so busy chasing more that our lives are packed with unnecessary things, responsibilities and additional burdens. These things have darkened our lives so much that it is difficult to focus on the things that are really important and meaningful to us. We assign meaning to insignificant things while completely missing out on the truly luxurious aspects of life.
The acquisition of material things has become the religion of the materialists. You are no longer determined by your thoughts and actions. Instead, you are determined by what you have. As a result, we always strive to acquire more. More money, more property, more power. At the same time, we strive to fulfill all our desires, not realizing that they are more or less insatiable. All this persecution makes us less content with what we have and shifts our attention to everything we don't have. As a result, we feel unhappy. For this reason, below are some inspiring ideas to make your life easier. These tips will help you clean up unnecessary clutter in your life.
Less - more
To simplify life means to gently turn your life upside down and shake it. It means letting go of aspects of your life that don't add value, meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. This will help you focus more on what you truly love.
The whole process of turning your life upside down can be difficult in the beginning. But in the end, you will only have the essentials that will truly benefit your life.
The beauty of a simple life
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The simple life allows you to get rid of all the noise, junk and excess in your life. You get rid of the superficial and chaotic for simplicity, mindfulness, gratitude and meaning. This process helps you to develop a sense of true appreciation for all the wonderful aspects that are already present in your life. This will help you realize that you already have everything you need to be happy and fulfilled.
If you can't find happiness by pursuing new fantasies and doing the most amazing things, that won't change. Even if all your dreams and desires were miraculously fulfilled in an instant, it would not make a significant contribution to your long-term happiness. In the short term, your happiness is possible, but ultimately, it will stay the same. This effect is known as hedonic treadmill.
But what are the benefits of a simplified life? Life just comes with a wide variety of different benefits. Let's take a look at these benefits.
Benefits of a simple life
- Peace of mind. Simplifying your life can help you release the dense materials that you put on yourself. This will help you to stop pursuing heartbreaking acts with the sole purpose of having enough money to buy new things. Ultimately, it will add more peace of mind to your life.
- Increased productivity. Less distractions can help you be more productive. Living simply helps you spend less time with unrelated activities.
- Clarity and focus. When you simplify your life, you gain more clarity about what really matters to you. This allows you to focus on precisely those aspects of your life that add true value.
- Freedom from ownership. Living in a simple way makes it possible to enjoy life, not to depend on material wealth, achievements and other rather superficial things. It also encourages us to let go of our obsession with things.
- To save money. It goes without saying that a simplified life helps you spend less on things you don't really need. This can contribute to a certain level of financial freedom if you only buy what you really need.
- Your own better and more valuable things. Instead of owning many things of inferior quality and value, simplicity makes it possible to have things of higher quality and value.
- Freedom from comparison. Comparisons are almost always unfair. We simply lack the right metrics to compare the accomplishments of our lives with those of others. Discontent and unhappiness is the inevitable result of comparing oneself to others. The simple life helps you free yourself from the need to compare.
There are many other benefits to a simplified life. The ones mentioned above are just a few of the many benefits you get by making your life easier.
40 best ideas to simplify your life
Simplifying your life isn't always easy. And it certainly doesn't happen overnight. The number of people who become minimalists from one day to the next is relatively small. However, it is not necessary to instantly get rid of everything in order to live simply. It may be much more beneficial to simplify your life step by step. In small steps, you can gradually change your life. A little less here and a little less there can provide great results in a relatively short time. It also gives you the advantage of doing things more intentionally and with more thought. It also prevents you from acting too hasty, step by step, without thinking.
Consider the process of simplifying your life as a journey. It's not so important to get to your destination quickly. Instead, it is important to change a wide range of beliefs, mindsets and habits throughout the journey. Almost everyone can simplify their life to the extreme. But only a few will be truly happy with the result. So consider getting simplicity as a gradual process of learning to settle for less.
While there is no easy step-by-step guide on how to live simple, it can be helpful to have a couple of tips to make things easier. Just pick the ideas that you find most useful in your life.
1. Choose quality over quantity
It is not important to have as much property as possible. All that matters is having quality things that bring real value to your life. It's much better to have a few things that you really love instead of having a ton of mediocre, doll-like and boring things.
2. Assess your property
Make a list of everything you have. After you finish, evaluate the importance of each possession. Ask yourself if the object is truly beneficial in your life, or if it complicates the situation. You will most likely find that many things drain your energy or bank account, or simply steal valuable time from your life. But you will also find central aspects that add joy and contentment to your life. Gradually work on removing unnecessary things that you identified. You will not regret it, and it will give you more time to spend with those you love.
3. Limit media consumption
Much of our consumption of media adds no real value to our lives. Watching TV, reading magazines, and surfing the internet are all very exciting things, but they can also distract us from what really matters. Don't let the media dictate or dominate your life. Limiting your media consumption is definitely not easy, but it will give you plenty of time to conduct activities that are more effective.
4. Free yourself from consumerism
Don't let cunning marketers dictate your purchases. Advertising creates artificial needs for things you don't even need. Free yourself from the bondage of consumerism. This will make your life much easier. Not only will you buy less, but you will actually start to need less. It can be a great experience to find that you don't need all those fancy and expensive toys. In addition, they will all be outdated within two to three years or even earlier.
5. Spend less time on social media
With your hand on your heart, answer yourself, does social media really have value in your life? In almost all cases, this will only distract you and waste your time. All of these updates and tweets clutter your mind and prevent you from doing anything more productive. Likewise, it is not always important to stay up to date with your friends (in many cases, these people are not even your real friends), or acquaintances whose activities you are not particularly interested in.
6. Assess your time commitment
You can simplify most of your life by prioritizing your commitments and removing those that lead you nowhere. This can help you significantly reduce your schedule time. To live simply means to stop filling your days from morning to night with various activities that take a lot of time. Focus on meaningful and important commitments and let go of unproductive and unimportant ones.
7. Do more of what you love
Pursue what you love. Spend more time doing activities that make you happy and satisfied.
8. Simplify your relationship
Try to fix the bad relationship or break it off if it doesn't fix it. You are simply wasting time with people who drag you down and drain your energy. Cut off this relationship or find a way not to put a lot of energy into this friendship.
9. Assess your goals and ambitions
We've all been taught that goal setting is really important. But sometimes our lives become so cluttered with all kinds of goals that we quickly lose sight of them. It doesn't have to be this way. Set yourself a limited number of meaningful goals and work hard to achieve them. When you reach these goals, set new ones. Reducing the number of goals you pursue will help you significantly increase your focus on the remaining goals. This, in turn, will help you be more productive and successful.
10. Stop multitasking
Multitasking is a myth. If you still believe in this, you can significantly reduce performance. Research has shown that multitasking is not possible. Trying to switch from one task to another will only increase stress levels and at the same time decrease productivity. In short, don't do it. Instead, focus all your attention on mastering the task. When everything is ready, turn to the next task.
11. Learn to say no
Sometimes, refusing can be difficult. But it can make the difference between living a peaceful and simple life, and living in a constant rush. If you cannot say no, you will automatically assume too many obligations, responsibilities and tasks. Simplify your life if you have the courage to say no.
12. Find out what is most important to you
To make your life easier, it's important to have a good understanding of your priorities in life. Find out what you value the most. This process may take a while, but it will be worth it. This will help you better prioritize and get rid of what you no longer value.
13. Priority of your work tasks
If you tackle your tasks and responsibilities at work in a first-come, first-out fashion, you are more likely to drown in work. Instead of trying to do everything at once, try to prioritize each task. Solve top-priority tasks with important results. After that, focus on lower priority tasks. See if you can eliminate the lowest priority tasks.
14. Analyze how you spend your time
Study carefully how you spend your day. It is very helpful to write down how many hours or minutes you spend each day with certain activities. This will give you a great overview of your "time record" and help you determine when you are busy but aimlessly. Evaluate if the activities you are running align with your priorities. Eliminate time wasted on activities that do nothing to achieve your goals.
15. Spend more time alone
Most people find it uncomfortable to spend time alone. Don't be one of them. Loneliness can be beneficial. Use the time when no one is bothering you for relaxation or self-development.
16. Reduce digital communication
Simplify your life by limiting the amount of time you spend digitally. Set a time for writing emails, phone calls, instant messaging, and more.
17. Consolidating Email Accounts
Email accounts are free, which is why almost all of us have at least two email addresses. Consolidate all your accounts by setting up forwarding rules or forwarding messages to your primary email account. This will help you avoid checking various email accounts throughout the day.
18. Don't clutter your email account
Even half of the letters we receive have nothing to do with us. Avoid unnecessary newsletters and anything else that doesn't add value. Disable all notifications from Facebook, vk, etc. In any case, you do not need such emails. And it's much nicer to have only 1 or 2 emails waiting for you in your account than 10 or 20.
19. Use disposable email accounts
They help you minimize the amount of spam and emails you receive on your primary email account.
20. Check your email only once or twice a day
Another important aspect of making your life easier is to check your email only at specified times. It is enough to check it twice a day.
21. Spend more time with your loved ones
And also reduce the time spent burning energy by people who are not important to you.
22. Eliminate Duplicate Things
A great way to make your life easier is to reduce the duplicate items in your possession. Nobody needs two smartphones, two cars, two televisions, two computers, etc. These duplicates do not provide much value to your quality of life. They just aren't needed, so get rid of them.
23. Do more of the things that make you happy
Try to spend less time engaging in unpleasant activities. Instead, use the free time to do what makes you really happy.
24. Live in the moment
Don't let the past haunt you and the future hold you in fear. Instead, enjoy the beauty of the moment. This present moment is all you have. Use it to build a stable foundation for your future. And forget about the past. Use the experiences you have made in the past as important lessons. And try to avoid similar mistakes in the future. Then everything will be fine.
25. Learn to settle for less
We are constantly striving to get more and more, without even thinking about it. But it's important to understand that we will never get to the point where we really have enough. There will always be new gadgets, faster cars, and more fashionable clothes. All these material things constantly feed our ingrained desire to have more and more. Simplicity can end this cycle, and you can greatly simplify many aspects of your life.
26. Remove "just in case" from your life
More often than not, we keep things "just in case", thinking that one day they will be useful to us. Even worse, we often don't even need a lot of the things we buy. We just buy them "just in case." Do not store spare items. Buy only what you really need, when you need it.
27. Live More Consciously
Your time is a finite resource. Make sure to pay close attention to what you are doing at the moment.
28. Get rid of negative habits
Your habits can be a big obstacle to simplifying your life. Break these negative habits by replacing them with more beneficial ones.
29. Simplify your finances
If possible, set up automatic payment on time (mobile, Internet, etc.). Likewise, see if you can set your paycheck to direct deposit.
30. Get rid of your credit cards
Throw away all your credit cards. If you really need a credit card, use a prepaid credit card. Otherwise, your credit cards will simply throw your money out of the window with exorbitant interest rates. They also lead to really bad spending habits and make you more prone to debt. Consolidate your loan if necessary by consolidating all your accounts into one. It will also help you to significantly reduce the number of phone calls or letters from credit card companies.
31. Cancel the (expensive) membership
Take a look at your monthly bills. See if there are membership services you no longer use. Cancel whatever you don't need. You can greatly simplify your life by canceling unused recurring subscriptions or bills. It's just a couple of dollars here and there, but they can quickly add up to a tangible amount.
32. Get rid of "inherited things"
We all keep things just because they've been with us for a long time. It's hard to let them go, even if they no longer serve any value. Remove from your life all the property that will no longer be useful to you.
33. Stop putting things in storage
Storing items in a warehouse is a convenient way to postpone the decision to remove them. We store information in memory because we can use it later. But often, that day never comes.
34. Allow yourself to mess around
Unfortunately, doing nothing is often considered a deadly sin. Many people hate doing nothing because it makes them unproductive. But sometimes times when you can just sit back and do nothing can be absolutely amazing.
35. Stop watching TV
Don't let the TV program dominate your life. You can get a lot of freedom by getting rid of your TV.
Stop watching a lot of TV shows. If you like to spend your leisure time watching your favorite TV series, choose your really favorite high-quality TV series, to watch each episode no more than one or two times a week.
36. Collect small change
At the end of each day, put all your change in an old glass jar or decanter. This will help you get rid of those annoying coins in your wallet. At the end of the year, you will have accumulated a certain amount.
37. Reduce your wardrobe
Simplifying your wardrobe can help you spend less time each morning thinking about what you should wear. It will also help you unload your closet. Focus on keeping only the things you actually wear. Donate the rest. And when you shop for new things, avoid extravagant fashion trends and focus on timeless styles.
38. clear your desk
Whether it's your desk or your desk at home, make sure it's not cluttered with unnecessary items. Clutter and a lot of things on the desk are distracting and lead to extra work due to all the disorganization.
39. Don't take work home
You have a sufficient amount of time, at least 40 hours a week, to be engaged in work, to solve important issues at work. Don't overwhelm yourself with work questions after work or on weekends. It is unlikely that you will receive a salary increase or praise from your boss for this. Instead, treat your work conscientiously during your workday without being distracted by non-work moments.
40. Always ask an important question
Whenever you have to decide something, ask yourself, does it make your life easier or more difficult? Consider if this is the right decision.
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We hope you found this article useful, and knowing how to simplify your life, you will start doing it right away, from this minute.
