11 Ways to Simplify and Improve Your Life

Are you looking for ways to simplify your life? Ready to reduce decision-making, overthinking, and overwhelm? This list covers 11 ways to simplify your life right away!

Introduction 

If you’re finding life overwhelming or stressful, and want to simplify life across the board, this post is for you.

It’s easy to get caught in the busyness of life – you’re not alone.

However, there is so much beauty in simplicity, only if we take the time to welcome it into our lives. You can save time, keep a calm and clear mind, and simplify your decision-making. Who doesn’t want that? 

I’ve outlined 11 ways you can simplify your own life now! Before you get overwhelmed, remember that this list is meant to inspire you. By no means do you need to do all of them. Pick the ones that resonate most, and you’ll be on your way!

1. Develop your own life rules

I’m not a big fan of rules – unless I get to create my own! In this case, by developing your own set of rules for your life, you can simplify decision-making and make things easier for yourself.

Here are some examples:

• I put things back where I find them (making it easier for me in the future because everything has its place)

• I always ensure the sink is empty before I go to bed (because I enjoy waking up with a clean kitchen)

• I never borrow money from friends (because I don’t like being indebted to others)

• I don’t drink coffee after 2 pm (because I can never sleep properly at night)

Now, when scenarios come up where you’re tempted to have a coffee after 2 pm, or when you get home and are too lazy to put your things away…you know exactly what you need to do. You know by following your rules, you are also taking care of yourself. 

On top of that, your rules prevent unfavourable situations in the future.

These are very simple examples I shared, and I encourage you to create your own set of life rules. As you learn more about yourself and the things you enjoy and don’t enjoy, you can then create rules that suit you best. 

You can also add and remove rules depending on different seasons of your life.

Remember, the end goal is to simplify your life. The more you live by these rules, the more they stick permanently and become a part of you. 

2. Preschedule your calendar

When we’re living day-to-day, life can get so busy that we can tend to lose track of upcoming important events, or perhaps forget to book regular health check-ups. 

By prescheduling your calendar, you can be on top of your year and not miss any important milestones or events.

To do this, start by thinking about all the different things you can book in advance, or reminders you want to set for yourself.

This might include:

• Important life events (anniversaries, birthdays, etc)
• Health appointments (doctor, dentist, etc)
• Vacations
• Any other regular activities important to you

Personally, I like to book all my necessary health appointments at the start of each year to ensure I don’t miss anything. If I’m not able to book the appointments early on, I instead set reminders for myself throughout my calendar so they aren’t missed.

At the beginning of each quarter, I plan when I want to take vacations, mark all important milestones and events, and also spend time planning what the quarter will look like.

Then, I ensure I set placeholders throughout my digital calendar and physical planner to keep organized. I’m the type of person that needs multiple reminders, so I set myself up for success in advance! 

If you can get on top of your calendar early on and set reminders for yourself, you can also easily simplify your life. You’ll only need to consistently and deliberately follow your calendar throughout the year.

I promise you’ll thank your old self for being so organized!

3. Automate your life 

One of the biggest things that has transformed my life personally is automating mundane, but important tasks. There are always tasks that we put off for later, so why not automate them instead?

Here are a few of my favourite examples.

• Automate payments

If you have regular bill payments, or if you’re trying to save for something, set up auto-payments. This makes it so much easier to ensure no payment is missed! If you use it for savings, you don’t get a chance to change your mind – your account grows for you! 

• Grocery shopping

During the pandemic, I discovered grocery delivery apps. Not only do they save the hassle of going to a busy grocery store (saving you time!) but they also save your grocery list in-app. Each time you need to do a grocery shop, it can be a simple click of a button. It’s seriously game-changing! 

Of course, there are so many other things you can also automate. Think about consistent, routine tasks that occur repetitively.

How can you simplify your life through the power of automation?

4. Curate lists of things you love

Another way to simplify your thought-process is to curate lists of things you love. This makes it incredibly easy when you need to pull things together. 

Think of it as your Go-to Lists – where everything on the list has been carefully tested and vetted by you!

Here are examples of lists to create:

• My Recipes
• My Drink Recipes
• My Pump-up Playlist
• My Favourite Beauty Products

Feel free to create as many lists as needed. 

To take it to another level, add everything to a master sheet or document that easily keeps your lists in one place. Access it whenever you need!

5. Create a personal style

In the same vein, creating your own personal style can transform your day-to-day. By having your signature style and clarity on the types of clothes that you love, this can save you time while also helping you stand out. 

To get started, simply think about the types of clothes you love to wear the most, and the clothes that you wear 80% of the time. Think about how you would like to be perceived – what is your personal brand?

Once you develop your personal style, curate your wardrobe accordingly. This will make it easier to get dressed every day. It also makes shopping a breeze – because your personal style helps rule out clothes that aren’t a fit.

Lastly, once you’ve curated a closet-full of clothes that fit your style, you can let go of pieces that don’t fit.

The less clutter and noise, the easier it is to get dressed!

6. Declutter your environment

Since you’ve decluttered your wardrobe, go ahead and declutter the rest of your home! It’s important to ensure you feel comfortable, calm, and relaxed in your daily environment.

Clutter and mess in your home can result in a cluttered mind. By letting go of items you no longer need and creating a serene environment, you can change the way you go about your day.

Some people do this yearly for Spring cleaning, though I suggest decluttering often and whenever needed. 

Tackle the different rooms or spaces in your home that you spend the most time in. Eliminate everything that doesn’t add any value to the space.

Make your environment work for you!

7. Keep your goals visible

One thing that can derail many of us is ‘shiny-object-syndrome’. This is where we get easily distracted by current, exciting trends that take us off track. 

This can happen easily with our goals – where we can get distracted by new ideas and forget our original priorities and goals! 

Of course, our goals can grow and change over time, which is absolutely okay. What we don’t want is to make rash decisions because we saw a trend on social media.

To prevent this, make your goals visible. Whether it’s creating a vision board of your ideal future, or writing down a list of your goals in your journal, or even creating a digital wallpaper for your phone…it doesn’t matter the method. 

What’s important is that you have a designated spot to see your goals and reflect on them often. Repetition is what helps program your subconscious to also aim towards reaching your goals!

8. Know when to say No

A common reason we get overwhelmed in life is by saying yes to everything! We commit to things we don’t really want to, or even overcommit to ourselves.

Having clear boundaries and knowing when to say no helps you keep a clear mind. If you know that something won’t improve your life, nor is it enjoyable, say no. 

The word “No” can simplify your life in so many ways. Start thinking about what are all the things you want to set boundaries around.

Here are some examples:

• Saying NO to working on the weekends
• Saying NO to work texts after-hours
• Saying NO to that gathering when you want to relax at home

The beautiful part is that you get to choose and create your own boundaries. The harder part is to stick to them.

However, the more you do stick to your boundaries, you teach others how to live by them as well. 

9. Have regular daily and weekly routines

One of the easiest ways to simplify your life is to build regular routines. Set up your daily routines and get clear on what you want to achieve in the mornings and evenings.

On top of this, look into creating weekly routines as well. Know which days of the week are optimal for you to do specific things. For example, maybe Friday is for date night, where Sunday is self-care day, and Monday is for groceries.

By making it consistent, it saves you time and reduces overwhelm. It simply becomes habits that are part of your life.

My personal hack is adding all my regular routines into my calendar (much like step 2 above). I set recurring events in my digital calendar for my morning routine, evening routine, and weekly routines. Everything from when I plan to read, to my weekly finance review, to other short-term habits I’m trying to build.

You can see this as another way of automating your life!

10. Embrace slow living

I recently discovered slow living through the Simple Joys YouTube channel. I would be lying if I didn’t say that this has transformed my life recently. 

Slow living refers to a lifestyle that encourages a slower approach to different aspects of everyday life. It’s about saying no to being busy, overbooked, overwhelmed. 

The hustle culture has been glamourized for so long now, and slow living is about rejecting that lifestyle. Nobody wants to be overstressed, working all the time, and not living a balanced and healthy life. 

I fully recommend exploring slow living as a new, and different option for your life.

Yes, you can take it slow. You can take life at your own pace. 

11. Keep it light 

Lastly, possibly my favourite tip of them all: keep it light. 

Let it be easy. Life is already difficult enough. A lot of the time, we tend to be our own harshest critic. We put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to know the answers, or have a plan, or to always succeed.

If you find yourself overthinking or overwhelmed, stop yourself. Keep it light. 

Ask yourself: What is the easiest decision you can take? 

If you can, ask yourself: Which path brings me joy?

Then listen to your intuition and trust that you already know the best answer for you.

Remember – life is too short. Let it be light, let it be fun!

Conclusion

These are my suggested ways to simplify all the different areas of your life. From automating your life, to owning your calendar, to letting go of all the things that complicate your life – the next and only step is to take action.

Pick the steps that resonate the most with you, and commit to yourself to doing them. While it may seem overwhelming to get done, usually it takes more upfront work that will pay off over time. Invest in yourself, and I promise you’ll reap the results and it will be absolutely worth it.

Let future you be proud and grateful for the actions you take now. You got this!

How will you simplify your life?

Leave a comment below!

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