16 Ways To Live A Simpler Life

Too often, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of modern life. When we simplify our lives, we can take a step back, admire what we've done, and see the beauty in it all. 

The benefits of living a simpler live includes reduced stress, better mental and physical health, more time to do what you want to do, and feeling a sense of fulfillment. Here are 16 ways to live a simpler life:

Reduce Stress By Downsizing Your Social Circle

Some believe that your overall self-worth depends on the number of friends you have. For a select few ultra-extroverts, a crowded social arena is comfortable. For the rest of us, always socializing can become tiresome.

Having a smaller friend circle can increase overall happiness by removing unnecessary hearsay, drama, and conflicts, and by allowing you to develop stronger, more meaningful relationships with those who appreciate you for who you are. By decreasing stress, and fostering motivation and an overall sense of happiness, friendship quality beats quantity every time.

Take On Fewer Commitments For Simpler Days

Sometimes we have no choice but to commit to certain obligations: appointments, birthday parties, family dinners, or your neighbour's cat's wedding. While it is polite to say "Yes, I'll be there!", we often end the call and ask ourselves why we agreed, remember that we have other plans, or realize we just didn't have the courage to say no.

Picture your day like a pie chart. Remove one third for sleep and one third for work. You're left with around 7-8 hours of your own personal time, if you're lucky. If you have other commitments like sports or dinner clubs, you'll have even less time. Remind yourself that this is YOUR time, and use it wisely. Knowing how to value your time will help you make the most of the time you have, instead of letting it slip away.

Use A Calendar, But Don't Fill It Right Up 

Calendars aren't nearly as popular as they were in the past, but they're still an important tool to have. Adding commitments like appointments, dates, and important events ensures that you won't miss anything. It also allows you to block off certain days or times where you can focus on what you want or just taking a personal a day to recharge.

Some people use their weekends to completely disconnect from work. They know the value of their two days off and want to make the most of them, through quality time with family, working on a hobby or passion project, or just relaxing after a long week at work. 

Make Time To Relax To Reduce Stress

Relaxing has many benefits. Some like to curl up with a good book and a cup of tea, others like to pour themselves a glass of something strong after a long week at work, and some prefer to play video games or go to the gym. However you decide to relax, make time for it. Create a ritual where you ease into your method of relaxing.

Remove unwanted distractions that may divert your attention from your immediate surroundings. When you're relaxing, you don't need to look at emails or answer calls. You're on your own time now. You're the most important thing at that moment.

Be Productive, Not Busy 

When someone is busy, they are filling in gaps between larger, more important tasks to give themselves the feeling of always doing something important. Someone who is productive knows the value of their time and completes tasks based on their urgency. A busy person toils away on things to achieve perfection while a productive person gets the task done efficiently.

The term "work smarter, not harder" can basically be rephrased to be "be productive, not busy". The same principle applies. When you are productive, you understand that some tasks require more time than others, so you use your time wisely to work on the ones that are the biggest hurdles. Understanding that some tasks take precedence over others will help you to adjust your schedule and time effectively.

Get A Proper Night's Sleep For Easier Days

The benefits of a proper night's sleep includes maintaining good heart health, reduced stress, improved mental focus and physical function, and a stronger immune system.

We would all love to be productive at all hours of the day; however, our bodies, just like our smartphones, need time to recharge. After a long day of decision making, physical movement, and thinking, our bodies and minds need to decompress and relax. A good night's sleep will do just that.

The optimal nightly amount of sleep differs from person to person. If you know how much you need, don't change your routine. If you don't know how much you need, experiment. Spend a week getting a baseline of 7 hours of sleep and see how you feel. If you are still tired, add more time.

Take Breaks From Social Media To Avoid Unneeded Stress

We can all confess to scrolling through social media late at night when it would benefit us more to sleep. Sometimes we end up doomscrolling well past our bedtime. Suddenly it's 2:00 am.

Some people limit their screen time to an hour or two each day, take entire days off, temporarily deactivate social media for periods of time, or just delete their accounts altogether. Another idea is to remove the sources of negativity if those people aren't important in your life. Chances are, they probably won't notice if you unfriend or unfollow them.

Spend More Time Reading 

The myriad of benefits from reading are covered in our article 7 Amazing Reasons To Read Books. In a nutshell, reading helps lower blood pressure, relaxes your mind, increases your ability to focus, increases your vocabulary, and helps with memory retention.

Did you know there are different ways to read a book? Our article 4 Effective Methods Of Reading goes into detail and explains the benefits of each method.

Not only that, but reading doesn't have to cost you any money. Websites like https://www.gutenberg.org have many free e-books to choose from. If you would rather have a physical book, most libraries offer free library cards, or you can sit inside and read a book at your own leisure. Some coffee shops offer small libraries of books to read while you sip your latte.

Realize What You Can And Can't Control 

If you have ever played The Sims, you know what it's like to be in full control of someone. You tend to your character's needs, make them happy, then ultimately put them in the pool and delete the ladder. While The Sims is a game, in some ways it isn't too far from reality (other than the magically disappearing pool ladders). In our day-to-day lives, we can choose actions that make us happy and fill our needs, bringing us a degree of fulfilment.

Emotional control is a muscle that we have to train if we don't want small things like criticisms or minor inconveniences to ruin our day. We can learn to control our attitudes, our efforts, and our words as well. Being able to bite your tongue or to resist acting on impulse could possibly save you from losing your job or a friend.

Let Go Of Things You Can't Control

There's a lot in this world that can cause us to become angry, frustrated, sad, or annoyed. Most of those things are not within our control, and yet we let them relentlessly bore into our brains.

Understanding that you can't control everything will help you to avoid becoming emotionally invested in those things that are out of your hands. Traffic is slow? Not your problem. So why get angry and lay on the horn when it isn't going to make anyone move any faster? Yelling at the clouds won't make them move out of the way and let through the sunshine.

Step Back And View The Whole Picture 

Sometimes we become so preoccupied with our lives that we never stop and take a moment to step back and admire our accomplishments. We can become so bogged down that days turn into weeks, weeks to months, and suddenly it's New Year's Eve and we realize we've done nothing but work our butts off all year long. 

Taking time to step back and see your life as a whole gives you perspective on where you want to go. Do you still want to travel? Are you still saving up for that new car? Taking some time once every few months allows you to check to see if you're still moving towards your goals. If you aren't, now's the time to assess it before another year passes.

Priority, Not Priorities 

The word "priority" is defined as the thing that is most important. Having priorities, plural, implies that at least two things carry equal importance, forcing them to compete for your attention. If a task is a priority, then make it the sole priority at that moment.

If you want, you can develop a priority triangle with your greatest concern at the top, then work down from most to least important. This will give you an idea of where to focus your attention and energy. By organizing your tasks this way, you can decide what is most pressing and what can wait. This way, you won't create any unnecessary stress.

Lower Your Expectations 

Unrealistically high expectations ensure that we feel unfulfilled with our lives. We like to fantasize about how things will play out in a perfect world. We like to think that we are the hero or that we will be credited greatly for our contributions, no matter how big or small they are.

Lowering our expectations to a realistic level helps us to be more content with outcomes. We shouldn't expect a parade because we got the highest score on a test or a bonus because we stayed late at work for a few days. Treat yourself to something small and then move on.

Repeated efforts will pay off over time. Constant high marks lead to knowledge, and staying late when you need to will show your boss that you're committed, which could result in a raise or award.

Take Time To Clean And Organize To Simplify Your Life

A clean and organized space is pleasing to the eye and helps eliminate stress and improve mental wellbeing. An untidy workspace or area in your house could also consciously, or subconsciously, remind you of unfinished business, which may stick in the back of your mind all day.

Cleaning and organizing at least once a week, removing unnecessary items from your workspace or home and making it feel new again, can be therapeutic. 

Wiping down surfaces, organizing daily-use items, and even adding a scent like a candle, a wax melt, or a couple spritzes of your favourite fragrance can invigorate any space. Research has shown that cleaner workspaces increase productivity and less distractions, as stated in this article.

Learn To Say 'No' 

Saying 'no' is not an insult. Rather, it's a way to present a boundary. A variety of valid reasons exist for saying no: you don't have the time, you don't need the added stress, or you simply don't want to do it. You don't need to apologize for saying no. You can give a small explanation if you wish to avoid confrontation or arguments, but also remember that

Stop Comparing Yourself To Others 

Even if we don't realize it, we are constantly comparing ourselves to other people. We consciously and subconsciously desire more for ourselves. 

We may feel envious when a friend gets a better job than us, feel inadequate when an attractive person catches our eye and we wish we had what they had, or regret wasting our lives because a social media influencer in their early 20s seems to have a better life than us.

In the right mindset, this could lead to thoughts of motivation and goal setting, but more often than not we tend to beat ourselves up and ruminate on past decisions that led us to where we are today.

It can be difficult to snap back to reality. Being able to shush your inner critic can be difficult, but like a muscle, this skill can be trained. Here are some simple and easy tips to help you stop comparing yourselves to others:

• Limit your time on social media.

• Remind yourself that everyone has problems—even celebrities. Nobody is perfect.

• Start a gratitude journal and write 3 things a day that you're thankful for.

• Spend time in nature and doing activities you enjoy.

• Speak to a mental health professional if your needs go beyond self care.

Summary

By now, you should have a good understanding of what it means to live a simple life. Take a moment to breathe deeply, and as you exhale, think about what's important to you and what you can do without. 

Did you enjoy this article? Learn something new? Share it with a friend and follow Esteemed Gentleman on social media to stay up to date with new articles and posts!

Links:

Facebook

Instagram

Don't forget to sign up below to stay up to date on new articles and reviews we publish!