Simplifying your life is the elimination of daily distractions that prevent you from being mentally present with the people you love, spiritually aware, and physically active in your day to day lives.
What does it mean to simplify your life?
The quest for growth and living simply often requires us to take a step back to reassess our needs and what we can actually live without.
Decluttering isn’t something you do once every six months.
It’s a process that’s ongoing along with learning ourselves and what essentially brings us peace and joy in life.
Imagine being stranded on an island with only three things you can bring with you for survival. As individuals, we all value different things and don’t share the same necessities.
Slowing down and taking more time out of your day to dedicate to things and people who matter most is the first way to start living simply.
How to simplify your life in 2020?
1.Cherish the day.
Between our smartphones, social media, and FOMO (fear of missing out), the twenty-four hours we have in a day can fly by pretty fast.
From the time we wake up in the morning, we have so many obligations and distractions competing for our attention.
We instinctively turn on the television and pick up our phones to scroll for hours not realizing how much of an energy suck they can be.
Intentionally slowing down means to be present in those precious moments that we unknowingly let slip away.
Start the day off by waking up earlier, brew a fresh cup of coffee and journal for a change. Follow a kick-ass morning routine! We’ll touch more on this later.
Take a short walk, exercise outdoors, or play in the park with your kids to engage with nature every single day.
There are numerous health benefits that come from spending time outdoors.
Natural light from the sun contributes to our intake of Vitamin D and helps to alleviate mental health problems and depression.
Green spaces can help improve your mood, relieve stress, and help the mind feel more relaxed1.
Centering ourselves and keeping a harmonious balance requires the continuous act of decluttering.
Identifying slots of time throughout the day to make room for self-care, spiritual nourishment, and mindset growth are important.
Taking the foot off the gas and not operating on auto-pilot every single day won’t be easy. Unfortunately, it’s a bad habit that many of us need to break.
Daily routines can aid in developing better practices that will assist in the conscious effort of slowing down and regaining control of your time.
Setting clear boundaries between work and your personal life at home is a must.
Assign a hard stop time to your workday and reserve breaks and evenings for checking in and spending time with the ones you love.
2.Create a timeless wardrobe.
There’s nothing worse than opening your closet and realizing that you have way too many options (well, at least for some of us).
Do you still have clothing items from years ago with tags still on them? I know I’m not the only one with a few pair of shoes I’ve only worn once!
Every recovering shopaholic can relate for sure. This is all the more reason why I decided to switch up my wardrobe by shopping minimally.
There are quite a few ways to declutter your closet by keeping only the essential pieces you can switch up every season.
You don’t need different pants and jeans to pair with every single one of your tops and tees.
Keep your wardrobe selection simple. Layer tops, sweaters, and jackets as the seasons get colder.
Identify neutral colors that will match with a variety of items and buy shoes that can be dressed up or down with accessories.
A completely different outfit for every occasion isn’t necessary, simplify your wardrobe with timeless pieces you can wear whenever.
3. Simplify daily meals
Don’t make deciding what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner an every day hurdle.
Waiting until the last minute to decide between a homemade salad or cheese burger for lunch does nothing but pack on the pounds.
Nine times out of ten you’re probably going to go with the latter! Let’s be honest here
Weight gain comes from a poor diet, lack of physical activity, and impulse eating throughout the day.
Creating a weekly meal plan should be just as important as writing out your daily to-dos.
Food nourishment should not be the last thing on your priority list. Replenish and energize your body with the ‘good stuff’ by planning ahead.
We don’t need a five course meal for dinner every single day. Meal prepping on Sundays and food repetition goes a long way.
Cook enough food to last at least 1-2 days, prepare a quick lunch and snack the night before.
Keep the major food groups in mind or switch it up with a smoothie or two for breakfast.
4.Follow A Quick Morning Routine
Use the morning to set your day up for success. You don’t need an elaborate routine with intricate details to follow every single day.
To ensure your day starts off right just make sure that you’ve set aside time to fuel your body with energy and pour into your soul.
Drink a glass of water at room temperature as soon as you awake to kick start your hydration, eat a nutritious breakfast, take some time to meditate, and move your body to release those endorphins and any stress before work.
Pull out your nifty to-do list and you’re as good as gold.
Related Post: 3 Unexpected Benefits of Daily Routines
5.Set monthly goals.
Living life on the edge and flying by the seat of your pants eventually gets old. What’s your vision for the future? Where do you see yourself – 5 to 10 years from now?
Make a habit of setting realistic goals, preferably no more than three each month.
Select two smaller goals and one primary goal to work towards. Break down your goals into mini action steps in order to meet them.
Remember that old dress size you’d like to get back to? Or the five figure savings account you’d like to achieve by the end of the year?
Those are simple goals you can achieve in a reasonable amount of time.
Setting annual goals at the top of the year with target deadlines are more common but usually ineffective.
How many times have you set goals in January just to abandon them all by March?
Take a simpler approach. We often hit a wall trying to achieve so many lofty goals at one time. Buy a house, get a promotion, lose fifty pounds, back to back, which only leaves us spiraling down the slow winding road of burn out.
Being ambitious is great as long as you chase after your dreams in a healthy way.
6.Spend more time with family.
How many hours a week do you spend time with your loved ones? Can you count the hours on more than one hand? We need to hold the relationships we value with others to a higher standard.
Too many distractions with what’s going wrong with the world or keeping up with trends on Tik Tok and Instagram limits our opportunities to create experiences and special memories with the people we would be devastated to lose.
The constant tug-of-war on where to focus our energy can seem endless when we don’t prioritize fostering the relationships in our lives.
You should be just as aggressive with capturing your little girl’s first steps and planning family vacations as you are with starting that fancy new career or meeting your annual financial goals.
Tuck the phones away at the dinner table and pour into each other again like we used to do when social media didn’t exist and our schedules were a little less hectic.
What will matter more to you in the end? Make the effort to slow down, block out time to check in with your family, and love up on friends you haven’t seen in a while instead.
7.Buy only what you need. (80% savings, 20% needs)
Give 20% of your earnings to savings and use the 80% to buy what you want or need. Heard of this rule before? Hate to break it to you, but I’m not a big fan.
One of the main reasons why so many people become victim to debt is the issue of over spending money before we get it.
Today, we’re saving less, living beyond our means, and relying more and more on credit.
Why would you spend the majority of your paycheck rather than saving it?
The paycheck-to-paycheck hustle is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
Do you really need the latest iPhone? Do you have to take that expensive trip with your best friend overseas?
No, I’m not suggesting you neglect your needs to save for a rainy day. When you walk into a store you don’t always have to clear the rack or purchase the most expensive item off the shelf.
One of the main reasons I decided to shop like a minimalist was to save money and create a habit of only swiping my debit card for the things I needed.
I personally follow the 80/20 rule but in reverse.
80% percent of my earnings goes to savings and bills, and I use the other 20% for buying things I like or need. Frugal living for the win!
Related Post: Shop Like A Minimalist – 3 Things I Buy More
8.Declutter spaces at home.
Decluttering and organizing is pretty trendy right now. People are flocking to blogs and Youtube to learn creative, effective ways to declutter their living spaces more than ever.
Sometimes, our mental and physical spaces can use a good flush here and then.
This doesn’t mean purging your entire household every other month.
Decluttering embodies more meaning than simply cleaning out your closet, reorganizing your den, or categorizing things in your pantry.
The ‘decluttering’ process requires you to reflect on what’s important in your daily life.
Sometimes, we hold onto objects we don’t necessarily need or use often enough to justify it taking up space around us.
What unhealthy foods need to be removed from your diet? Do you need to hold onto all those receipts and old documents that can be saved electronically?
Useless home decor, mountains of old toys, and outfits you’ll never wear again can be distracting. A clear space and less options results in a healthier, peaceful mind.
Related Post: How To Know If You’re A Minimalist?
9. Limit screen time
Don’t be a slave to your phone. Some of us have become so shackled to the sidekick in the palm of our hands that we have been conditioned to feel incomplete without it.
All those beeps and notification pop ups from our favorite apps, emails, and text messages can get a little distracting.
We’re so consumed with what’s on the screen in front of us that we no longer stop to smell the roses let alone share a friendly wave or ‘hello’ with neighbors beside us.
Facebook, Instagram, and watching countless hours of Netflix has made in-person social interaction less desirable. We are slowly but surely losing the ability to communicate with each other in healthier ways.
The physical activity of youth has diminished along with nourishing friendships and relationships further into adulthood.
You can change this by actively limiting your screen time and opting for other activities that don’t contribute to a sedentary lifestyle.
Instead of picking up your phone to check the time, make use of a wrist watch. Instead of using a scheduling app on your phone, refer to a small notepad or physical planner in its place. Listen to an audiobook, plant a garden, or read a book for leisure.
10.Show gratitude
One of the best ways to simplify your life is to be grateful for what you already have. Gratitude journals and the practice of meditating is consistently growing in popularity.
Putting too many things in front of you can prevent you from realizing that your needs have already been met.
Take a few minutes out of your day to write down a list of what you’re thankful for.
Reflect on where you are in life. Are you content? Are you running after things you can possibly live without?
The ability to see a new day is a blessing in itself, and unfortunately, one of the things many of us take for granted.
We all need to be poured into spiritually. Carve out a portion of your day to read the Bible, pray with God, or listen to something that’s positive and uplifting to your soul.
With only twenty-four hours in a day it’s pretty easy to let our precious time slip away.
Sticking to a schedule can be a little tricky when the world is moving so fast.
Therefore, slowing down has to be intentional on our part.
Developing habits and sticking to routines that reconnect with what you value in life can be a potential remedy.
The forty hour work week can make it seem as though our time to do meaningful things is limited to evenings and weekends but that’s not necessarily true.
Waking up early and swapping out certain activities that lead to higher stress levels and less productivity for activities that contribute to peace and more energy is key.
Make a conscious effort to start your morning on a positive note. Do what feels good for your mind, body, and soul.
Start your day off with a cup of coffee and a bible scripture or uplifting poem rather than digesting negativity from the radio or news for a change.
Nourish your relationships throughout the day. Send a sweet note to your spouse by text, call your parents during lunch, or send a quick email to a friend just to check in.
Reserve your evenings for self-care. Stimulate your mind or participate in a hobby as long as it consists of something you genuinely enjoy.
Set clear boundaries with managers and coworkers on the job by committing to a hard stop time for work. Leave any gripes and workplace mishaps at the office; don’t bring them to the dinner table!
End your day by journaling or reading an entertaining book.
Turn down the noise and spend the rest of those hours with the people you love instead.
Download the 31 Day Simple Living Challenge now available in the FREE RESOURCE LIBRARY!
I teach entrepreneurs how to simplify their life and business with less + own their time and maximize productivity towards their personal and monetary goals.
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