Do you often feel overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious about daily issues?
If you answered yes, you have much to gain by simplifying your life. The most significant benefit of simplification or organization is freedom, resulting in more time and less effort needed to pursue your desires. With this time, you can improve the quality of your relationships and work or check some activities off your bucket list. Following are five easy ways to simplify your life.
5 Ways To Simplify Your Life
1. Practice Minimalism
Minimalism started as an art movement involving minimal raw materials to provide a simple yet elegant result. Over time, this movement has spread its roots into popular culture and become an alternative lifestyle.
Minimalism can mean different things to different people. However, it is a lifestyle of valuing experiences over objects and keeping only the objects you need. Decluttering your house or removing/donating the things you no longer use can multiply your space and give your physical surroundings a more elegant look.
2. Get Rid of Your Addictions
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
Addictions and bad habits suck our attention, taking away time and energy that we could have used for more pleasurable, profound, or productive activities. One way of simplifying your life is culling these time-consuming things. A general rule of thumb states that if you wouldn’t remember the activity five days later, it doesn’t deserve more than 5 minutes. Excessive internet use or browsing social media, among other addictions, might also negatively affect your mental health.
Read more: 5 reasons why a social media detox can be beneficial for your mental health
3. Say “No” More Often
Many times, either to please people or due to our ambitions, we may say yes to responsibilities that need more time or energy than we can spend. Fulfilling our tasks in this condition leaves our mental health worse. Learning our limits and weaknesses is essential to self-awareness, and saying “no” more often is the way to bring this insight to fruition. It is best to put a couple of hours aside daily since we never know when a new task might arise.
4. Distance Yourself From Toxic People
The people you spend most of your time around predict your mental health, habits, and stature in life. Hence, you should choose those around you wisely. One part of this is cutting off toxic relationships. You may feel guilty about distancing yourself from these people. But it is important to note that one cannot help anyone else before one helps themselves. An easy way to identify toxic people is through signs like manipulation, abuse, lying, and other negative behaviors. If you cannot get rid of these people immediately, it is better to start by detaching yourself emotionally.
Read more: 11 proven ways to emotionally detach from someone.
5. Use The Power of Systems & Routines
Systems and routines are unique tools you can use to simplify your life. As the famous saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” If you know a method that works well to complete an objective, such as a cleaning or organizing routine, it is best to stick to it. You can also develop systems for activities like shopping, going on outings, etc., that take up a lot of time.
Conclusion
Simplifying your life gives you more time, energy, and freedom. The most effective ways to simplify your life include practicing minimalism, getting rid of your addictions, saying “no” more often, distancing yourself from toxic people, and using the power of systems and routines. Wonder if there’s any way to improve your mental health simply? Don’t worry. Here are seven simple mantras for good mental health to help you do that.
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