Here are some ways that you can simplify your life today.
Give up material items
Having so many items not only clogs up space in your home, it creates more distractions for you. For example, having a TV in your bedroom, the living room, on the back porch, and in your bathroom will cause you to spend a lot of time sitting. You’ll have less time to spend doing things that you need to get done. So what do you do? Give it up. Sell all but one TV (or sell all of them and watch your productivity shoot through the roof). This idea can be applied to just about any material item. Not only are you getting rid of unnecessary items that you own, you’re giving them to people who may actually be in need of them. Material items cloud your productivity, giving you less of a chance to be successful. Once those distractions are removed, you’ll start to think a bit clearer.
Minimize responsibilities
Having more responsibility and time commitments will lead to get bogged down and eventually burn out. Living simply won’t amount to being busy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You’ll need to clear out the responsibilities that are causing your life to be complicated. For example, holding 4 part-time jobs is not better than having 1 full-time job that you can dedicate your energy towards. Having more commitments will require more brainpower and energy to be used, causing you to work slower, become stressed easier, and become unhappy with your life.
Sleep
Getting enough sleep can often have a profound effect on how much energy you have throughout your day. When you get the right amount of sleep (without oversleeping), you give your body a chance to keep going throughout the day, which gives you more of a chance to live your life simply. You will have more focus to do the things that you want to do; your time and energy will go towards those few things that make your life meaningful. Having little sleep will make you want to fall asleep whenever you’re not moving. This means while you’re in class, while your at your desk at work, and even while you’re behind the wheel. This proves to be dangerous to your learning and thinking processes. Sacrifice is necessary sometimes, but when it comes to sleep, never sacrifice what’s needed.
Organize your life
Being unorganized can give your life a sense of complexity. You’ll never know where things are, causing you to get frustrated. You’ll look unprofessional. Most of all, you won’t have a simple life. I understand having a messy desk can inspire some people to work creatively. But sometimes, cleaning that desk can get rid of many distractions. A simple life has less distractions.
Meditate
Meditation is a great way to relax, refocus, and recharge your batteries once you start to feel unproductive. When you meditate, you start to pay attention to the things that are often overlooked. It helps you recalibrate your mind to think deeper and provide a meaningful way to simplify your life. A great service to utilize here would be Headspace. They’ve got guided meditations for beginners and extended meditations for those who have mastered the art.
What do you do now?
It’s very simple: get up and go. You’re not going to accomplish simplifying your life until you really start to believe that you need it. Reflect on your life. Are you on the right track that you believe will lead you to a simple life? If the answer is no, take action.
