“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”
Confucius
“It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.”
Bruce Lee
I love to keep things simple.
Why?
One simple reason and one of the most important ones for me is that simplicity reduces the heaviness in life.
It makes it lighter and not so stressful or energy draining as it once might have been.
So today I would like to share 13 daily habits that make my life simpler, lighter and happier. I hope you’ll find something useful for your own life among these habits.
1. Use a very simple workspace.
My workspace is just a laptop and a larger screen on a desk made out of wood. I use a comfy chair and there is room for my glass of water beside the computer. That’s it.
There are no distractions here. This makes it easier to write and to keep a clear mind.
2. Cook more food than you’ll eat.
We usually make 4-10 servings of what we are about to eat. This cuts down on time that you spend on cooking and you’ll have to do less washing up in general.
Plus, you’ll have lunch for the day after. And sometimes a couple of portions to put in the freezer. And that really comes in handy on those evenings when you don’t feel like cooking.
3. Write shorter emails.
I tend to write emails containing only a few sentences, usually between one and five. In some cases I write more of course. But keeping this guideline in mind cuts down on the time and energy that is spent on processing emails.
4. Be 10 or 5 minutes early for meetings and appointments.
This will help you to make your time of travel into a sort of break and a time of relaxation. Instead of it being another thing that ramps up the stress.
5. Spend only 20% of your time on dwelling on a problem.
And 80% of your time focusing on a solution. Instead of the other way around. It is not always easy to do but keeping this thought in mind makes it easier to not fall into the trap of feeling like a victim or going down a spiral of perceived powerlessness.
6. Stop trying to do things perfectly.
Go for good enough instead and when you are there you are done. Get things all the way to done this way and then move on to the next thing.
Setting this more human bar for yourself not only leads to more things actually being finished but also helps with keeping your self-esteem on a healthy level. Perfectionism makes it pretty impossible to find or maintain high self-esteem.
7. Stop trying to please everyone.
Because no matter what you do there will always be people who you don’t get along with. That you don’t have good chemistry with. Or that do not like you for some reason that may often be about them and something that you have no control over.
8. Eat slower.
Make your lunch time a time of relaxation rather than a time to just add to the stress of your day. One thing that works well to slow down when eating is to put down the fork between bites.
9. Enjoy the simple pleasures.
A pear. Fresh and clean bed sheets. A hug and a kiss. Holding hands. A laugh with friends. The sun and blossoming nature after a long and cold winter.
10. Give each item a home.
Then you’ll know where to put the item when you have used it and easily find it again when you need it. Plus, you’ll reduce the clutter in your workspace or at home.
11. Write everything down.
Pretty much everyone’s memory is leaky. So help yourself.
Write down what you need to do or shop for today. Write down your ideas before they fly away. Write down the one habit or area you are focusing on right now in your life and put that note where you can see it every day. Like on your bedside table or bathroom mirror.
12. Avoid making mountains out of molehills.
When stressed about something ask yourself:
Will this matter 5 years from now? Or even 5 weeks from now?
13. Breathe.
When you are lost in overwhelm, a problem or the past or future in your mind breathe with your belly for a minute or two and just focus on the air going in and out of your nostrils.
This will calm your body down and bring your mind back into the present moment again.
Henrik Edberg is the creator of the Positivity Blog and has written weekly articles here since 2006. He has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Gothenburg and has been featured on Lifehacker, HuffPost and Paulo Coelho’s blog.
Comments on this entry are closed.
Wonderful tips, I am definitely going to incorporate some of these into my own life. Lately I’ve really been enjoying living a minimalistic lifestyle. There’s something very zen and relaxing about decluttering and just being okay with a simple space and keeping only the necessities. Thanks for sharing!
Very good advice here! Actually, I found your “eat slower” tip surprising – not because it doesn’t have anything to do with the article (because it does!) but because I recently found out that eating slower is much more healthy. If you eat too fast, it takes your stomach a minute to realize it’s full, so you tend to overeat. So eating slower is not only better for leading a simpler life, but a healthier one too!
Very good advice. Because it’s the little things that matter.
Very helpful!! Thanks again!
Thanks. I needed this.
Always love your insights, Henrik! I especially love the 80-20 rule when dealing with problems. Now THAT is something I can use right now! Thank you.
I love it!! It summarizes everything that stress me. Some of them I already do, some of them I always forget. I enjoy your blogs! Everything apply to me! Thank you
I would add a couple of other things. Serve someone. Doing something good for someone lightens the heart. Even saying thank you makes you feel good. And forgive. Let go of things (forgive?) that maybe hurt and even were completely undeserved, but are hurting you far more than they are hurting the perpetrator. Makes falling to sleep at night easier. Once my daughter was being quite awful to me, and I stopped with a defensive reply on my lips and said: “You need a hug, don’t you?” And she did. I can’t remember what it was she said, but we both felt better.
Nice I enjoyed reading it… thanks
Very good! Indeed inspiring!
I can honestly say that I enjoyed every one of your habits and completely agree. I love being surrounded by simplicity, writing EVERYTHING down so I don’t have keep it in my head, and there’s nothing better than stopping to take a cleansing breathe. Thanks for sharing!
-Tara
Thank you so much for the inspiration. :)
Really great habits that will definitely help me live a lighter, cleaner life. Thanks!!! I especially liked habit number 10!
Clicking on your site was one of the best thing I ever did for myself, It has been really helpful. ThAnK YOu! Keep the good work up.
Thanx so much for making this points so short and simple! 3,7,9,10 are my favourites but they are all great :-) I will print them so I have them on paper to remember through the day :-)