I am slightly obsessed with keeping things simple. That includes my life.
Why?
For one crucial reason, simplicity reduces the amount of unnecessary stress one endures in life.
A simple life allows you to save your energy to spend it on things that are most important to you instead of draining it.
So in today’s post, I will be sharing my top 8 daily habits that have helped me create a simple life, which, in turn, have added to my happiness.
Organise your things the night before
Ever noticed how you plan to wake up at 5am and ‘get shit done’? Maybe hit the gym before work, but when that alarm clock goes off you hit snooze instead of getting out of bed?
From experience, this is most likely because you did not organise your workout clothes and gym bag BEFORE you went to bed. You are then forced to make to many decisions as soon as you wake up, and hit the snooze button.
When you have all your things packed and organised the night before it sets you up for an excellent start to the day, which ultimately can decide how the rest of the day will look like.
Things to organise the night before could include:
- Gym bag
- Work clothes
- Workout clothing
- Breakfast and lunch (meal prep)
- Planning your day
- Confirming appointments or lunch dates with friends
Make organising your things the night before a daily habit for a productive and simple life.
Everything needs a home
This habit is by far my most favourite daily habit, but for some reason, many seem to struggle with it. You grab the ketchup from its home in the fridge; you use it then you put it right back in its home. Exactly where you found it. Then, the next person will know exactly where to find it.
No more losing your keys, not being able to find the dogs lead, or that book you want to read but can never find it.
When everything has a home, you create less clutter, less tidying up, less wasted mental energy — equalling in a more simple life.
Cook more food than you will eat
Most dishes, if cooked to the suggested serving size, makes about 4 meals, try doubling it and having it either the next day for lunch. Not only will you save money, but you will also save time – no more washing up every mealtime!
You may even have some leftover to freeze for those nights you work late or evenings you do not feel like cooking.
Take a deep breath
Have you ever found yourself frustrated or angry over a situation? Your breathing becomes short and shallow? Do you stop thinking clearly?
Well, in cases like that breathing can help bring you back into focus and give you clarity in the present moment.
Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, and focus on the breath going in and out. You will find yourself calming down, focusing and defusing the situation.
Taking a deep breath is a simple daily habit and can be done anywhere and used for any situation that requires focus and calm.
Breathing exercises do not have to take a lot of time out of your day. According to Healthline, it is about setting aside some time to pay attention to your breathing. Healthline gives a few ideas to get started in this article.
Be early
I am a firm believer that you should always be early, whether it be to meetings, appointments or events, by at least 10 minutes.
This daily habit of arriving early allows for any mishaps or traffic delays. There is nothing worse than being late to an interview or being the last one to arrive at a meeting. All eyes are staring at you as you walk into the room. Gives me stage fright just thinking about it!
It shows you are punctual; you get first dibs on where you are going to sit, and you build trust that you are reliable and dependable.
Arriving early is an essential step to creating a simple life. It minimises unnecessary stress of being late, eliminates the need to rush around panicking, resulting in you forgetting to bring things, and you arrive perfectly calm and organised.
Apply the 80/20 rule
The 80/20 rule, also known as Pareto’s Principle or the Pareto Rule), means that 80% of profit is a result of 20% of the effort.
When creating a simple life, time management is a crucial element. You can apply the 80/20 rule as a daily habit with your time management. Many people tend to spread out their time instead of focusing on the most important tasks. 80% of your output could come from only 20% of your input.
Examples of applying the 80/20% Rule to your daily habits:
- Create cleaning routines that take 20% of your time to do, whether weekly or daily, will result in your home being clean and tidy for 80% of the week. Cutting down on the amount of energy and time wasted on cleaning.
- Allocating 20% of a day, once a week, to meal plan, food shop and meal prep gives you 80% of your time throughout the week NOT cooking every single meal.
- Again, allocating 20% of a day, once a week, to organising your workout clothes, your exercise program, and WHEN you have time to workout will save you a whole bunch of time. You could even structure your exercise program to be for a month and slowly up your weights and add reps as you get stronger.
Simple living baby!
Eat slowly and enjoy your food
Make each meal a time to relax rather than one of stress and inconvenience. It is a vital daily habit to relax while eating for several reasons.
While you are in a relaxed state, it allows for the production of adequate digestive enzymes letting our parasympathetic nervous system – AKA’ rest and digest” system – do its thing. It is important to remember that our gut and emotions are linked, so having feelings of stress and anxiety when we eat is tied to digestive malfunction.
Many of us are under pressure to juggle work and our personal lives, making it hard to switch off, relax and enjoy our food. When you sacrifice taking a step back from your work or home-life responsibilities to enjoy your meal, your productivity, mental well-being and overall work performance begin to suffer.
Eating slowly and taking regular breaks to enjoy your meal offers many benefits that contribute to a simple life. Including increased productivity, improved mental well-being, creativity boost and more you time to relax.
Enjoy the simple pleasure life has to offer
One of my favourite daily habits is enjoying the simple pleasures in life.
Simple pleasures are those moments of pure bliss. For me, drinking coffee before everyone is awake, going for a long walk with my pooch, having downtime with my partner after finishing all the housework.
The simpler our way of life the fewer worries
The key is not to lead a simple life, but to keep things simple. Keep your thoughts simple and know what is important; what brings you joy and happiness.
What are some simple pleasures you enjoy? Maybe you already use the 80%/20% Rule and have an example you could share? Please leave a comment if you enjoyed this post or email me. I love reading your thoughts.
Until next post,
The Wellness Blogger x
