There is no escaping it, modern life is busy and often noisy too. We live in a switched on, connected, 24-7 world full of endless choices and this can be incredibly difficult for us to withdraw from.
Perhaps that is why so many of us are craving simplicity in our lives. Whether it’s in our homes, the way in which we spend our time or even something as simple as what we eat each evening. Many of us are searching for ways to make life simpler and, in the process, more meaningful.
So how do we slow down, strip things back and live more simply? Here are some suggestions to get you started.
Simplify your time
One of the first, and perhaps most impactful, ways to simplify our life is to consider the way in which we use our time. In our fast paced, choice rich world, time can run away from us. The end of the day comes and we realise that we haven’t got around to spending time on the things that matter most for us but yet seem to have done endless other things that have left us drained of life.
To get a handle on how we are spending our time it can be helpful to spend a week or so tracking what we do. It can be truly eye opening to see how our time is really spent. It also gives us the raw data that we need to think about how we want to spend our time and to start to think about how we can simplify what is happening in our lives.
Are there any activities you are doing that truly don’t bring you joy? Have you fallen into habits that fill up your time that could be used for things that are more meaningful to you? Or are there simply things you could just remove from your schedule to give yourself more time and space in your week?
Simplify your space
A second way to begin to bring more simplicity into your life is to consider the space in which you live. Some people find that a cluttered space leaves their mind feeling more cluttered. If you are craving more simplicity in life, then perhaps you do too.
It is also worth considering that the more items we possess the more there is for us to clean and maintain. Streamlining our possessions and being conscious about what new items we bring into our lives can give us back the time and space we so often crave.
If any item in our space doesn’t make life easier for us or bring us genuine joy, then it might be time for it to go.
Simplify your mind
This final point might seem like a big ask but stick with me! We can declutter our homes, we can streamline our time but if our mind is a cluttered and noisy place then the simplicity we crave with continue to elude us.
Of course, learning to calm and care for our minds is a lifelong practice but it need not be too demanding on us each day. Could you take ten minutes each morning to practice mindfulness? Or could you fit in a mind-clearing run or yoga session every couple of days?
Ultimately, drawing ourselves back into the present moment can be one of the most powerful things we do. Many of the complications in our life stem from dwelling on the past or the future. The present moment is, more often than not, beautifully simple. If we consistently bring ourselves back there then our lives will naturally unfold to be simpler and more peaceful.
Final thoughts
If you crave a simpler life then you are not alone. Many of long to spend our time, resources and mental energy on what is most important to us. It is truly worth assessing every now and then if what we have filled our lives with is truly serving us.
Making life simpler can make space for that which matters most to us making life richer, more meaningful and considerably more peaceful too. If you want more tips on how to live a happier life, check out our other articles.
