6 Ways To Simplify Your Life Quickly

These days, it seems like “simplify” is almost as big of a buzzword as “green.” There’s good reason for that, as both of these approaches to life benefit us individually, as well as the world in which we live.

Simplifying is a bit of a catch-22, because it somehow seems very complicated to un-complicate our lives. Rather than sitting paralyzed because you don’t know where to start, why not take some of the suggestions I have listed below to heart?

Every one of the suggestions below can be accomplished in 15 minutes or less, and they are designed to give a platform to build on as we continue to simplify our daily lives.

Give these 6 ways to simplify your life a shot and see how they may transform and simplify your life…even just a little bit.

1. Become a 90-Percenter: This Frugal Dad has offered several suggestions on how to simplify your life, but the one I want to talk about is becoming a 90-Percenter. While we have so many conveniences these days that are supposed to be saving us tons of time, it seems that we are just busier than ever. There are emails to return, blogs to keep up with, and witty things to Tweet. We want to stay in touch with our friends on Facebook and our business associates on LinkedIn, and by the time we get to the end of the day, we’re still being hounded because we can be reached on our cell phones.

What Frugal Dad is suggesting is that instead of running himself ragged trying to get it all done, he should just be focusing on the top 90 percent. If you were to prioritize your obligations each morning, then you could pretty clearly see what needs to be done and what can wait. Spending that 15 minutes to make a list will actually save you quite a bit of time in the long run. Not only that, but you might discover that some of the items you’ve been focusing on really aren’t that important. Now, that’s a great way to simplify.

2. Size up your closest: One of my favorite blogs is Zen Habits. There’s a great post over there called 72 Ways to Simplify Your Life, and while all of the suggestions are great, many of them will take more than our allotted 15 minutes. One of the best ways to simplify is to purge unneeded material possessions from your life. While this would obviously be an ongoing process, an easy way to get started is to go to donate clothes you no longer need.

Start with your closet and go through as objectively as possible. Haven’t worn that funky shirt in a while? Pull it out and put it in a bag. Never worn that dress? Pull it out, too. What about those “skinny” clothes that you swear you’ll get back into? Donate them, too. By the time you get that body back, you’ll want to reward yourself with great new clothes anyway.

Of course, the trick here is to get the clothing out of the house. Find out where you can donate it, and make a point to drop it off on your way home from work tomorrow. In some cases, charities will actually come to your house and pick it up. You’ll be doing something good for people who need the clothes, and you’ll remove a fair amount of clutter in a very short period of time.

3. Simplify your finances: The amount of time that the average adult spends sorting through paperwork, paying bills, and managing accounts is staggering. There are some options available, though, that can help us reclaim some of this time, as well as to reduce the stress that comes along with remembering all those due dates, interest rates, etc. MSN Money has offered some ideas on how to get these worries under control.

For example, if you’re not already taking advantage of your employer’s direct deposit feature, then this can save you a ton of time and take away some of the mental clutter. Generally speaking, you have to fill out a brief form and give your payroll department a voided check, and they can start having your paychecks deposited. There are a couple of advantages to this, not the least of which is cutting out the need to stand in line at the bank twice a month. Employers who use direct deposit often put the money in your account before the printed checks even make it to employees’ hands, too! And while you are at it, why not stick a portion of your money away into a money market account or index mutual fund and make the magic of compound interest work for you!

4. Build in support: If you are really making an effort to simplify your life, chances are that others will notice that you’ve become less hurried and more relaxed. Unfortunately, all of the pressures of the world can still come creeping up on you. One way to avoid this is to get a friend involved. If each of you makes a commitment to try out some of these techniques, then you can offer support and encouragement along the way. Not only that, but it adds a sense of accountability to what you’re doing.

One mother at Parenting.com did precisely this, and she found that the camaraderie really made a difference. It was more fun, and in the end, more effective.

5. Get some help: We sometimes get so wrapped up in all the things that we “have” to do, that we forget that other people can take on some of those responsibilities for us. Children, for example, can be expected to help a little around the house. Just because you’ve always picked up after them doesn’t mean they shouldn’t learn to do it for themselves.

For those really nasty projects that just eat away at you, consider hiring someone to do them for you. Paying someone to come in and clean your house or organize your files might seem a little decadent, but consider how much of your time is wasted fretting over the disorganization or even looking for things that have disappeared into the abyss. Multiply that time by your current rate of pay, and you’ll see that it actually is costing you financially, as well as emotionally. Not only do you avoid stressing over the situation, but it frees up time that you can use to do something you truly enjoy, and isn’t that what simplifying is supposed to be about?

6. Don’t Spend Money for a Week: The Simple Productivity Blog offers a great list of suggestions for how to simplify, but the one that jumps out here is the idea of not spending any money for a set period of time. This idea might seem a little radical at first, but it is a great way to simplify. Obviously, there are great side effects, too, as you’ll have more money in your wallet and more free time that you would have spent running to the store, shopping, returning videos, etc.

In order to do this properly, you will have to be dedicated. It may require a little pre-planning for things like home-cooked meals. Not only will you save the money you would have spent, but you may also find that you have the opportunity to enjoy many of the things you already own, such as books you have yet to read or board games that are still in the shrink wrap. In the end, you should find that you’re eating healthier, spending more quality time with your family, and perhaps even breathing just a little easier.

Simplifying your life should be just that—simple. Unfortunately, we often get the deer-in-the-headlights feeling when it comes to getting started. Each of these suggestions will take less than 15 minutes to implement, but when you put them together, they can literally save you hours of time, as well as money and the overall stressed feeling that so many people experience in our modern culture.

by Dayne on July 19, 2009
in Simplicity
https://www.thehappyself.com/6-ways-to-simplify-your-life-quickly