10 ways to simplify your life

Trees have a simple life, because they wear the same clothes every year and use a lot of routine 😉 Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash

This is a short one. I thought I would share ten ways to simplify your life.

CLOTHES – Dress the same or similar. Buddhist monks do it. Einstein allegedly bought several of the same grey suit, to reduce decision time. Steve Jobs tended to wear the same clothes (well, same style – you know what I mean… I’m sure he was clean.)
FOOD – Eat mainly raw and whole food. This may not simplify your shopping habits as such, but it simplifies things for your digestive system, which prefers unprocessed foods.
FRIENDS – It sounds harsh, but write a list of all your friends in two columns. On the left, put people who make you feel relaxed and healthy; on the right, put people who make you feel slightly stressed out or anxious. Make the ones on the left your most frequent contacts.
COMMUNICATIONS – Instead of checking your messages all the time, try only checking them at regular times.
DIARY – Try limiting yourself to a maximum of three events per day. When a day has three items, consider it full. This has the effect of simplifying your life so that you are not rushing around from activity to activity. if you think it’s not possible, I challenge that. I know several people who do this.
USE ROUTINES TO START AND END THE DAY – Do the same thing on waking, exactly. And equally, do the same thing every day on going to bed, exactly. It helps to reduce any confusion in your mind, by soothing yourself into a routine that becomes second nature.
KEEP A DIARY OR WRITE POETRY – This is a weird one. But psychologically, what you are doing is organising your thoughts. Diaries and poetry ensure that you spend time tidying up your mind thematically. It really works.
VISIT FAMILIAR PLACES – Regularly visiting the same places helps your mind to feel that life is simple enough to enjoy. it learns to expect the same sights and sounds, and you even become more sensitive to the changes in the seasons etc.
MEDITATE – Meditation is a practice which encourages your mind to reduce life to its bare essentials. By realising the emptiness behind most of your worries, life automatically starts to get less complex, and easier to manage.
GIVE EVERYTHING A PLACE – Your car keys, your wallet, your cutlery, your clothes – everything should have the same place that it returns to. This massively improves your habitual tidiness, and ensures your mind can simplify your surroundings without really thinking, as by habit it knows where things are.