Living a simple life almost seems like a utopia. With all the problems and distractions, and commitments we have in our lives, how can we have a simple life? However, it is also true that living a complicated life gives us a lot of stress and anxiety. Hence the need to simplify life arises. This doesn’t mean depriving yourself of what makes us feel good, having an “easy” life or seeking extreme simplicity like everything we need to find a certain measure and balance the lifestyle we want. Every person has a different concept of simplicity, and everyone can find their way, so I’ve grouped seven strategies to help us live a simpler life.

Get enough sleep

The first strategy is related to sleep. How can we expect not to complicate life if we sleep little at night and feel tired throughout the day? Getting enough sleep is essential to feel fresh and have the mental clarity we need to face the day between work and various commitments.

Research by the National Sleep Foundation suggests sleeping at least 7 hours a night, up to a maximum of 9. However, everyone must find their ideal size for how long to sleep. For example, 8 hours a night is enough for me, but my girlfriend needs to sleep a little more (at least eight and a half hours).

Prioritizing our body and mind to rest instead of watching a season of Squid Game in one evening is a great start to making your life easier.

Reduce commitments

One of the most effective ways to live a simpler life is to reduce our commitments.

Many of us spend our days doing too many things. Thus, they feel stressed and complain that they never have time to do anything.

I advise thinking about what is unimportant and can be eliminated. We can all cut back on something, and if you can’t help but get rid of some commitments, you can try delegating something to friends and family or paying someone to do them.

By reducing your commitments, you will have more time to do what is important to you, such as your favourite hobby or finally relax and take some time for yourself.

Take the time to do nothing

One thing we often forget about is doing nothing. We are so obsessed with always doing something that we rarely stop and say to ourselves, “You know what? I’m taking a little break for myself.”

In addition to resting, we also need downtime to do nothing, be with our thoughts, ask ourselves questions and get to know each other better. Therefore, cut out small moments in the day when we can take a break from our work or study and be with ourselves.

Alone, with no phone and no distractions, maybe even taking pen and paper and writing down your thoughts, what gives us anxiety or stress and ideas on how to solve these problems. If you want, you can also do it by writing on the computer, but in my opinion, it’s better to do it with pen and paper and avoid spending even more time in front of a screen.

Spend less time online

Another way we have to make our lives easier is to cut down on the time spent online.

All of us (or almost) spend hours and hours in front of social networks, Netflix or on the Internet in general. Spending a lot of time online necessarily means giving up doing any other activity — off the screen — that makes us feel good, as well as increasing our stress and the sense of inadequacy we feel when we keep seeing our Instagram feed flooded with girls with the perfect physique or dudes in Dubai living the good life.

We can therefore reduce the online time (even by half an hour or an hour a day) and go back to doing activities such as reading, walking in nature, and trying new experiences, so not only will our lives be easier, but we will also be happier.

Few items, but good

What is jargon is also called decluttering.

Even if you’re new to deleting things you don’t use, I recommend that you take the time to do it every once in a while. Why? Well, research confirms that having a house full of objects fuels our sense of stress and unease. On the other hand, living in an orderly space free from chaos makes us feel calmer and more serene.

In my opinion, it all comes down to practice: maybe that pair of jeans you haven’t used for a while can be donated because it’s still in good condition, or those headphones that you don’t like anymore can be sold on sites like “ Shpock “ or “ Vinted “ .

Over time every time you look at an object, you will develop the habit of wondering if you are using it, and it will be more and more natural for you to get rid of it or instead appreciate it for its usefulness or appearance.

Appreciate the little pleasures

Staying on the subject of appreciation, another very important point for a simpler life is to try to appreciate small pleasures: small gestures such as people’s kindness, the pleasure of having a coffee or listening to our favourite song.

How can we live a simpler life if we don’t appreciate the simpler things in life? Yet, we are often so caught up in our lives that we often forget to stop for a moment and give ourselves a little pleasure. Or we don’t dedicate an ad hoc moment to it and instead end up doing several things at the same time, thus losing its essence and pleasure in itself.

I strongly believe in the power of small things, and if you are interested in this topic, I recommend a good book about it: “ The Little Book of Ikigai “ by Ken Mogi, which talks about trying to appreciate small pleasures and this mentality rooted in Japanese culture.

Live one day at a time

One approach that has helped me a lot lately is living one day at a time. It simply consists of taking a day as a unit of measurement to evaluate our well-being.

The approach comes from the fact that we are aware that a goal or a change does not come overnight: in fact, if we want to change careers, move to a foreign country or buy a house, we need months and years. What we can do, however, to make life a little easier is to do something every day towards the goal we want.

For example, if I wanted to reach 100 videos on my YouTube channel, I could ask myself: what can I do today to achieve this goal? Maybe the answer is to write the next script or edit the video I’m already working on. I can then try to find a slot in my day where I can work towards this goal and slowly grind my way towards 100 videos.

This approach helps us realize at the end of the day that even today, we have put another brick towards what we want to achieve without killing our mental health, and instead of postponing our happiness to an uncertain tomorrow, being happy today for what we already have.

These were my suggestions to make our lives easier, but first of all — before adopting any strategy — it is essential to reflect on what is important to us, what is at the centre of our lives. For some, this could be spending time with their family, their friends, and for others focusing on a particular project.

Once we have understood what is really important, we can reorganize our life as we prefer and simplify it.