The movement toward simplicity has been gaining momentum in recent years for good reason: simplifying your life can lead to stress relief in multiple ways. Here are some of the benefits according to science as well as the personal stories of millions:
Focus: Paring down possessions can not only open up space in your home but space in your mind as well. When your mind isn’t needing to decide what to look at, let alone think about the time it would take to declutter, you can focus on your goals, your dreams, or nothing at all. (Read more about the benefits of meditation.)
Money: Selling the things you don’t need and never use can bring some extra money. But simplicity can pay off in other ways too: once you focus more on simplifying life, you will be less tempted to spend money on things you don’t need, which really adds up!
Gratitude: One of the easier paths to simplicity is to focus on appreciating what you have so you don’t think as much about what you may also want. This focus on gratitude can expand to different areas of your life, and can increase your overall levels of happiness and appreciation in your life. (Read more about the research on gratitude.)
Simple Steps to Simplify Your Life This Week
Gaining greater simplicity in your life can be a long-term practice, but there are a few simple steps you can take to get you started (or further along) on the path to a simplified life. Here are some great places to start:
Simplify your mind: start a meditation practice. You can just sit down and clear your head for five minutes, you can really focus on flavor and be present with your next meal, or you can try a meditation app that can walk you through a guided meditation. Studies show that it is more beneficial to meditate a little each day rather than one really long session once a week, partially because short sessions are often easier to maintain as a habit–you can always work your way into longer sessions once you begin meditating regularly.
Simplify your home: start by cleaning out one drawer, countertop, or cluttered corner in your house. Then move into closets, kitchen cabinets, or whole rooms if you have time and momentum. Start simple and choose an area that would really make a difference to you if it were less cluttered, and reward yourself when you’re done. You don’t need to declutter your whole space for it to make a difference, and the more success you have, the more you may want to expand the scope of your decluttering.
Simplify your social life: start paying attention to how you feel after you talk to people. If there are people in your life who consistently make you feel more stressed or less good about yourself when you talk to them, see what you can do to create come personal boundaries or overall distance. See how that feels and move on from there until you have more time in your schedule (from the space you create that’s free from the more difficult people in your life) and a greater balance of people who consistently make you feel better off after you talk to them.
These are just a few steps to take; even if you’ve already focused some attention on simplifying your life, there’s always more you can do, and now is a great time to do it!
Another step you can take toward stress relief and greater overall happiness is to subscribe to my weekly-ish newsletter if you haven’t already. I send research-backed information and resources to make your life more of what you want it to be. If you’re already a subscriber and want to take your stress management journey deeper, you might want to check out my book, 8 Keys to Stress Management, from W. W. Norton.