37 easy ways to simplify your life and reduce your stress
Here are some simple ways to simplify your life.
Nowadays, everyone’s lives are more hectic than ever. I don’t know if it is a result of adulthood or if it is the result of a very fast-paced society. Either way, everyone I speak to wants to learn how to simplify their life and reduce the noise and stress.
Luckily, this is something that I’m quite good at if I do say so myself. Everything that I discuss in this blog post are things that I have had to learn the hard way so hopefully by putting it in a handy list, you’ll be able to copy it over into your life.
Simple, right?
As a mindset and productivity coach, project manager and enthusiastic digital minimalist I can assure you these tips will help you simplify your life and enable you to spend time on the things that you actually want to do. No more noisy mind, no more cluttered spaces and most importantly of all… no more stress.
So here are my 37 easy ways you can simplify your life
1. Use app limits
I wanted to put this tip first because this is the main thing everybody asks me about. I hear so many excuses from clients about why they can’t delete TikTok or Instagram even though it is literally stopping them from living the life they want!
They would rather waste 4 hours a day on social media than actually confront their fear of failure and work towards getting to their dream life.
Don’t let it be you.
Put app limits on your phone now.
The truth is social media and apps on your phone (even the good ones – I’m looking at you Duolingo too) are designed to be addictive. Behavioural analysts, psychologists and software engineers are paid big money to keep you scrolling on these apps. The apps are free because YOU are the product. Your time, your attention, and your consumption of ads are literally the product.
It’s not your fault that you have been sucked into the algorithm but it is your responsibility to reclaim your time and live your best life.
You can set app limits on your phone by going into the settings and restricting your time. I wrote a whole blog post talking about the ways you can reduce your iPhone screen time and it contains detailed instructions so check it out: How to reduce your iPhone screen time the ruthless way
If you want to find out how to set app limits on your Android phone, I recommend that you check out this Google guide
I personally have a 20-minute app limit for Instagram and LinkedIn (the only 2 social media apps I have on my phone). I also set a 50-minute combined social media (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit etc…) app limit on my laptop using the Chrome extension Stay Focusd.
In the past I used Limit but I found myself easily disabling the extension when my time was up. With Stay Focusd, ya girl is locked out for the day.
Which is a good and bad thing because I only use social media for business purposes. However, I’d be the biggest hypocrite if I were out here preaching digital minimalism and then using my business as an excuse for why I am also still scrolling on social media.

2. Declutter your home
A tidy house means a tidy mind. When your home is clean, organised and tidy your mind is free to focus on the important things.
You’ll no longer have the lingering thoughts in your mind reminding you to clean your bedroom, sort out your paperwork, and finally put your 4-day-old clean clothes back into your wardrobe.
When you have less stuff, you have fewer things to tidy. Therefore, you have fewer things to worry about.
I used to be a mini hoarder. Everything had sentimental value: old toys, old frayed clothes, books, magazines that had cool quotes in them etc…
I had a reason why I needed to keep everything.
But let’s be real, you can’t take your possessions with you to the afterlife. Also, think about what keeping all of these things around is costing you. It’s costing you your peace of mind, and time and causing you more stress.
3. Mindfulness
Mindfulness is all about being in the present moment. It’s taking time to focus on the NOW and letting go of the past and the future. There are so many ways to practise mindfulness in your day-to-day life.
For example, you can go for mindful walks where you take out your earphones and actually pay attention to the things going on around you.
For example, what types of trees are around you and what do their leaves look like? Are the trees covered in bright green fluffy leaves or are the trees stripped bare of leaves and are full of wiry branches? Take notice of your surroundings and take a moment to appreciate the calmness that comes from focusing on the world around you.
Mindfulness is a great way to simplify your life because you learn how to calm your mind down. The constant buzzing and chatter in your brain will slowly start to fizzle out and you’ll be able to focus on the things that really matter to you.
I used to be an anxious person (I came out of the womb anxious, I swear!) but since incorporating mindfulness into my life I have a sense of inner peace and a secret weapon to cut through the noise when my life gets busy.
I recommend you give mindfulness a go.
4. Gratitude
I literally get all of my clients to start practising gratitude from our first session because it is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to shifting your mindset.
When you focus on expressing gratitude for the things you have going on in your life, you will start to see what is truly important to you. It will bring you a sense of clarity and enable you to decide what you want to focus your energy on and what you want to let go.
I recommend you start by completing a daily gratitude log – write down one thing you are grateful for every single day.

5. Learn how to emotionally regulate
Most people are not actually as busy as they claim to be. They just FEEL overwhelmed because they don’t know how to emotionally regulate.
Emotional regulation is an important skill that every single grown-ass adult needs to know; however, many people really struggle to master their emotions and it’s holding them back.
I’ve noticed that there are two main types of emotionally immature people.
The ones who don’t know how to express their emotions – they shut down their emotions and present themselves as unfeeling beings
OR
They feel their emotions very strongly and are unable to control their outbursts when it happens – they believe other people are responsible for their emotions.
Both types of people will struggle to manage stressful situations and their behaviour will show it (albeit in different ways).
Emotional regulation is going to be your superpower when life gets busy. When you are able to stay in tune with your body and calm yourself down when you feel overwhelmed you’ll be able to direct your energy to the important things without letting stress break you down.
You can learn how to emotionally regulate by:
- Noticing the sensations you feel in your body – remember feelings sit in the body
- Name the emotion you are feeling
- Focus on being present with your emotion
- Identify the story you are saying to yourself in relation to your emotion
- Accept your emotion (good or bad)
- Take note of the trigger
- Find strategies to express your emotion (e.g. drawing, writing, talking, journaling)
6. Start a bullet journal
I am a big bullet journal nerd and it’s no secret that I use bullet journaling as my main tool in my mindful productivity system.
I like to use a minimalist bullet journal layout because otherwise it gets too complicated and ends up adding to my stress.
If you type in bullet journal on Google you’d probably start to believe that bullet journaling is an art project rather than an actual useful productivity tool.
Don’t get sucked into believing bullet journaling is something that needs to be pretty and aesthetic.
I use my bullet journal to
- Plan out my year/months
- Organise my goals into quarters
- Brain dump all of the things I need to do in my personal life and business
- Track my habits
- Plan out my day’s tasks
- Log my gratitude, affirmations and intentions
- Conduct daily, weekly and monthly reviews
It sounds like a lot but I promise you I keep it simple and my productivity has soared because of it.
If you would like to learn how to use a bullet journal to boost your productivity check out my blog post The ultimate minimalist bullet journal for busy people

7. Create a routine
Having a realistic routine will make sure you know exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it.
No more frantically running around picking up random post notes filled with to-do lists.
Spend one day planning out your morning and evening routine making sure that you incorporate self-care activities.
Then look at your daily tasks and create a simple but flexible routine that you can stick to
8. Let things go
So many of life’s stressors are due to the fact that we hate letting things go!
We want to hold on to everything: material things, people, memories, stories, pain, happiness, ideas and much more.
However, when you are holding onto things, you miss the opportunity to focus on your present moment.
Subconsciously you’ll spend a ridiculous amount of energy and brain power strategizing about how you can keep everything you already have.
It’s tiring.
When you learn to let things go, you will learn that the things that are meant to be in your life will stay in your life and the things that no longer serve their purpose in your life will fall away.
It’s scary but it’ll allow you to focus your time and energy on the important things.
9. Set weekly goals
Life feels complicated and stressful when you set big looming tasks that seem so far away. When you break down your big goals into realistic weekly goals your stress will start to melt away.
You’ll achieve more and will remain focused for a longer period overall.

10. Create a brain dump
When you feel stressed, get a piece of paper and write down EVERY SINGLE THING that is bothering you.
No matter how big or small it is.
Just write it all down on this piece of paper and keep writing until it is all off of your mind. The act of brain dumping itself will free your mind and you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders.
11. Unsubscribe from emails
Emails are so annoying. Every day ping ping ping. Just get rid of the emails that are no longer serving you.
Unsubscribe from them all.
Because let’s be real, you don’t really care about 90% of the marketing emails that come through to your account.
Last year I sat down and unsubscribed from hundreds of marketing emails and honestly, my mind is a lot clearer now so I HIGHLY recommend you do this.
12. Meal prep
Meal prepping is a life-saving task. It does take a little bit of planning and management but once you get into the habit of it it will save you so much time and energy.
Once a week, plan out and batch-cook your meals so that you don’t have to worry about it during the week.
Instead of wondering what you’re going to eat for dinner, you can just pick out your desired healthy meal from your fridge or freezer.
13. Create a simple workout routine
I used to do complicated gym workout routines and feel stressed if I missed a day or my chosen gym equipment was unavailable.
Workouts became another energy-draining activity on my to-do list.
Eventually, I worked with a personal trainer to simplify my workout routine so that I could get the most gains with the fewest amount of equipment/days.
Unless you’re training for a marathon or to be a powerlifter, there is no need for complicated highly detailed gym workout routines especially when you’re already feeling stressed out and overwhelmed.
Instead, find a straightforward routine that works for you and gets you the gains you desire.
14. Message/call friends when they cross your mind rather than adding them to your to-do list
So many of us use the excuse of being too busy to reach out to friends and family and then complain about how lonely we feel.
Sometimes sharing the load of your worries with your friends and family is one way to simplify the things going on in life.
Connecting with others is a beautiful thing and we should make time to reach out to those we care about.
So instead of making mental notes or adding it to your to-do list that you must message a friend – why not just message them when they cross your mind?

15. Remove unhealthy snacks from the house
So you’re trying to be healthy yet find yourself snacking on junk ultra-processed food…
Just remove it from your house.
I KNOW it’s easier said than done but the benefits far outweigh the cons.
Ultra-processed food is not as filling as whole foods and actually contributes to your reduced concentration and focus.
Removing these unhealthy snacks from your house will eventually help you clear your mind and will help you become more conscious of what you eat.
And if you so desperately fancy that super ultra-processed cookie… you can walk to the shop and buy it.
Win-win
16. Stop multitasking
It’s a myth that multi-tasking will make you more productive. Instead, focus your energy on focusing on one task at a time giving it your full attention.
You can use different productivity techniques such as time blocking and the Pomodoro technique to help you complete your tasks.
17. Do yoga every day
Yoga saved me from insanity. Okay, that’s a bit extreme but when my life was at its most chaotic I started carving out 10 minutes a day to do some yoga.
Through developing a consistent yoga practice, I started to feel more grounded and in control of the things going on in my life.
It also helped me strengthen my mind-body connection which in turn helped me regulate my emotions in stressful times.
There are 100s of yoga teachers on YouTube so I recommend that you find a teacher that you like and that meets your needs. It’s worth the time investment and is an amazing way to simplify your life.

18. Set boundaries with energy-draining people
Sometimes life is stressful because the people in our lives are stressful. This is where boundaries are super important.
You need to learn how to protect your peace and that means saying no to people who drain your energy.
And if you can’t say no, put boundaries in place to limit your contact with them.
19. Stop mind reading and learn how to communicate
Mind reading is a faulty superpower that anxious people seem to think they have (I should know!).
A lot of the time your anxiety and stress are a result of you trying to guess every single thought and idea someone else may be thinking. You may also think other people should be able to read your mind and KNOW exactly what you’re thinking too.
Both ways of thinking are toxic and are harming you and your relationships in the long run.
The ultimate way to simplify your life is to learn how to actually communicate effectively.
I recommend that you learn about nonviolent communication if this is something that you struggle with.
20. Capsule wardrobe
Simplify your wardrobe by creating a capsule wardrobe. A capsule wardrobe is a carefully designed wardrobe consisting of basic stable outfits that can be worn interchangeably.
I’m no fashion designer so I will leave it to the professionals to explain the process of creating a capsule wardrobe to you.
I recommend that you check on YouTube and google to find the best capsule wardrobe for you.
21. Create a realistic budget
Avoidance is something that increases your stress in the long run. Too many people avoid their bank account because they are scared of what they might find but it causes so much stress and anxiety.
So, my challenge for you is to look at your bank account
- What recurring expenses do you have?
- Are there any purchases that surprise you?
- Are there purchases that you can cut down on?
- Are there any positive things that you have noticed?
22. Solitude
I truly believe that solitude is a lost art. Nowadays, no one wants to be alone with their own thoughts. They are constantly trying to fill up the silence with music, podcasts and YouTube.
In my opinion, it is a bit sad.
I can say that because that used to be my life – I was never alone even when I was alone.
When I learnt to embrace solitude and be present in my alone time, my anxiety melted away and I was able to find creative solutions for the things that were bothering me.

23. Zero inbox
Zero inboxing is an amazing productivity hack that will help you simplify your life. The goal is to end each day with 0 emails in your inbox.
This means you will need to delete old emails, file away emails and reply to emails every day to make sure that your inbox is at 0 at the end of the day.
No more missed emails, no more confusion and stress.
It might seem like a big task at first but I promise you it is worth it in the long run.
Two years ago, I sorted through THOUSANDS of emails in my personal inbox and it took me weeks!
However, it helped me reduce my stress and anxiety over emails. It also helped me identify the emails that I needed to unsubscribe from.
24. Identify daily non-negotiables
This means you need to identify the tasks that you MUST complete each day. For example, if you have children you can’t just decide one day not to pick them up from school.
Identifying your daily non-negotiables means that when life gets overwhelming you can just focus on the things you have to do rather than the things that you want to do.
If you have more time/energy then you can focus on other tasks once your daily non-negotiables have been completed.
25. Automate what you can
What tasks can you ask a system, algorithm or somewhere to do? For example, I really can’t be asked to post on social media every day so I use a schedule software to automatically post to my social media accounts.
All it really requires me to do is batch-create content for a month in one weekend and then schedule it. The rest of the time I can sit back and reply to comments that crop up on my account.
So what things can you automate in your life? Remember, KISS (Keep it simple, stupid).
26. Journal
Write in your diary. Put down all of your thoughts, anxieties, hopes and dreams in your diary. It is your safe space to let go of everything and is another form of brain dumping. Journaling will help you to work through your thoughts and get to the root of the problem.
I recommend you get into the habit of regularly journaling because not only will it help you simplify your life, it will help you get to know yourself.
27. Go out in nature
Nature has a healing effect on the mind and the body. According to the Attention Restoration Theory exposure to natural environments can recharge your mental energy and enhance your cognitive function allowing you to focus on the things that really matter (Check out this blog post by Positive Psychology to find out more)
28. Organise your to-do list
To put it bluntly: You might just have a lot of crap on your to-do list.
Use the Eisenhower matrix to help you decide if your tasks are important and urgent, not important but urgent, urgent but not important, and finally not urgent and not important.
The sooner you organise your to-do list, the sooner you will be able to free yourself from any extra stress.
29. Have phone downtime hours
It is a well-known fact at this point that staring at your phone late at night and first thing in the morning is not good for your overall well-being.
Setting downtime hours on your phone between 9 pm and 7 am can greatly improve your sleep quality which can help you reduce your stress levels.
No more laughing at TikTok videos at 3am.
30. Live your values
When you know what your values are and dedicate your life to living in alignment with your values you will be able to cut out the non-important things in your life with ease.
It will no longer be a difficult decision because you know exactly WHO you are and WHAT you want to achieve in life.
Check out my blog post Start living a values based life to be successful
31. Drink water
Carrying a water bottle around with you will help you stay hydrated throughout the day. This will help to boost your energy and improve your mental clarity while reducing your stress.
The only downside is that you will probably have to pee a lot more but I think it’s worth it for the health and productivity benefits!
32. Do an energy audit
When it comes to mindful productivity, I am all about balancing time management with energy management. I recommend that you conduct an energy audit to identify the tasks that draining your energy and find ways to eliminate or mitigate them.
Try to prioritise the energy-boosting tasks that align with your wider goals which will help you to streamline your life.
Check out this blog post: 5 energy management techniques to elevate your life

33. Embrace boredom
Sometimes, the reason you are busy all of the time is that you fill up blank spaces with activities so that you can avoid being bored.
You need to understand that boredom is a necessary part of life and is essential for self-reflection and creativity.
A great way to simplify your life is to disconnect from constant stimulation and reconnect with yourself so that you can restore your mental energy.
34. Organise your WhatsApp messages
This is quite possibly my greatest hack when it comes to keeping in touch with people. I am the WORST person to text message, and I fully hold my hands up to that BUT since I’ve organised my WhatsApp messages I’ve become a much better friend.
The secret is to archive all messages that you have replied to. Yes, that’s it.
It’s so simple.
However, make sure you change your settings so that new messages come out of the archive folder.
If you forget that step then, that’s on you and you alone – keep me out of it!
So now the only messages in your WhatsApp inbox will be messages that you need to reply to. No more accidentally ghosting people for months because you missed their message (something the old me used to be guilty of).
35. Prepare the night before
Every evening, plan out the activities you want to do for the next day and write out anything that is worrying you before you go to sleep. This will help you to clear your mind and will set a calm tone for the morning, reducing your stress levels.
Also, if you go to the gym in the morning, prepare your gym back and workout clothes so that you don’t have to scramble around half asleep in the morning.
36. Accept imperfection
Perfection was never an option and the sooner you realise that the sooner you can start the process of embracing imperfection.
Constantly striving for perfection is EXHAUSTING! It just adds unnecessary stress and dissatisfaction to your life.
When you learn to embrace imperfection, not only will you be able to simplify your life, but you’ll also develop resilience and gratitude.
37. File away your paperwork
The last and probably the most boring tip is to file away your paperwork. Having that massive disorganised pile of paper covering your desk is just adding to your stress and making your environment messy.
Reducing the physical clutter will create a sense of calm and control in your life which will in turn help you to reduce your stress.
Also, sorting through your paperwork will help you file away important documents so that you’re not scrambling around trying to find them when you need them
These 37 strategies should help you simplify your life and reduce your stress
Incorporating these 37 tips into your daily routine will help you streamline your life and achieve more in less time without stress.
Remember, the goal of simplifying your life is to help you find peace and increase your energy so that you can focus on the things that truly matter to you.
I’m not saying you got to be a hardcore minimalist that has no fun but I am recommending you find ways to simplify different areas of your life using strategies that work for you.
Remember, LIFE IS FOR LIVING
So when you simplify your life, you’ll not only reduce stress but you’ll create more space for joy, creativity and meaningful connections.
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