Why does life need to be so complicated? The truth is, it doesn’t

That is not to say that we won’t have struggles, pain points, distractions and moments where we want to pull our hair out, but we can take a step back and look at it from a different perspective. We can simplify by doing a few things. It may not be perfect, but it will certainly be a little easier.

I have talked about mindfulness before, and there are many benefits to practicing it, one of which is that if you are truly focused on one thing, it is less overwhelming. Make a list of things you need to do, but focus on only one single task at a time. Do nothing else except that thing until it is complete. Don’t rush through it, either — take your time and see it through properly. Then move on to the next item.

Another thing you can do to simplify is clean and organize your immediate living space. The first step is to throw out or donate everything that you no longer use or need. Then, store the items you don’t use every day. There are tons of different organizational shelves, bins and boxes on the market now to help you sort the things you do reach for on a daily basis.

I read somewhere that simply making your bed every day can actually improve your mood and sense of overall organization. I would tend to agree with this idea. Do you need to make your bed if no one is coming over? Probably not, but by doing so, you actually create a cleaner environment and subconsciously lower stress.

Next, either buy a pocket calendar or utilize your phone’s calendar app. Use this for everything on your schedule instead of spreading everything out among different tools. On Saturday nights, review the next two weeks to make sure everything is captured. Create reminders in this calendar for anything you need to do or prepare.

Plan your meals by the week: Go shopping for only what you need, portion the ingredients into freezer/sandwich bags and label them by day. Store them in the fridge or cabinet.

If you are on social media (and who isn’t these days) — do a friends list cleanup. Go through your friends alphabetically and delete (or at least unfollow) people you haven’t kept in touch with in more than six months. No one cares if you have 3,000 friends, and you probably talk to less than half of them, if you even know them at all. Stay in touch with those that truly matter.

While you’re at it, declutter your smartphone and laptop. Toss all the apps for those games you don’t play, clean up your contact list by getting rid of the ones you no longer need, delete or archive old files into folders labeled by year.

Let 2018 be a year of organization and simplification.

Story by Jennifer Russo