Simple Life Happy Life (How Simplicity Can Boost Your Mood)
It’s tempting to take on as much as you can in life.
We often feel pressured to say yes to every opportunity, whether it’s a new project at work, a social gathering, or a volunteer commitment. We fear missing out or letting others down.
However, juggling too many things at a time can lead to serious burnout. That’s why it’s important to remember that sometimes a simple life is a happy life.
If your daily routines feel overwhelming or if you want to lead a simpler life, we’ve got you covered.
We’ve prepared this article to help you understand how simplicity can improve your life and provide a few ways to make it happen.
How Can a Simple Life Make You Happier?
Life can be messy, crazy, and overwhelming. But can a person choose to be happy? Yes! While we can’t control every circumstance in our lives, we can control our responses and make choices that promote our well-being.
There are many reasons why living a simple life can lead to a happier you. Simplicity can help you feel in control of your life and give you time to unwind and focus on your well-being.
We created this list to show just how many benefits there are to simple living. After reading this, we’re confident you’ll understand the importance of a simpler lifestyle.
1. Reduced Stress and Improved Sense of Inner Peace
One of the biggest roadblocks to a peaceful life is stress and anxiety. Simplifying your life means letting go of things that invite excess stress into it.
If you lead a complicated life with too much on your plate, you won’t have time for peace and quiet. By removing the excess stresses in your life, you give yourself the time to focus on yourself and your needs.
2. More Time to Do What You Enjoy
One of the most significant advantages of simple living is that your schedule is less packed overall. While there are responsibilities you can’t ignore, choosing not to take on extra gives you more free time.
You can use this free time to engage in your hobbies and favorite activities, which means you’ll spend more time improving your mood and quality of life.
3. Improved Mood and Social Battery
A busy lifestyle’s added stresses and complications can lead to you developing bad social habits if not managed. The more strung out you are, the worse your mood can get. Living a simple life means you aren’t constantly irritable and at your wit’s end.
When you’re stressed, your social battery (how long you’re comfortable in social situations before wanting alone time) drains faster.
Learning your limits is a part of maintaining an enjoyable and meaningful life. Exceeding those limitations too often can be detrimental to your long-term sociability.
Think of it as running a car after the gas warning light has come on. You can keep driving longer, but you should head to the nearest gas station.
Simplifying your life means not letting yourself run out of gas and respecting when your own warning light turns on.
It’s about being proactive in managing your energy levels and prioritizing self-care.
4. You Live the Life You Want
When reflecting on your life, you should feel proud of your accomplishments. However, this can be difficult when you constantly feel like you’re barely one step ahead of deadlines and commitments.
If you live a simple life, you can ensure your life reflects what you want and not just what’s expected of you. You have the freedom to make choices that are aligned with your values and goals rather than constantly reacting to external demands.
A Simple Life Is a Happy Life: How to Keep It Simple
Let’s talk about how you can keep things simple in life.
Focus on One Task at a Time
Having too much on your plate means you can’t live your life your way. The solution is simple—consciously decide to put less on your plate.
It’s easier said than done, of course. Sometimes, the pressures you face aren’t ones you’ve chosen to take on.
When you have responsibilities and jobs you have to do, it’s essential to make sure those get done. After all, a healthy work-life balance means that one doesn’t compromise the other.
How do you live simpler if you can’t avoid specific responsibilities? Focus on one task at a time.
Don’t take on other commitments if a big project is due in a week. This includes fun commitments if they put you at risk of not finishing your project on time.
This doesn’t mean you work slowly, but dedicate your time to ensuring your project is done well and on time. When you can focus, you can achieve more in less time, and your life will become less stressful.
Learn to Say “No”
One of the hardest things is learning to say “no.” We often take on too much because we don’t want to disappoint others or let them down.
However, by saying “no” more often, you can focus on the things that are important to you. You will also be more mindful of the commitments you do make.
Saying “no” can be difficult, but knowing your limits is important. You can’t please everyone all the time, and that’s okay.
So, how do you go about saying “no” more often?
The first step is to be honest with yourself. If you know you’re already stretched thin, it’s time to start saying “no” to new commitments.
Being honest with the person asking you to do something is also important. Tell them you’re already busy and can’t take on anything else.
You can also offer alternative solutions or suggest someone else who might be able to help, which can make saying “no” feel less awkward or confrontational.
It can be challenging to say “no” at first, but it will get easier with practice. Remember that you’re doing this for your own well-being.
Reduce Clutter
In the same way that having too many responsibilities can feel stressful, having too many material possessions can negatively impact us. Sometimes, when we hold onto too many things, they can weigh us down.
Having fewer things, such as fewer clothes in our closets and fewer items on our desks, can have a surprisingly positive effect on our mental health.
We feel less overwhelmed and gain more time, experience more freedom, and have more money to spend on things we really care about. The more space we have around us, the more room we have for thought and creativity.
While it’s easy to say that you should get rid of the junk in your house, that only addresses one aspect of the problem. To declutter your home, you must change the habits that created the problem.
Some people struggle with impulsive purchases or use retail therapy to try to feel happier or less stagnant in life. Modern standards and interests heavily encourage this practice.
While getting something new for your home is always nice, the mood boosts it provides don’t last long.
Socrates wrote that the secret to happiness is not seeking more “but developing the capacity to enjoy less.” This is an important message to internalize when navigating the world today, where everything you want is just an Amazon package away.
Reducing clutter, buying less stuff on impulse, saving money, and being happy with what you have are all effective ways to simplify your life and improve your long-term mood.
Spend Less Time Staring at a Screen and Scrolling Social Media
We know people say this often, and it’s difficult to implement. So much of our lives involve or include the use of smartphones, but not all of that interaction is positive.
There’s a difference between scrolling through social media and chatting with friends. Keeping in touch with people you don’t see daily is a healthy social practice. But social media apps like Instagram and TikTok, as well as video sites like YouTube, were made to be addictive and can negatively impact your mental health.
By distancing yourself from these distractions and reducing your daily screen time, you can slow down and appreciate the more important things in life.
Instead of mindlessly grazing through your feed, try enjoying life’s simple pleasures like reading a book, taking a walk outside, or even talking to the people around you. These simple things can make a world of difference to your mental health, and you’ll find that you have more time and energy for more meaningful things.
Create a Healthy Schedule to Manage Your Time Effectively
When dealing with responsibilities and commitments, it’s common to feel that you could manage if you had more time.
However, work and commitments become less overwhelming with more efficient time management. There are many ways to improve your time management process.
One of the simplest processes to implement is a to-do list. To-do lists summarize and simplify all your tasks into short, simple descriptions. This alone can help when your day is filled with more stuff than you can handle at once.
The other advantage of to-do lists is that they make your tasks seem less abstract. You know how many there are and what each requires of you. This changes how approachable your tasks appear. By simplifying and quantifying them, each task looks less intense.
Spend 5-10 minutes each evening planning your following day. This simple practice can change your feelings about your commitments and responsibilities, making them feel lighter and more manageable.
Start by listing everything you need to do the next day, including both work and personal tasks. Then, prioritize your list according to what’s most important. Once you have a prioritized list, you can better estimate how much time each task will take and plan your day accordingly.
If you consistently have more tasks than you can fit into one day, it’s time to examine your commitments. Do you really need to do everything on your list? Is there anything you can delegate or say “no” to?
It’s also essential to build some flexibility into your schedule. No matter how well you plan, unexpected things will come up. If you plan your day down to the hour, you’ll only feel stressed when things don’t go as planned. Give yourself some wiggle room so that you can accommodate the unexpected.
Also, schedule breaks and time for self-care, as these are just as important as your work tasks.
Spend Time Improving Your Mental Health
When things feel overwhelming for long periods of time, it can affect your mood and mental health negatively. The constant stress and pressure can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and burnout.
Implementing some of the ideas suggested here to simplify your life will free up space in your day and brain. Keeping only what truly matters to you can reduce the mental clutter that often contributes to stress and overwhelm.
While that itself is important, how you use all the extra time you’ll have makes a big difference. It’s not just about having more free time but about using that time to nurture your mental health and overall well-being.
This free time allows you to follow the rules for a happier life, such as spending quality time with your loved ones, helping others, and living in the moment.
When you have more time, you can do things that make you feel good. This includes hobbies that bring you joy, relaxation techniques like meditation or yoga, and taking a few minutes each day to practice gratitude and appreciate the good things in your life.
By prioritizing your mental health and using your free time to support your well-being, you can cultivate a greater sense of peace, contentment, and resilience in the face of life’s challenges.
Remember, a simple life isn’t about doing less but about making space for what truly matters and brings you joy.
Final Thoughts
Modern life can be overly complicated. We often take on more than we can handle, which can lead to stress and burnout.
Making small changes to simplify your life can significantly impact your overall mood and well-being. By following the suggestions above, you can reduce your stress levels, improve your mental health, and make more time for the things that truly bring you joy.
Need help prioritizing what’s important? Check out the Do Happy App – it’s a great tool for encouraging you to focus on the simple things in life that make you happy.