In life, it’s tempting to take on as much as you can.

However, piling too many things on your plate at once can lead to a serious case of 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!

There are many reasons why choosing to live 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.

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 you let go of things that invite excess stress into your life.

If you lead a complicated life with too much on your plate, you won’t have time to experience peace and quiet. By removing the excess stresses in your life, you give yourself the time to focus on yourself and your own needs.

More Time To Do What You Enjoy

One of the biggest 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 leaves you with more free time.

You can use this free time to partake in your hobbies and favorite activities. This means you’ll spend more time improving your mood and quality of life.

Improved Mood And Social Battery

The added stresses and complications of a busy lifestyle 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 that you aren’t constantly at your wit’s end and irritable.

When you’re stressed, your social battery (how long you’re comfortable in social situations before wanting alone time) drains faster.

Part of maintaining an enjoyable and meaningful life is learning what your limits are. Exceeding those limitations too often can prove detrimental to your long-term sociability.

Think of it as running a car after the gas warning light has come on. Yes, you can keep driving for a while longer, but you really 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.

You Live The Life You Want

One of the keys to a successful life is to live your life in a way you can be proud of.

When you look back on your life, you should feel proud of what you accomplished. That becomes difficult to do when you constantly feel like you’re barely one step ahead of deadlines and commitments.

If you live a simple life, you can make sure the life you’re living reflects what you want and not just what’s expected of you.

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

As mentioned before, having too much on your plate means that you’re unable to live your life your own 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 important to make sure those get done. After all, a healthy work-life balance means that one doesn’t compromise the other.

If you can’t avoid certain responsibilities, how do you achieve simpler living?

The main thing is to focus on one task at a time. If you have a big project due in a week’s time, don’t take on other commitments. This includes fun commitments if they put you at risk of not finishing your project on time.

This doesn’t mean that you work slowly, but rather that you dedicated your work time entirely to making sure your project is done well and on time. When you’re able to focus, you can achieve more in less time and you’ll find that your life becomes less stressful.

Learn To Say “No”

One of the hardest things to do is learn how 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 really important to you. You will also be more mindful of the commitments you do make.

Saying “no” can be difficult, but it’s important to know your limits. 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 that you’re already stretched thin, then it’s time to start saying “no” to new commitments.

It’s also important to be honest with the person who’s asking you to do something. Let them know that you’re already busy and can’t take on anything else.

It can be difficult 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 around us can impact us significantly. Sometimes, when we hold on to too many things, they can weigh us down.

Having fewer things like fewer clothes in our closet and fewer items on our desk can have a surprisingly positive effect on our mental health.

We not only feel less overwhelmed but also 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 just get rid of the junk in your house, that only addresses one aspect of the problem. If you want to really declutter your home, you need to 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. This is a practice encouraged heavily by the standards and interests of modern living.

While it’s always nice to get something new for your home, the mood boost it provides doesn’t last long.

Socrates wrote that the secret to happiness lies not in seeking more, “but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” It’s 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 and 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 we know that 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 every day is a very healthy social practice. But social media apps like Instagram, as well as video sites like YouTube, were made to be addictive and can have negative impacts on your mental health.

By distancing yourself from these kinds of distractions and reducing your daily screen time, you can slow down and appreciate the more important things in life.

Instead of spending time mindlessly grazing through your feed, try enjoying the simple pleasures of life 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 if you just had more time, you could manage.

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 next day. This simple practice can change how you feel 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 find that you consistently have more tasks than 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 important 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 end up feeling stressed when things don’t go according to plan. Give yourself some wiggle room so that you can accommodate the unexpected.

Spend Time Improving Your Mental Health

When things feel overwhelming for long periods of time, it can affect your mood and mental health negatively.

By implementing some of the ideas we’ve suggested here to make your own life simpler, you can free up space in your day and in your brain.

While that itself is important, how you make use of all the extra time you’ll have makes a big difference.

This free time is a great opportunity to work on yourself and improve your mental health. It’s a chance to follow the rules for a happier life such as spending time with your loved ones, helping others, practicing gratitude, and living in the moment.

When you have more time on your hands, you can use it to do things that make you feel good.

Final Thoughts

Modern life can be overly complicated. We often take on more than we can handle, which can lead us to feel stressed and burnt out.

Making small changes to simplify your life can have a big impact on 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.