We are often running on autopilot. With work, social commitments, hobbies, exercise, cleaning and kids in the mix there is little time left over to take a step back and access what we can do to reduce anxiety and stress and what changes we can make to simplify our lives. Sometimes it is not until a really overwhelming and stressful period that we even realise we are taking on too much, developing habits that are bad for us and we might need to reassess our current habits and lifestyle and the people and things around us.  

We can all use more tips to simplify our lives and live a more intentional life so here is 15 to simplify in 2020 for you to try out.

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15 Ways to Simplify in 2020

1. Get more sleep

Some people say they can live with a handful of hours of sleep a night. I am not one of them. If I don’t get at least 6.5 hours a night of sleep, than I am useless. When you don’t get enough sleep, it creates chaos in your day. You end up sleeping in late and being rushed. You’re irritable and unmotivated. You might even end up needing a nap at some point later in the day so less gets done. Simplify in 2020 by making it a goal to get more sleep! Even if it is just an extra half an hour a day, it can make all the difference. I recently invested in a Manta Eye Mask and it’s now my must have every night to get a good night’s sleep. 

2. Ditch toxic friends/family 

Do you have a friend, family member or other relationship who adds unnecessary stress and drama to your life? It might be time to say goodbye to those relationships. Whether it is leaving a toxic work environment, breaking up with a partner who doesn’t have the same values as you or letting go of the friendship you seem to always be holding together. Set yourself free from those who are weighing you down and bring toxicity and drama to your life. Even if it is just you finally setting appropriate boundaries for relationships. 

If you have people in your life who choose not to respect your boundaries, people who continually make bad decisions and expect you to pick up the pieces, people who cause you constant anxiety and headaches, or even just someone that doesn’t seem all that interested in having you in their life anymore, it might be time to say goodbye to those relationships for good. Life is too short to spend with people who don’t appreciate you and take advantage of you. 

3. Start looking after yourself

Do you need to do more to look after yourself? I know I can often find myself choosing between practicing for the next gig, writing a new blog post or having an hour to myself and it has taken me a long while to realise that sometimes productivity and other goals need to take a back seat to my own self care. 

Simplify in 2020 by starting to look after yourself. Use that gym membership you are paying for, go for a small walk everyday, read a book you’ve had on your read list for too long, drink more water, book in that dental check up even though you prefer to put off those visits. A little effort goes a long way. And trust me, when you hit the big 3-0, your body is going to insist you make better choices :p 

4. Declutter the clutter you’ve accumulated in 2019

It’s time to say goodbye to the clutter that’s been impeding the enjoyment of your space and making clutter eyesore hotspots in your home. Simplify your life in 2020 by letting go of the excess in your home! Let go of the clothes you no longer love, donate the excess Tupperware you don’t have space for and say goodbye to the books you know you are never going to read. 

A good rule of thumb is, if you haven’t used it in 12 months out it goes. If you need the extra cash you can sell your clutter otherwise bag it up, get it in your boot and drop it off to your nearest donation bin or charity as soon as you can. 

5. Watch less TV

I absolutely love my TV time, I am a #NetflixandChill girl at heart, like any other millenial but I decided to simplify in 2020 by reducing the amount of TV I am allowing myself. Instead, I am going to the gym three times a week. I’m minus 1.5 hours a week of Netflix but feeling great knowing that I am better utilising that time!

Have a think about how much time you spend in front of the black box a week and how much time you would need to dedicate to a new goal of yours – whether it be to hit the gym, read more books, work on some craft or DIY projects or learn a new language. Even if you can cut out just 30-60 minutes a week of TV there is a lot of value adding activities you can squeeze into that new found time! Give it a go! And let me know in the comments how much screen time you gave up and what you replaced it with!  

6. Set small goals 

Simplify in 2020 by setting yourself some super achievable small goals. As the saying goes, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. 

If you have a goal in 2020, such as reading more, set yourself a super easy to achieve target such as sitting down every day at 3pm to read for fifteen minutes. Set your timer and go! If 7pm works better for you – go for it! Maybe you can squeeze it in while you’re in the car at your kids dance practice or get up a little bit early in the morning. The key is to find a time where most days you are able to do that activity. 

Maybe you want to learn a new language for your upcoming holiday, how about you do just two Duolingo lessons a day which take at most 10 minutes! 

If you want to learn new recipes, set a goal to try one or two new recipes a month! Throw that ambitious once a week goal in the bin and make the goal so easy to achieve that you can’t possibly fail! 

7. Buy less

The more we buy and bring into our homes the more effort we need to put in to maintain these items. 

Simplify in 2020 by aiming to buy less. Spend less time shopping, less time researching, less time rearranging things to fit in the cupboard, less time cleaning said items whether it be dusting, washing etc. And save future your from the chore of decluttering any excess later on! And a great bonus – you’ll save lots too! 

You might consider doing a No Spend Month as an extra challenge to take in 2020 to help you curb your consumer spending. Even if just for a few weeks of the year.

8. Create space in your schedule

A few years ago I was completely overwhelmed by my schedule. I worked full time as well as a second job on Sunday nights. I was studying for my CPA, playing in a band and had moved out of home so had all the cleaning, cooking, washing, socializing and so on to squeeze in as well.

Since then I’ve learnt the importance of creating space in my schedule. I looked at what was and wasn’t a priority and reworked my schedule to reflect that. I quit my second job and realised that more time was more important to me than more money. I became more selective of what I said yes to and acknowledged that I couldn’t possibly keep squeezing 3 or 4 social gatherings into 2.5 days on top of house work and some much needed downtime.

My new routing involved planning ahead in my schedule and blocking out dates or times to create space in my schedule. This means that our weekends are no longer consumed by multiple social gatherings where we have no time to rest after a big work week. Time to rest is factored in every single weekend.

You can simplify in 2020 by doing the same, creating times booked into your calendar to recharge. I use Google Calendar for this. As events get locked into your calendar, be sure to add in some block out zones for your sanity. If Friday night is a friends party, it might be work keeping Saturday night free. If you have a few mid week catch ups scheduled and know it will be a stressful period at work, maybe that week you keep the weekend relatively free. 

9. Declutter your digital space

A cluttered digital space can cause you unnecessary frustration and stress. Take the time every so often to review your digital space and remove anything that is not adding value. Delete apps that you no longer, or never use. Delete blurry or bad photos and keep only the quality shots. Delete memo notes you no longer need and review any to do list items that you can clear off. Do the same for your laptop or PC. Don’t forget to unsubscribe from social media accounts or emails that no longer add value. 

10. Tidy your pantry

Your pantry is something your family will access multiple times every day. A disorganised pantry can make meal planning, grocery shopping and cooking harder than it needs to be. Not to mention, not being able to see what you need can make you waste more money and food! 

Whether you have large or short window of time, set your timer and get started tidying your pantry. Even if you only have fifteen minutes you can make a lot of progress in a short space of time. 

• Throw out anything that has expired. Usually you know at a glance what has been sitting in your pantry for too long
• Put any open packets into storage containers to keep the food fresh
• Group like items so they are easy to find
• Give the shelves a quick vacuum and wipe down. If you are short for time just do a spot clean

11. Declutter Makeup

Less is more when it comes to make up. Simplify in 2020 but going through your make up stash and tossing anything that is empty or that you no longer use. Keeping only the makeup you use and love will make getting ready a lot easier and keep your makeup storage area much easier to keep tidier. 

In 2020, consider a more minimalist approach to buying makeup, by only purchasing makeup to replace items as they are used up. Most make up items have an expiry of 18-24 months so the less you buy, the more chance you have of using up what you do have within the expiration period. 

12. Set up a donation box in your wardrobe

A great way to donate items, especially for those too busy to dedicate a lot of time to decluttering is to set up a donation box in your wardrobe so you can declutter as you go. Each time you pull something off the coat hanger or put something back from the wash you can make a decision about whether it is something you want to keep, or something you want to let go of. 

The easiest way to simplify and declutter for those short on time is to do it as you are assessing the piece. When you are trying on a piece of clothing that no longer fits, that is uncomfortable, or is simply no longer your style you can easily toss it into your clothing bin and donate it when it gets full. You can of course chuck anything else in to donate from around the house that you come across that needs donating as well. 

13. Declutter your jewellery collection

Too much jewellery can add too many decisions to getting ready every day. Review your jewellery collection and donate anything that you no longer wear or love. Let go of mismatched earrings, discoloured jewellery or anything that is no longer in your style. Group like items together so you can select what you want to wear as you get ready at a glance. 

And as with your makeup collection, consider limiting how much jewellery you buy going forward. Consider a jewellery ban for a period of time where you don’t add anything to your collection or set a one in one out rule, where you can only bring a new piece in if you have let something else go.

Don’t forget to be honest with yourself and only keep the jewellery you will wear that you still love. If you have a collection of rings but only enjoy wearing your wedding set, let the others go to someone who will love them 

14. Organise your paperwork

Papers can easily multiple once they come through your front door, before you know it you have too many papers piled up and don’t know where to start. Simplify in 2020 by limiting what comes into your home in the first place: 

• Putting a no junk mail sign on your letter box can go a long way to stemming unwanted mail.
•  Sign up for email statement listings for your accounts to reduce paper mail being delivered to your home that requires filing. 
• Set up a paper station for items you need to Action, File, Scan and Shred. Try and get to this pile once a week for action items and once a month for the Scanning, Shredding and filing so you piles don’t become Mount Everest! 

Once you have limited what paper is coming through the door it will be a lot easier to manage and you will have less physical paper to action and sort. 

Lastly, scan your receipts when you get home from shopping. I simply take a photo and upload it to a Receipts folder in Google Drive and recycle the original. Or grab a box for receipts and go through and scan them once every now and then to keep on top of them. You will never misplace a receipt again and will tackle your paper clutter before it gets too out of hand and feels too overwhelming!     

15. Create a chill zone 

Simplify in 2020 by creating a ‘chill zone’ space to unwind. It can be as fancy or simple as you like, for me it is just my lounge recliner where I keep a throw blanket and candle nearby, and some comfy cushions. It’s a place I can go to, to unwind, read a book or some articles.

 Keep everything you need nearby so you aren’t running around grabbing things and getting distracted on your way to the chill zone (Oh look – mess! Let me just clean that up…).   

Depending on your home, you may have a room for this or just a small nook in your lounge room, or just a chair somewhere in your home. It’s a space where you can get away from the dishes, laundry pile and anything else that is distracting you so you can unwind.

Want more tips on how to Simplify?

For more tips on how you can simplify your life check out these 9 tips and these 15 in this post.

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

Comment Question: I would love to know how have you simplified your life? Let me know in the comments!

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