30 Simple Ways to Make Life Easier

In recent years, I’ve been learning more ways to simplify and make my life easier. Whether it’s remembering what to be grateful for, or writing in a journal, I’ve come a long way.

Though my adult responsibilities continue to rise, I’m better able to keep my life running smoothly.

We all would enjoy flowing through our days without dealing with much resistance.

Life will never be perfect, and it won’t always be easy. Whether you’re running a business, taking care of a child, or starting school, you’re going to face big challenges from time to time.

Despite that, you can make your day-to-day routine a little bit easier through a few specific habits. Here are 25 ways to make life much easier.

Tips to make life much easier

Be sure to think about how you can creatively apply these simple living tips to your life as you’re reading them.

Some of these recommendations might not fit your lifestyle, but the larger perspectives can be universal to how we all simplify our lives.

1. Set boundaries and rules

We’ve all been told any times that it’s important to set boundaries. It’s important to know your limits and ask other people to respect them.

You should also set boundaries with yourself as well. That means making rules for what you will and will not do in your life.

In my own life, I typically make my first hour or two of the day a time for self-care. Setting similar personal rules for yourself helps you to avoid the stress of indecision in your days.

You can experience less guilt over whether you should be doing something else with your time.

Everyone has their own specific limits. Define yours in a way that works best for you. Ponder what you use your time, energy, and money on currently.

If ideas pop up of certain boundaries you want to set, write them down and give them a try for a period of time.

2. Simplify your mealtimes

In the last decade or so, meal prepping and meal planning have been on the rise. Meal delivery services have also risen in popularity.

Any of these options can make deciding what to eat in your day much easier. You might also be curious about learning the jar method.

Everyone has their own ways of simplifying their mealtimes. You can find a system that works best for you to help make feeding your family or yourself less stressful.

3. Pause

Pretend your life is a movie that you can press pause on when you feel like it. Allow yourself to slow down so you can be sure you’re making the best decisions.

You can pause whenever you’re about to make a purchase, accept an invitation or choose something to eat.

It’ll help you to make less impulsive decisions and more intentional choices that are in line with your priorities.

You can also choose to pause your day to help slow down and relax when things get really busy. You can sit for a moment in your car and take a few breaths before you do your next errand.

It can help to establish more peace of mind in your days.

4. Sleep early

When you have more energy, it’s easier to get things done. When you’re tired, it can be harder.

It’s critical that you get enough sleep for physical and mental wellness. Most sleep authorities recommend 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

While that’s not always possible for everybody, you can still strive to get it most days of your week.

That may mean settling for takeout one night or just deciding to complete a task another day.

When it’s the evening time, do your best to make sleeping earlier the top priority of your night.

5. Have a home for all your items

It can be frustrating when you misplace your phone or even just the remote control.

Life is easier when you have a specific place where you put a certain item that you own.

Save yourself time and mental energy by being able to know where to find what you’re looking for most of the time.

6. Figure out how to remove your pain points

An interesting idea I discovered was the pain point audit. Think about what causes you mental or physical pain in your days.

Where do you feel the most stress and friction? It can be something as small as not being able to find your phone or something bigger like struggling with your daily commute.

Write each of your pain points down, and then brainstorm an easy way to remove them. As an example, you could have a spot where you always place your phone.

You could research the easiest route to take to work and maybe drive at an earlier time to avoid traffic.

Minimizing these stresses in your day will go a long way to making your life easier.

7. Declutter your home

The less you have in your home, the less you have to clean. That allows you to have more energy, time, and perhaps money in life.

Here’s where you can learn more about decluttering your home. You also might enjoy learning more about minimalism and how it can make your life better.

8. Find what can be repeated

Variety can be the spice of life at times, but too much of it may make life more challenging.

You don’t always have to find a new outfit to wear or a new recipe to try.

There can be a joy in the simplicity of just having a wash, rinse, and repeat routine with certain areas of your life. Here are some examples of what you can repeat in life:

• Wear similar outfits throughout your week

• Have a regular takeout night

• Eat the same breakfast

The goal is to limit the amount of mental energy you have to use in your day and decrease any unnecessary work.

9. Make your schedule seamlessly flow

There are probably many ways you can make your schedule flow more easily. One example is you could go to a gym near a grocery store so you can shop after getting in some exercise.

You save yourself having to use up energy driving to a store all the way across town.

You can also be mindful of tasks that take high energy and tasks that take low energy.

The ones that don’t require much energy can be scheduled later in the day, and the ones that do can be schedule early.

That way you can get more of your most important tasks completed. If you need help organizing your schedule this way, you can try a to-do list app.

10. Ask why you’re doing something

If there’s no good answer as to why you’re doing something in life, that’s a big sign you need to reconsider doing it.

There might be many things you think you should be doing that aren’t adding any value to your life.

Asking this question will allow you to determine what you need to let go of in order to live a more intentional life.

11. Find joy in difficult tasks

Life is filled with moments where we just have to do something that we don’t want to do.

Despite that, avoid complaining about them, and find a way to put joy in the task.

You could put on music you like whenever you’re cleaning your house. You can listen to podcasts when you’re taking your long commute to work.

Find a way to make the work you have to do as enjoyable as possible.

12. Have a morning and evening routine

Growing up, I was never much of a routine person. But as you gain more responsibilities in life, they can really help simplify things for you.

You won’t have to think as much about what you’re doing in your day or when you’re doing it. You can have a scheduled bedtime, cook time, and other times you need scheduled.

I’ve written articles on both starting your day right and ending your day right that might be helpful to you.

13. Be at peace with slow progress

As much as we’d all like success and happiness to come overnight, most often, these things take time. Be at peace with the journey you’re on and trust the process.

Over time slow progress leads to big success. We can’t do everything we want in a day, but as long as we’re doing something, we can be proud of ourselves.

You don’t have to beat yourself up, and you don’t have to always be grinding and hustling so hard. Celebrate the little victories and keep things easy where you can.

14. Have daily intentions

Think about what would make today good for you. It can be one big thing you can intentionally focus on accomplishing that will make you feel good.

That way when you get this thing done, everything else that gets done can be icing on the cake.

And you can allow yourself to rest easier knowing you got the one big thing you wanted to do done.

15. Keep your finances simple

Here are three things you can do to keep your finances simple. Budget, automate, and use. Let’s start with budgeting.

Review your expenses in previous months. Create a realistic plan of how much you want to save in future months.

Be diligent about managing your spending habits. You can use one of these budgeting apps to help get you started. I also created an article on a minimalist budget that you might find helpful too.

With automating, you can save yourself mental energy by having a system set up with your bank to automatically pay bills on a certain date.

Lastly, use your money on things you feel will help your physical and mental well-being. It could be getting a massage, hiring a cleaner, or even going to therapy.

Finances are one of the most stressful parts of our lives. Making your money management easier will definitely go a long way in keeping your life easy.

16. Schedule your arrival times earlier

Getting to appointments or other important events on time can be stressful. A lot of us end up rushing and just barely getting to where we need to be.

Wouldn’t it be easier to just not have to worry about that? Try this life hack. Set your time you plan to arrive somewhere 15 minutes earlier

If you run late to arriving on that time, guess what? You have 15 minutes to spare. Less stress, easier life.

17. Check your e-mail less

People who work can struggle with this often. In college, I would stop doing schoolwork after eight or night in the evening.

I took that same habit and applied it to my work. After seven or eight in the evening, I don’t respond to work e-mails.

There’s no need to constantly make time for other people’s needs. Your evening should be your time to unwind and focus on yourself.

Another thing that can make things simpler for you is decluttering your inbox.

18. Only decide between three options

Choosing between a number of options can be stressful. Think about restaurant menus that have 30 options on one page.

Whether making big or small decisions, narrow it down to three options. It’ll be quicker to make a decision and then move on.

19. Ask for help

We can be stubborn about figuring things out ourselves. It’s good to accomplish things on your own when you can.

Sometimes though, it’s quicker and faster to get some help. If you feel stuck on something, seek advice from those who might know more.

Perhaps there’s a task in your day that you struggle with. If possible, get someone who’s good at it to do it. Less energy and time wasted, and more easiness in life.

20. Do what you’ve been putting off

We all do it sometimes. We put off something we scheduled today for tomorrow. It’s an unnecessary burden we don’t need in life.

If you’ve put off something for a week, make it top of your to-do-list tomorrow. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to get it done.

Get it out of the way and feel good that it’s no longer a task to do.

21. Start a hobby you can quickly get good at

Hobbies can be a great way to build up confidence in yourself. Insecurity is another thing that can make life harder.

Pick out a new activity you think you can quickly get good at. Start doing it, and practice daily if you can. In less than a month, you might get really good at this hobby.

When you do, you can share your hobby with friends and feel accomplished. That increased confidence will make you feel you can do more in life.

The more you feel you can do things in life, the more you’ll do them. It’ll be easier to encourage yourself to try something new.

22. Have no more than three browser tabs open

Having less tabs open on your browser is a way to digitally declutter. All of the tabs you have open can slow your computer down anyway.

It might also make it harder to focus on one important task to do. Try to have only a few tabs open when you’re using the internet.

It’ll help you be less distracted and more able to get your tasks done.

23. Don’t sweat the small stuff

Bad things can happen in our day. That’s just life. You have a choice though. You can either let it affect your whole day, or just accept it and move on.

Some things really aren’t worth the time and energy. If someone cut you off, so be it. Hopefully wherever they needed to get to so fast, it was worth it.

We can have an edge in life not being affected by small things. While others are stuck in their emotions, we’re getting stuff done.

We’re making big things happen in life. As a result, our lives are getting easier.

24. Write down negative emotions

Keeping negative emotions bottled up only slows us down. Get them out by writing in a journal. Research has shown it can be useful in processing emotions.

You can come to a better understanding of a situation. That will help you to determine how to move forward.

Writing has been a great tool for me to process things and move on. My life is easier than it would be if I didn’t.

25. Organize your passwords

Forgetting your password can be annoying. You have to waste time getting e-mailed a new one and changing it.

Instead of going through that, have your passwords organized. There are tools and apps that can securely keep all of your passwords in one place.

Another option is selecting the remember option when logging in. Saves time with not having to type a password in at all.

26. Take time to care for yourself

Our lack of energy is often a direct result of not taking care of ourselves. Old people know this better than anyone.

The less you take care of yourself, the harder your life will be in the long run. All it takes is doing a few simple things daily.

Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, eat properly, drink water often, get some sun, relax, and have good relationships.

Do all those things well and you’ll be surprised how much easier life is.

27. Take things less personally

People can say rude or mean things all the time. As long as you know and own who you are, who cares what they say.

I’ve wasted a lot of time getting stuck on what people think of me. Maybe it’s just getting older, but I just stopped caring.

The one person’s thoughts about you that should matter most is your own. Everyone else’s thoughts, besides professionals, should just be viewed as suggestions at best.

It’s okay if some people’s suggestions have more weight. With people who’ve known you long, you should take their thoughts about you seriously.

Though again, remember that you get to decide whether those thoughts are valid or not. Life will be a lot easier not taking things so personally.

28. Believe everything will be okay

Pessimism probably never got anyone that far in life. Our thoughts have more power than we give them credit for sometimes.

Believing things will be okay can give you more peace about life. I always think that no matter what I’m going through, everything will be okay.

I’ll find a way to make something work, and things won’t be that bad. Getting caught up in worrying about the future or worst-case scenarios only slows you down.

Keep a positive attitude about life. You’ll be able to focus on doing what you can to make things work out for you.

29. Think positive affirmations

Affirmations can keep you more focused on what you’re trying to achieve in life.

A luck study proved that our own thinking can lead us to be aware of opportunities that can help us succeed.

And of course the more successful you are, the easier life can be. Try thinking of your positive affirmations throughout the day.

30. Pray more often

A Psychological Science article notes that research has proven prayer can calm us.

When we’re calm, it’s easier for us to focus and do the things we need to accomplish.

Try praying more to make your life simpler.

Life can be easy

Life is only as challenging as the choices you make. The better choices you make, the less stress you’ll feel.

Focus on finding ways to create a life that can run smoothly. When you do that, you’re life can become easier than it’s ever been before.

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