100 Ways to Simplify Your Life and Mind
Life August 17th, 2009After  Armen’s list of 100, my own 100 Ways to be a better leader and now several readers creating their own lists of 100 topics, I thought I would continue this trend and build one more on 100 ways simplify your life and mind. I’ve written a couple articles before on this topic and I’ve kept a few items from those articles on my list here, but most of this is new and it is really a useful way to find things to start doing. As with any of these 100 lists, obviously you can’t do all of these things (I certainly don’t) but you can pick some items on the list and start with them to simplify things in your life. I’d love for you to comment and add your own items or why not create your own list of 100 items, link back to these if they have inspired you and challenge your own readers to do the same and keep these lists going!
Simplify Your Actions
1. Start everyday with your most important task, leaving other ones undone
2. Do what you said you will do first
3. Say no when you are already committed and asked to take on more
4. Ask others for help whenever you need it
5. Finish things completely, don’t leave it only to have to come back again and again
6. Pick one thing at a time to do and focus on it
7. Make the most time for your passions and purposeful work
8. Leave spare time for yourself unscheduled and uncommitted
9. Prioritize your todo list
10. Keep one todo list and keep it short (only the most important things should be on it at any time)
11. Take time to be in solitude
12. Take time to pray and meditate
13. Make wasteful actions (like TVwatching or pointless internet surfing) more difficult to do to help avoid them.
14. Find and eliminate other wasteful actions in your life
15. Develop habits and daily routines to practise important actions
16. Read every single day
17. Plan your week and all major tasks for that week
18. Review your accomplishments each week
19. Be grateful for what you have, what you can do, and for everything in your life
20. Turn off your cell phone
21. Turn off all notifications on your computer from IM, email or other popups
22. Eat simple meals and don’t cook things that don’t need to be cooked
23. Eat less, which lets you also prepare less and cleanup less and store less
24. Automate any bills, payments, and money transactions that you can
25. Ignore distractions from media
26. Commute by bicycle or public transit instead of the busy freeway
27. Use commuting time wisely by reading or listening to books
28. Consider a career or job change to reduce stress
29. Find and maintain routines for day to day things
Simplify Your Stuff
30. Get rid of clothes you no longer wear or have worn in 6 months
31. Sell or give away household items you rarely / never use
32. Eliminate 2 things for every one new thing you acquire
33. Lend things out to friends often and don’t ask for it back if you don’t need it
34. Buy less stuff by only buying basic needs
35. Move to a smaller house or living space and get rid of all extra stuff
36. Give away books when you are done with them and let someone else enjoy them
37. Give up some electronic gadgets and do without them
38. Engage in simple hobbies that don’t require a lot of stuff (music, art, perhaps writing?)
39. De-clutter your living space and don’t keep any trinkets or excessive decorations
40. Consider going more green since this requires reducing things that consume power / energy
41. Get rid of your televisions or at least reduce the time you spend watching
42. Get rid of other media distractions in your life
43. Put a sign on your door/mailbox asking not to receive any flyers or unsolicited mail
44. Don’t carry all your credit or debit cards, just a small amount of cash for emergency
45. Downsize your vehicles or sell one
46. Clear out all clutter and extra stuff from your vehicle
47. Spend a weekend and pretend you are going to move, then clean out and get rid of everything you don’t need
48. Have a place for everything and keep it organized in place
49. Label, simplify and organize your file systems (both physical and electronic)
50. Consolidate your email accounts, bank accounts, RSS feeds and others
51. Recycle and reuse as much as possible
52. Give to those who have less than you
53. Volunteer your time for service to others
54. Keep a vegetable garden via online nursery
55. Grow some plants and flowers
56. Enjoy nature’s company
Simplify Your Relationships
57. Be honest with others (it will help avoid complex issues and conflict)
58. Treat everyone with respect, not just your close friends or relationship
59. Treat everyone fairly, don’t complicate things with favoritism
60. Trust others without them having to earn it first
61. Accept people for who they are and don’t expect them to change
62. Compare yourself only to yourself from the past, no one else
63. Learn to say, “No”
64. Ask your friends and family for things they are looking for, and give them any items you can do without that you have
65. Keep all your contacts and address book items in one place
66. Involve your whole family with simplifying your life
67. Tell your friends about what you want to achieve by simplifying
68. Pick some of the actions above and do them with a friend
69. Focus on activities for doing things instead of buying
70. Spend less time with the “negatrons” around you and more time with positive people
71. Apologize quickly for any hurtful actions
72. Spend time in private with a significant other each week
73. Go for walks and have time to just talk with your friends and family (you don’t always need to be doing anything)
74. Make a gift for someone else instead of buying one
75. Write a personal thank you note or letter to a friend
76. Call someone you care for with no reason other than to tell them you were thinking of them and wish them a wonderful day
77. Walk away from all gosip and don’t participate in those conversations
78. Put family meals at home first and don’t let work get in the way
79. Stay completely disconnected from work on weekends and vacations
80. Listen to others and stop talking so much yourself
Simplify your Thoughts
81. Be content with life for health, love and happiness instead of with belongings
82. Keep less goals and plans (focus on just 2 or 3 at a time)
83. Exercise often as this clears the mind and keeps you healthy longer through life
84. Make time to do what you love and to provide relief from stress
85.Make a list of all your simple pleasures in life and pick an item from it to do every day.
86. Evaluate new things by asking “Will this help to simplify my life?”
87. Let go of perfectionism
88. Find what calms you and visualize it to reduce stress
89. Be positive and look for the best in things
90. Be anxious for nothing and live more in the moment
91. Let go of things from the past
92. Face and get over your fears
93. Always look for ways to improve oneself
94. Note and express gratitude
95. Know and stick to your limits for commitments
96. Seek knowledge only to apply it as wisdom
97. Look for and express love to yourself and others
98. Choose to be happy and at peace with yourself
99. All that you express, comes back to you, so think and express what you want for yourself
100. Seek and love God and He will provide, you need not worry about anything else
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August 17th, 2009 at 6:21 AM
Mike,
Awesome list! I’m loving #26 – which I do as often as I can. So good on many levels, not just the physical benefit of biking!
Simplifying gets us down to what really matters – and that’s a great place to be!
August 17th, 2009 at 7:18 AM
I am highly impressed with this list, Mike! It’s all good tips the only part missing is to act on it.
I loved #69. It’s a variation of spend on experiences, not stuff. I really believe that stuff plays a huge part in holding people down, making them inactive, and making them resistant to change.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:07 AM
A very full list; I Love #19,#56,#58,#73,#76,#80,#81,#98 and do them every day. The section on “simplify your stuff” is very relevant in this age of materialism.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:16 AM
Hi Mike,
If only we all would use the first 29 rules our lives and work would be so much simpler and more productive. I make a task list on Sundays only for priorities. The normal trivial tasks will get done and take less time this way. This is my experience anyways.I always make sure the phone is off and as far as commuting, I go from my kitchen to my office.
I really like what you say about reading or listening to a book where you commute.We do this when we use the train.
Simplify my stuff ~ I need to work on this area more. I give away books. Clothing at times. I am not a materialist person so when I can give something away it is a pleasure.I hate to shop but I hear ya on the change out your clothes every 6 months.Then I find that a lot of my clothes for work tend to stay more in style.
Learning to say NO is excellent advice in all areas.Also learning to accept NO is good. lol
I really like 87.
Wonderful article. Like I said people should serious use this list.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:27 AM
Grow some plants, but really have a good go at growing your own foodstuffs. It is amazing how much better naturally grown, pesticide, herbicicde & fertilizer free tastes (and is for your health)
August 17th, 2009 at 9:29 AM
@lance – Yes I agree that it has more benefits than the physical nature. Some days I practically coast my way to work (its mostly downhill) and there really is NO physical labor involved but that ride sets me in a fantastic mood all day. Simple, yet wonderful.
@Valerie – Thanks for the comment, experience is all that matters in life, so its worth far more than any of our stuff for sure. You’re right, stuff traps us really from having the experiences we want. A shift is needed to simplify with that item.
@Maggi – WOW, you are practicing a lot of great simple things in life with relationships and elsewhere. Thanks for highlighting those and commenting, I hope this helps you pick up a few more items from the list to simplify. Of course maybe to simplify, just keep doing the ones you are, and do them more or even better. That’s simple also.
@Bunny – Its wonderfully simple to commute between rooms, not a luxury we all have that is for sure. I hope you still see outdoors enough as well though! Stuff traps us to easily and so subtly. We often don’t even realize how much we accumulate, its kinda scary, I’m sure most of us need to work on this area more. Thanks for the highlights and comments as well! I too, hope more people can simplify by using this list.
August 17th, 2009 at 9:31 AM
@industry news – Yes, I included #54 (vegatable garden) for growing but didn’t include plants. Definitely a great thing to have to simplify the type of foods we eat!
August 17th, 2009 at 10:19 AM
Mike, the list is amazing. Makes me want to start doing all of them … but I know that would complicate things more rather than simplify 😉 One thing at a time …
August 17th, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Wow Mike, this is a great list. If we only used 25% of the suggestions on this list we would all be much better off.
August 17th, 2009 at 11:01 AM
I’m pretty sure I need to focus in on #1 more often. 😉 Although most days start off right, I’m still drawn in by email early in the mornings. :/
Oh and I totally agree with Steven, we don’t need to do all of these to get huge benefits!
August 17th, 2009 at 12:39 PM
So many of the items on this list, and so many other lists, are so simple. But, as with so much in life, sometimes a little reminder, like your awesome list, is needed to knudge us in the right direction.
Thanks Mike, I love coming across new blogs with great information…
Regards,
Darren Sproat
August 17th, 2009 at 1:26 PM
Wow Mike, you covered just about everything here. I really appreciate the common thread, SIMPLIFY. Including so many aspects of life in this list, we are reminded that they can all get overly complicated. Which means that they all need attention if we want to maintain a sense of balance.
August 17th, 2009 at 1:42 PM
Mike, Simplify simplify…and you surely simplified it for us. Your list is awesome! The points are so good….I think i do a few of them already ..but that’s probably 10% 🙁
I have gotto get to at-least 30% ….Life sure would be simpler.
Love your blog:)
August 17th, 2009 at 2:22 PM
Aahhhh…. I’m breathing a sigh of relief just reading through the list. That’s what your suggestions do, Mike — give us room to breathe. Thank you!
August 17th, 2009 at 3:13 PM
Great blog, I’ll be back, thanks.
August 17th, 2009 at 5:04 PM
Now that’s an impressive list. Will probably take three lifetimes to master successfully. But all very useful and good and valuable. Thanks.
August 17th, 2009 at 6:55 PM
Mike, Good list! As for simplifying work, don’t open email right away in the morning. Review your “To Do” list and set a plan for the day. And then work for 30 minutes non-stop… then, and only then, take a look at your In Box.
August 17th, 2009 at 7:45 PM
WOW, thanks everyone for the nice comments, I’m glad everyone enjoys this list and I hope I’ve inspired a few people to simplify things today!
@Kevin – That is a great tip for sure. Have a structured day before the distractions set in is a great way to keep it simple and focused on meaningful work. Thanks for this addition!
August 18th, 2009 at 12:05 PM
A good thoughtful and thought-provoking list which I’ve forwarded to friends. Simple suggestions to follow – so clear and positive. Thanks. x
August 18th, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Hey Mike.
#36 is great because we end up having a collections of books that we think we will sell or read later but don’t do either, and we might as well pass them on.
#64 is great because of the same with other materials that we hold on to because we might need them later, but actually won’t use.
If you add those two numbers up you get 100 so it is like a miniature list of 100 within the list.
August 19th, 2009 at 10:01 AM
@jude – thanks for the comment and for stopping by here. I’ve glad you enjoyed the list.
@Armen – Very keen observation Armen. I like your simplification, clearly you have some experience. If only people passed on their things more often and shared things. I mean, really does every home owner need to have their own lawnmower? Could neighbors share one? That type of thinking to me is what lets us simplify our stuff the most.
August 19th, 2009 at 11:54 PM
Simplicity is a kind of wisdom in everything.We must be wise and live a simple life and see its beauty.I use many #s and see how effective they are.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:53 AM
Wonderful list. I very much impressed with this. All tips are very valuable and have its own importance. thanks for sharing it.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:55 AM
Sorry for commenting again But i had a suggestion for your why you should not try to make a ebook at this topic. You had very wise thoughts on it. I had bookmarked this post.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:30 AM
Wonderful list. You really know how to cover everything. Thank you for sharing.
August 20th, 2009 at 6:11 PM
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August 20th, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Wow Mike, awesome! You did a fantastic job again.
Thanks for compiling the list.
August 21st, 2009 at 5:44 AM
In today’s fast moving world, simplicity becomes an effort. People are too preoccupied with thier time that they lose those precious moments that needs 100% of their attention.
Perhaps it’s time to sit back and reflect on the wisdom you have shared. 🙂
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:00 AM
What another fantastic, 100 list post Mike! I know for a fact that anyone that reads this list will have a takeaway, and be better off by reading this list, I know I have had alot of takeaway from this =D
Till then,
Jean
August 26th, 2009 at 11:59 PM
this is truly remarkable!!!
i really learned a lot and i am so enlightened by this thoughts you shared to us… thank you very much!!!
August 28th, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Hello Mike, amazing! You did a fantastic job again.
Many Thanks for compiling this good list.
August 29th, 2009 at 3:19 AM
Brilliant. I must simplify. Will start now.
August 29th, 2009 at 8:23 PM
An interesting list of activities that one can pursue to simplify life! In fact, bringing greater simplicity in life unclutters our mind and keeps it fresh, calm and rejuvenated. Such an unhazy and focused mind is the origin of the greatest ideas and inventions!
August 31st, 2009 at 8:14 PM
I don’t really like the ‘actions’ section. You should be able to get anything done, and done alone. But the rest seems very solid!
September 2nd, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Mike, this is a great article! I enjoyed each step and am at this moment applying them to my life. I found it all very helpful and motivating. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I’m thoroughly impressed!
God bless you for what He’s purposed in your life!
September 3rd, 2009 at 4:32 PM
I too am pretty certain I need to focus in on #1 more often.
Thanks!
September 17th, 2009 at 11:40 AM
Love it! Life doesn’t have to be so complicated, and that’s why I love this article. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed with life just because I try to do too many tasks in a day or set too many goals at once. I really appreciate your tips because it reminds me to keep it simple. I’m not going to get everything done in one day but if I work one day at a time, doing my top priorities first, I’ll accomplish so much. Thanks for the motivation.
October 16th, 2009 at 4:15 AM
I have been thinking over the unpleasant situation for some hours that I hand been involved in.When I came across this stuff I got calm and merry thinking that the situation was just a situation as a fact of life around me.I simplified my ideas in my mind and felt harmomy again.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:15 PM
No!
see, put 63 into action already! 🙂
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:35 AM
I feel that 89 is a big one. Be positive and look for the best in things. When we do this everything seems much better and it gives hope in handling anything that might come your way. It helps also to find the humor in different situations, which can always be a big help.
December 15th, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Love the list.
But what about those who don’t believe in god or those who don’t believe in a god at all? If your making a list like this for everyone in the world to follow and use, shouldn’t it be able to be universal? Just a thought…
December 15th, 2009 at 7:09 PM
@Ozuim – Its not possible to make any list universal. Some people don’t have vision, or sight, or legs, or brain capacity to do these things either, doesn’t it mean the same for every item? If you don’t WANT to do them because of a belief, that’s your choice. That is why its a list of 100 things. Do the ones you chose!
December 30th, 2009 at 6:17 AM
This list is in my permanent bookmarks! Thanks for sharing.
September 15th, 2010 at 8:34 AM
What a great list! Thanks for all the great advice! I am implementing more of these great simplifications into my own life! 🙂
June 5th, 2011 at 11:21 PM
Great stuff here, will definitely come back! Thanks!
September 14th, 2011 at 11:33 PM
this is very helpful! thanks for this!
November 12th, 2013 at 3:49 PM
This is an article that I definitely need. Sometimes I am too disorganized. Another way to simplify your life is to make life and tape notes to your fridge so you don’t have to spend very much time looking for information you may already have and need.