We have so many gadgets and services in today’s world that claim to make life simple, but instead, they just overcomplicate it. We all long for a simpler life with less stress and more downtime, but how do we actually attain that?

In short, life isn’t inherently complicated – we just make it that way. Once you understand that you have created your reality up until this point, you can use that same energy and power to move yourself into a simple life that you can actually enjoy. You can use the tools within you to bring that simplicity back into your life and do away with anything that doesn’t make life easier for you.

Of course, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to how to make life simpler, but we have come up with a few ideas that will hopefully get you started down a path to less stress and more happiness.

5 Ways To Make Life Simple Again

simple living

1. Work on your dreams, but don’t overwork yourself.

Everyone tells you to follow your dreams, and by all means, you should! However, don’t allow your dreams to turn you into a workaholic. Take time for yourself and don’t forget to actually live your life in the present while you’re in the process of creating your future life. Let’s be honest – any kind of work can exhaust us eventually, so it’s extremely important to pace yourself and allow your dreams to slowly take shape. Remember, no one created an empire overnight – it takes time, dedication, and patience. 

You have to remember to take care of yourself along the way and breathe life in, rather than suffocating your spirit just to make it to the finish line before everyone else. Life is not a race, so don’t treat it that way. Be content to watch life take shape and go with the flow rather than trying to force things to happen.

2. Don’t buy more than you need.

We live in times where being able to afford even the basics is tough for most people. Many of us need multiple jobs or streams of income in order to just survive. With that being said, one way to make your life simple is to only buy what you absolutely need, and do away with anything that doesn’t serve you and enhance your life. Buying more than you need or purchasing things that you can’t afford will only lead to more stress and debt, which will create the exact opposite of a simple life. Plus, studies have shown that more material items DON’T bring more happiness, and just lead to more clutter, stress, and feelings of emptiness.

Live within your means, and you will enjoy much lower stress levels and less debt in the long run.

3. Work smarter, not harder.

This one may not apply to some people, but for those who have more control over their schedules, try to get tasks done in a set window of time, and then move on to the next task. Multitasking doesn’t really exist, anyway, so don’t try to do multiple things at once. Our brains can only process one thing at a time efficiently, so focus on doing one thing at a time. You’ll save your brainpower and actually finish your work more quickly.

We have finite energy, so only use it on things that will benefit your life and don’t waste it on anything that simply keeps you “busy” but not productive. We all lead busy lives, but mostly because we do things we don’t truly want to do. Focus your energy on what will bring you the most happiness and abundance, and choose to eliminate anything that doesn’t serve your highest good.

4. Don’t take life too seriously.

We spend a lot of time worrying over the future, thinking about what others think of us, and in general, wasting way too much energy on thoughts that only destroy us in the long run. None of us will make it out of here alive, so why spend our limited time here worrying about things that may not even have an answer? It can seem tough to break that habit of endless worrying and taking life so seriously, but if we want to maintain any level of sanity, we must remember to spend time laughing, loving, and focusing our energy on the present moment.

We spend too much energy overthinking everything, stressing out, and not ever really taking time to appreciate the fact that we are alive. Right now, take the time to let that sink in. We don’t get to live this life forever, so don’t worry so much about how much money you have and how many bills you have left to pay this month. Breathe, my friends, and don’t allow petty life drama and responsibilities to weigh you down. Separate yourself from all that human stuff for a little while, and you’ll see everything a little more clearly. 

5. Embrace imperfections.

Another way to make life simple again is to not expect perfection. In this reality, nothing will ever go exactly as you planned. Of course, sometimes, it will go even better than you thought, but most of the time, we get our hopes up only to have them crushed by reality. We have to find a middle ground, a balance, in order to find happiness. We have to let go of all those expectations and simply live in the moment.


You might be having the worst possible day – you spilled your morning coffee, you can’t find your work clothes, your kids are crying about some catastrophe, your boss piled more responsibilities on top of you, and you feel like you’re drowning in a sea of stress and exhaustion. We get it; we’ve been there. However, at the end of the day, you sort of have to laugh at it all and find some way to appreciate life’s imperfections. This is all just an experiment, after all, and you get to be a part of it.