Life is stressful. And over the last 18 months we’ve all had to deal with added complications. Whether you’ve been balancing work while home-schooling your children or feeling trapped and isolated by pandemic restrictions, life has been far from easy for many of us.
Thanks to the vaccine rollout, restrictions have eased, and we’ve all been thrown back into a new normality. While this is obviously good news, this leads to all kinds of different anxiety.
You might feel out of touch, overwhelmed, or feel anxious about re-entering life after lockdown.
Whatever your circumstances, we could all do with simple and effective ways to reduce stress and make life a little easier. So, here are five easy ways you can simplify life.
1. Keep a to-do list and stay on top of tasks
Writing down what you need to do in a day can be a good way to bring some order into your life. Instead of constantly having to remember the little things, write tasks down and leave your brain free to focus on what’s important.
Whether you prefer to keep your list on paper or in an app such as Todoist or Habitica, make sure you stay on top of what you’ve done and what remains outstanding.
The simple act of ticking something off your list will give you a boost. And the sense of accomplishment will encourage you on to the next job on your list.
The sense of control and organisation a well-managed to-do list can bring to your daily life can be invaluable.
2. Make decisions easier by limiting your choices
We make thousands of decisions every day. Many are minor: choosing what to eat for breakfast, for example, or whether you want juice, coffee, or something else.
Other decisions can be much more important, and sometimes complicated. Should you accept a new job? Should you move somewhere new? Because of the impact of your eventual choice, these decisions weigh more heavily on you.
It’s normal to struggle with decision-making, but it’s even harder if you’re under pressure.
Choice overload is a real thing.
The Decision Lab says, “Choice overload, also known as ‘overchoice’, ‘choice paralysis’, or ‘the paradox of choice’, describes how people get overwhelmed when they are presented with a large number of options to choose from. While we tend to assume that more choice is a good thing, in many cases, research has shown that we have a harder time choosing from a larger array of options.”
You might also suffer from “decision fatigue”, which is caused when you make multiple decisions one after another.
Choice overload and decision fatigue can both add to your stress. But there are ways to reduce the number of choices you make in your day-to-day life, and to make choosing easier.
Try planning a menu for what you will eat during the week to limit daily decisions. Or consider selecting weekend activities from within specific categories to provide less choice while still giving you freedom to choose. For example, for weekend entertainment you could choose between seeing a movie at the cinema or going ten-pin bowling. For exercise, you could select between a walk in the countryside or going for a swim.
3. Embrace routines
Routines make life simpler. When you have a routine, you don’t have to spend extra time thinking or worrying. You simply follow your routine.
You might already have self-care routines, such as showering each morning or brushing your teeth in the morning and last thing at night.
Some people start their day by making their bed first thing in the morning. This simple habit can go a long way to setting your frame of mind for the rest of your day. This is because your brain registers making your bed as a win, which subconsciously motivates you to achieve other tasks.
A study from Sleepopolis revealed that habitual bed-makers are more likely to be morning people, be more confident and sociable, and even enjoy more sex than people who didn’t habitually make their beds in the morning.
4. Avoid procrastinating
Most people are guilty of procrastination. In fact, 95% of us procrastinate.
As with most habits, it is possible to break the habit of procrastinating, if you know how.
Here are steps you can take to help you deal with and prevent procrastination:
- Recognise when you’re procrastinating
- Work out why you’re procrastinating
- Adopt anti-procrastination strategies.
Examples of anti-procrastination strategies could be to promise yourself a reward when you complete a task or start your day by tackling those tasks you least want to do. This gives you the rest of the day to do those jobs you’ll find more enjoyable.
5. Build regular relaxation into your week
Regular relaxation can help keep your mind and body healthy. Taking a few minutes to recover from everyday stresses gives you and your brain time to slow down and relax.
Here are three easy ways you can relax in five minutes:
Breathe
Yes, that’s really all it takes. Breathing exercises are one of the simplest ways to relax, and you can do it anywhere. Start by taking a deep breath in for a slow count of three, then breathe out to the same slow count of three. Feel your belly rise and fall with your breath. Repeat five times, or however long it takes for you to feel relaxed.
Write down your thoughts
A little like a to-do list, writing things down when you’re feeling stressed can help you get things off your mind and release stress. Don’t overthink it. Don’t worry about your spelling or punctuation – just scribble away and focus on expressing how you feel. If you find this helpful, consider building the practice into your everyday life and start a journal.
Connect to nature
Spending even a brief amount of time in nature when you feel stressed can help you relax. Next time you’re feeling stressed, go outside and take a short walk, or simply sit in nature. While this may not always be possible, studies have found even the act of looking at images of nature and greenery for five minutes on a computer screen can help bring a sense of calm.
Finally, make relaxation a habit
Stress can affect your mental and physical health. Symptoms of stress listed by the NHS include difficulty concentrating, forgetfulness, muscle tension, and chest pains.
Relaxation comes in different forms for different people. What works to de-stress and simplify your day might not work for someone else. If you don’t already know what helps you to relax, commit to regular relaxation and find out what works best for you.
When you know what works, make it a habit.
