The majority of my clients come to me seeking clarity and confidence in their life, career or business. After we start working together, it becomes obvious though, clarity and confidence is how they want to feel, but not necessarily what they need.

What they really need is to simplify their life.

I’m not talking about simplifying life in a way that means they quit their day job and go live off-grid in a forest somewhere (in this day and age, as tempting as that sounds, I’m not sure that would be a simpler life!)

Rather, my clients are the type of people who are showing up for themselves and others in the world. They have connected with their purpose. They care deeply about the planet and our role in saving it. They live with intention. Through living an intentional life, they pursue or desire meaningful work and relationships, and, most importantly have the time, space and energy to enjoy both. They volunteer, give back and contribute.

Alongside this, there is often a lot of noise or stress that causes unnecessary friction in their life, resulting in at best, a distraction from their big goals, and at worst, overwhelm and exhaustion.

In order for them to continue being the best they can be, we look at small adjustments to make their life run more smoothly. In effect, to make their life easier and simpler.

Based on the work I’ve done with my clients, here are my top tips that you can also use to simplify your own life.

(Side note – by life, I also mean career and business. As after all, all these things make up your life! Many of these tips will be equally applicable in business, career or in your personal life)

7 Hacks to Simplify your Life

1.     Ask why

Many things we do because we feel we ‘have’ to, or it’s expected of us. But are those things REALLY necessary?  This is where embracing our inner 4-year old and asking ‘why?’ can be helpful!

For example, do you really need to respond to every email you receive?  Why? 

Or, how about elaborate celebrations for birthday’s, Christmas and the like?  Why?

Here is where checking in with your values helps.

If these things make you happy and you enjoy doing them, go for it! Or if they feel core to who you are, and the essence of what you value – again, go for it! But, if you feel like you are expected to do them, ask why are you putting the extra pressure on yourself?

You might realise that by deciding to stop doing a lot of the things you’ve always done, you make life a lot easier and simpler.

2.     Practice saying no

The challenge many of my clients have is that they are genuinely enthusiastic about so many things! So together we work on them saying no to the things that don’t light them up, in order for them to say yes to the things that do.

When we are intentional about what we say yes to, by default we have to get better at saying no. (For more tips on how to say no you might like this post or this post)

The key here is that we are working on a practice; remembering that practice is defined as “the act of rehearsing a behaviour over and over, or engaging in an activity repeatedly, for the purpose of improving or mastering it.”

3.     Allocate time for you

When I was completing my coaching training, our lead trainer shared with us that she allocates time every week as a personal date with herself. It’s her time to do whatever she wants.

I have adopted this same approach, and for the past five years have found this to be absolute gold. I actively encourage my clients to do the same. By booking time with yourself, you ensure breathing space in your week. It’s your time to do with what you will. It could be a morning or evening routine, time for relaxation, meditation, having a nap, reading a book or catching up with a friend!  Whatever you need that particular week, that’s your time to give it to yourself. Sometimes simply having the time set aside is the gift. 

Remember, you need to take care of yourself to get anything done, so scheduling downtime is in fact a productivity hack, as well as a way to make your life simpler!

4.     Write it out

I am a big fan of journaling and writing things out. The very process of writing helps us see things more clearly, often bringing clarity around decisions we’ve been ruminating upon. In this way, writing or journaling can help make life feel simpler. If you’ve not tried journaling before, my free Daily Journal Prompts provide an easy way to get started.

Additionally, much of our sense of busyness comes from the number of things we are juggling and attempting to remember at one time. The most effective people don’t rely on memory alone!

Instead, they write things down, ideally by hand. Capturing your ideas, to-do lists and other activities on a notepad, an app, notebook or calendar makes life easier for you. Writing things down frees up brain space for more important things, like innovative ideas for your business, new solutions for a situation in your career or so you can be fully present with your loved ones.

5.     Break it down and prioritise

We all know the old adage, “How do you eat an elephant? In small chunks”.

This advice is applicable for many of my clients too! As I shared above, many of them have big dreams and goals they are working on, which are deeply inspiring and motivating. To keep things progressing, we focus on breaking these big goals down into manageable chunks. You can do the same in your life, business or career. An ideal way to do this is by taking a 30, 60 or 90-day approach. My Design Your Season self-led workshop is a great resource to assist with this!

By reducing the time frame and getting very clear on what you want to achieve and how you want to feel, everything feels simpler and easier. And, you get things done, which leads to greater confidence.

Taking a few minutes each day, and week, to check in with your short-term plans, and discern the important from the urgent in your daily and weekly tasks is the secret to a happier, more intentional life. It’s how you take care of what matters most before the rest of your life gets in the way.

6.     Selectively embrace technology

Like the majority of the population, technology is a core part of my clients’ work and life. Technology is wonderful but also can be a big distraction and contribute additional noise to an already full life.

Making life feel more simple in this space is not about removing technology altogether. Rather it’s about selectively using technology to support you have the time, space and freedom to focus on what matters most. That is, being deliberate in how you use technology to make your life easier, simpler and more enjoyable. 

For myself, as well as some clients, that has meant removing social media apps from our phones. For others, it has meant actively utilising scheduling features and tools to organise business or life functions. Examples include automation of appointment bookings, utilising the scheduling function for content publication, or a regular grocery delivery service that can be ordered and paid for online. In all cases, selective use of technology has removed many distractions, and streamlined existing processes, making life simpler and easier for my clients.

7.     Add something

The majority of these hacks are about subtraction. Like decluttering your wardrobe to make it easier to find the things you love to wear, subtracting things from your life to make it simpler seems logical, right? Especially when we feel busy all the time.

But sometimes, we need to ADD things to our life to enhance our experience and renew our focus on what truly matters.

An addition to make your life simpler might look like finding time for those things that bring you joy. It could be a creative activity, spending time with loved ones or embracing things you are passionate about. Whilst this does not directly simplify your life, it does re-prioritise your life aligned with your passions and values. When we connect with our values and explore our passions, life feels happier and decisions are simpler. In this way, by adding something we can effectively simplify our decisions. Thus, simplifying our life!

Clarity and Confidence

Making life more simple is one way to feel clear and confident in your life, career and business. Through streamlining the everyday decisions and distractions, you ensure you have the time, energy and focus for the things that genuinely matter to you.  Which is the essence of feeling confident, clear and calm, whilst living an intentional life.

Implementing these 7 hacks will help you move towards a simpler life.  And working with a coach can provide even greater benefits.  

As a certified career, business, and life confidence coach, I support people to make the changes they desire, so they can feel more aligned, purposeful, and confident in their career, business, and life. Coaching is a two-way relationship, so to get to know each other before we decide if coaching is right for you, I provide a comprehensive pre-coaching questionnaire and complimentary consult where together we can explore the changes you desire, answer your questions and determine if I am the right coach for you.

To get started, simply book your complimentary consult.