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5 Realistic Ways to Simplify Your Life

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I think Maxie, per usual, read my mind. My major to-do this week is to get everything under control. Reorganize my desk, declutter my office, go through my phone and inbox, review and assess my calendar. I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by everything and I think a good, solid spring cleaning is in order. In fact, I am down right itching to organize and simplify!!!
5 Realistic Ways to Simplify Your Life
Guest post by Maxie McCoy
Do you ever feel like you are in everything overload? There’s so many things and so many people and so many messages and so much information that you feel paralyzed in how overwhelming it all seems. 
You’re definitely living with more access to everything than ever before. At any given time you probably have comments on Instagram that you should respond back to, emails that are waiting impatiently in your inbox, a voicemail from your mom that you should have returned by now, a text from your bestie who’s still waiting to know if you can make that Saturday park date, not to mention the coursework that must get done, the blog post that needs written and your desk that you should have cleared off by now. 
I know. Just writing it makes my entire chest tighten. It’s how I’d been feeling the past month as I moved into a new apartment, had three weeks of travel, was planning a new product launch while trying to be a good human and friend. Too much doesn’t always equate to progress. Being overwhelmed keeps us from moving the important things forward. How can you take time to think about your spring goals when you’re simply trying to stay above water with all that needs to get done? 
Sometimes we need to slow down, trim the excess, de-prioritize the things that don’t actually matter and simplify. Here’s 5 totally simple ways to do that won’t feel like more to add to your to-dos: 
List every single thing out ever. 
Sometimes, when you’re overwhelmed, it’s not because everything needs to be done right away, it’s just that your mind is constantly reviewing and remembering all the things you should be doing. Sit down with a piece of paper for 20 minutes and write every single freaking thing you’ve been needing or meaning to do. From new pillow cases to calling your childhood bestie to dealing with that doctor’s visit. Write all the things of life out so it’s off your mind and onto paper. Then post it somewhere visible. And breathe.
Go on a deleting rampage
When there’s too much crap everywhere, like unread emails from 3 months ago and apps that take up space…Delete delete delete. Go ahead and unfollow and delete friends while you’re at it. Your devices could use simplicity as well. After all, you probably spend more time looking at them than anything else. 
Declutter your room, closet and workspace
Oh the joy of simplifying your things. Creating clean physical space will do more for your psyche than you can possibly imagine. Take a look at things that are just pure clutter or things you never wear and use. I’m talking about that never used bottle of body lotion that smells like a fruit basket, the bottle of vitamins your aunt gave you that you never take and the papers jammed in your desk drawer that should go somewhere else. Get rid of it all and only keep what matters.
Make a Daily 3
This practice changed my life. Every night I write down the three things that MUST get done the next day in order to feel like I’ve made progress and feel on top of things. That’s the list I go by each day. Rome is always burning. You have to learn to step away anyways. Your daily 3 will give you permission to shut down the work when you need to and it will give you focus throughout the day where you need it most. 
Who’s In. Who’s out?
Saying yes to all the phone calls, commitments, coffee dates and catch up sessions can drain very needed you time with the people you really want to be spending your love and energy on. Especially if you’re in the midst of a hectic month. For periods of time that you’re super overwhelmed you’ll have to create boundaries on who you’re spending time with. To make that filter easier, make a list of the people that you want to be spending your precious time with and the people you don’t really need to right now. Whenever you get an invite, assess whether the person is on your priority list. If not, delay it until you’re feeling more in the zone and relaxed and can handle an additional commitment. 
When you get overwhelmed with how much you have going on, you’ve got to get out of your head and into action. It’s the only thing that helps the anxiety. These are 5 perfect places to begin with if you want to simplify everything that’s up in the air.


xoxo
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11 Comments

michelle

Thanks for this useful post Maxie (and Carly!). Such good timing, given it's the middle of the semester of university back where I live. I already list out everything and physically declutter my space, but the tips on focusing on your top 3 tasks to do each day and prioritising people are great bits of wisdom. Creating boundaries with people and prioritising who exactly I should be seeing vs who can wait can be tricky for me, as I know I am a people pleaser. However saying "yes" to everything will only stress me out further so prioritising is something I definitely need to work on 🙂

x Michelle // michalogy

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Kara Ungerman

I really like the idea of a "Daily 3" – with work, blogging, planning a wedding, and general life stuff it feels like my to-do lists are never ending! Picking three things to focus on seems like a great way to stay focused, make progress, and most importantly, STAY SANE!

Thanks for the great post!

-Kara || http://www.sayhiphooray.com

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Tracy Schwartz

Maxie hit the nail on the head yet again and thank you for sharing these amazing tips! Carly I look forward to Mondays when Maxie is guest posting as I can usually relate.

I plan to work on these tips this week!

Love you ladies both!

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