How to Make Life Easier 20 Steps to Go from Exhausted to Effortless
Life is tough. Work sucks. Responsibilities are exhausting. Not to mention bills and traffic! Now is the time to learn how to make life easier.
We all know that life is hard, and it is only getting harder. The older you get the more responsibilities you have. So, learning how to make life easier is what you need today.
And as you get older the bills pile up, you need to see the doctor more often, pay for car insurance, worry about the planet and the state of our nation. It is no wonder you are looking for ways to make life easier.
Why is your life so hard?
Before you figure out what needs to be done in order to make your life easier, think about why your life is so hard. Do you feel stressed and overwhelmed? Are you constantly in a bad mood?
Do you hold grudges? Are you lonely? Are you worried about your financial future? Before you try to learn how to make your life easier in every way, start with the hardest parts of your life and work from there.
How to make life easier
Life does not always have to be so hard. We all have bad days, but you can learn how to make your life easier. And it isn't that hard to do. It may take a little getting used to though.
With so much ease, you might be looking for a challenge.
#1 Make lists. I know, I sound like your mother. But, mom does know best. It has been proven that making lists and crossing things off adds to a more productive schedule.
This can be something as small as making a list of household chores or major goals for the year. What helps me is a list on my phone of all the things I need to do like make a doctor's appointment, pick up eggs, and return something.
I consistently check it throughout the day and when I can delete a row and see the list get smaller I feel accomplished.
#2 Stay organized. Having clutter pile up around you leaves your life in literal and figurative chaos. If your living space or workspace is messy, your mind is messy. Start with clearing out what you know you don't need. You can start with something small like your cupboards or handbag. *I'm talking about that CVS receipt from 2014*.
Take baby steps to get organized. Put everything in an order that will make life easier for you. Once you start working in an organized space it will be easy to keep it that way and easier to get everything done. From work to cooking dinner, knowing where everything is and where it goes makes it all easier.
#3 Make a plan. If spontaneity is your thing, great. But, having a plan for some parts of life makes things a lot easier. You can clear out your weekend and be spontaneous then, but try to plan out day to day errands and chores so that when you do want to go on an adventure you come back to a relaxing space.
You don't want to come home from a spontaneous trip only to have a load of laundry to do, a full grocery list, and three past due bills piling up.
#4 Be early. Things get in the way, but aiming to show up early makes life easier. Leave 5-15 minutes before you know you have to leave. This gives you extra time in case of traffic or an accident. It also makes you less anxious about being late.
And when you get somewhere early you have time to relax and get a coffee or use the bathroom. You won't have to sneak into a meeting and sit in the back, you'll be fully prepared and prompt.
#5 Save money. Being bad with money makes your life a lot more difficult than it has to be. And saving money is a hard thing to do. You work for your money, you should be able to do what you want with it.
But knowing you have a cushion of savings just in case is a peaceful feeling. Knowing that you don't have to panic when a big expense unexpectedly arrives will make the harder parts of life a lot less stressful. Save 10-15% off each paycheck if you can. Put it in a savings account that you don't see when you log onto your bank's website.
You'll know its there, but seeing it will make you want to spend it. You can also have your bank round up all the money you spend to the next dollar and transfer the difference to your savings. That means next time you spend $3.43 on a coffee, $.57 will go into your savings. And it will add up.
#6 Stay in touch with the people you trust. When life gets hard, we can recede from our social lives. We get tired and stay home. I know. When I'm overwhelmed, I stop texting people back because it is hard to deal. But make sure you keep in touch with the important people in your life.
Your family and closest friends are those for a reason. Having them to vent to, spend time with, and just know that they are there makes all hardships worth it.
#7 Make a budget. And stick to it. If you want to know how to make life easier, remember that saving is one thing, sticking to a budget is another. It isn't as easy as downloading an app or doing something once a month. You have to get all your bills together and do some math.
Figure out how much you make, how much you spend on necessities *rent, food, insurance, etc.*. Calculate how much you'll be saving per pay period and figure out how much you can realistically spend on luxuries like clothes shopping, Netflix, Amazon Prime, going out to eat, and buying gifts.
#8 Be polite. When you are having a hard time, it is easy to lash out at people. Everyone from your mom to your mailman and even the poor guy trying to sell you solar panels on the phone gets an earful.
But, maintaining as much politeness as possible in every situation will keep you levelheaded, keep things from getting worse, and keep others in a good mood. No matter how frustrated you might be at a cashier or waiter, remember this is only a small portion of your day. Your energy will be put to better use somewhere else.
#9 Be respectful. Along with being polite, respect goes a long way at work, at home, and even on the train and at the store. When you show consistent respect to everyone around you, they show it back.
And having people respect you is always better than having them fear you or pity you. Respect is a powerful thing to have and an even more powerful thing to give.
#10 Tip well. If you are a crappy tipper, you are not only ruining someone's day, but you could be lessening the money they bring home to feed their family. All workers in the service industry deserve to be tipped accordingly. In many instances, that is all the money that person brings home.
If you frequent establishments like a restaurant, hairdresser, or even a dry cleaner tipping well will encourage the workers to make you a priority. They will also respect you which will make each interaction that much easier.
#11 Exercise. Whether you are a gym goer or prefer taking a brisk walk at the park, do it. Exercise is vital for your health. I'm not saying you have to jog every morning, but just make sure you are getting some sort of physical workout throughout the week.
Being in shape is not just about appearances, it is about how you feel. And when you feel better, everything is better.
#12 Drink plenty of water. The same goes for water. Did you know that when you are thirsty, your body is already dehydrated? Drinking enough water keeps your skin and your mind clearer.
Stay hydrated helps you eat better, gives you more energy, and makes you feel less sluggish. And when all those things get together, you'll be unstoppable.
#13 Go to the doctor. We all dread the doctor. Whether it is the GYN or the dentist, it sucks. But it is far worse to have to make an emergency appointment when something is wrong than to go in for your annual checkup when everything is good.
Maintaining your current health is a lot easier than reversing an issue that could come up later. If you just suck it up and do these things your life will be easier, trust me. Just get it over with. That way it won't be weighing on you.
#14 Let go of small inconveniences. Life becomes harder than it has to be when you let every little inconvenience get to you. Someone cuts you off on your way to work so now you're in a bad mood. Then your lunch order is wrong so you are more annoyed. And by the time you get home your day feels crappy and never-ending.
But your entire day could have gone better, or at least felt a lot easier if you let those little things go. There is no such thing as a perfect day. So letting these little annoyances just float away will help maintain your good mood and make everything else run smoother.
#15 Get rid of dead weight. If I haven't said it already, life is hard. And having people in your life that only bring anger and frustration to your life make it that much harder. If you have a friend that you went to school with that brings you nothing but unhappiness there is no reason to keep her in your life.
It may seem cruel or harsh, but life is too short to put energy into relationships that don't bring anything positive into your life.
#16 Spend time with family and friends. As you move away from those relationships that are dysfunctional, make the extra effort for those relationships that make your life worth living. Your family and friends are the ones you want to celebrate the good days with.
So by making sure you see them as often as possible, you are reminded what life is all about and why you go through the hard stuff, which makes it easier.
#17 Don't care what other people think. This is a doozy, but we all spend so much time worrying about what others think. It is human nature, but if you can let go of that, at least some of it, everyday tasks will be so much easier.
Don't worry you are coming off too abrupt at work, say what is on your mind. Waiting until the time is right could make you seem timid and someone else might swoop in because you didn't just go for it.
#18 Limit your social media use. Social media was a great invention. It brings people from around the world together. But it can also be toxic to your happiness. We tend to compare ourselves and our entire lives to what other people post about, which isn't really their entire life either.
It can be a poisonous cycle. So as much as you love scrolling through celebrity posts and aesthetically pleasing meals, if you want to learn how to make life easier, remember to take time to actually live your life, not just watch others live theirs.
#19 Focus on what makes you happy. This seems obvious, but we all worry about things daily that don't make us happy. Of course, you have to pay bills and worry about politics. But put your main focus on what truly matters to you and everything will be easier.
When you are happy, your life automatically becomes easy. So don't let the bad stuff or the boring stuff take over your life. We all have a certain amount of blah things we have to do as adults, but as long as what makes you happy is your focus, your life won't be too hard.
#20 Ask for help. We all want to do it all. We want to have it all. And we do not want to be failures or come off as weak. But if you take on too much to prove it to yourself, you overdo it. Having people in your life you can turn to when things get hard is what makes life easier.
And it is not a sign of weakness. In fact, admitting you need help is the biggest sign of strength there is. No one accomplishes their dreams completely alone. Asking for help along the way is what gives us the hope to keep going.
Life does not have to be so hard all the time. You just have to know how to make life easier. Hopefully, these 20 steps will do the trick for you.
