You know that feeling of just being so overwhelmed with everything, that you think it might be easier to do nothing instead? You’re so over-scheduled with activities, appointments, works events, chores, just everything, that you feel like you don’t have a single moment to yourself, let alone any free time for your family? After years of a crazy-busy lifestyle, kids and owing a business, I’m there. I hit the point where I felt like I just couldn’t do it any more – something had to change.

It’s definitely taken some time for me to come to that conclusion. It’s easy to just keep going and going until you completely burn yourself out. And after coming to the conclusion that something needed to change, it still took me months to really figure out how to make those changes and apply them to my every day life. It’s still a work in progress.

I’ve been consciously trying to find ways to simplify my life. Little things, here and there that can help to make me feel less stressed and less overwhelmed in my day to day living. I’m finding that I’m so used to feeling busy and hectic that slowing down is a very foreign feeling. It feels wrong and that’s not OK. So finding ways to make changes has become something pretty important.

These are seven of the things I’ve been working on to simplify my life on a day to day basis:

Slow Your Morning. Sit down and enjoy your coffee in the morning. Or in my case, hot chocolate since I’m not a coffee fan. But, the idea is the same. More often than not, I spend those fifteen minutes in the morning answering work emails and planning my to do list for the day while my hot chocolate goes cold beside me. I’m in “work mode” right away, then that usually means I can’t get myself out of work mode until I’m done teaching at 9-9:30 at night. I’m lucky enough to have this time in the mornings after I get the kids on the bus since I don’t go to work until later in the day, but if you don’t, try waking up a few minutes early. It’s important to take that time to declutter your mind and not start your day rushed and stressed. Take a bit of time for yourself before the chaos of the day begins.

Clean Out & Declutter. I’ve been steadily working my way through the closets in the house, and the amount of stuff I’ve been getting rid of is somewhat amazing. And the feeling of all that stuff going out the door! Decluttering a space can really lift a weight off your shoulders, and it goes a long way in simplifying your life.

Put down the phone. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to my husband, “I don’t know why I’m still looking at my phone, I ran out of things to look at a long time ago.” I’m just on it for the sake of being on it. It’s a time sucker, and when I think about the amount of time I’ve spent on my phone during the day when I could have been doing something more productive and more meaningful, I usually feel pretty disappointed in myself. I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way, or the only one who feels lost without their phone. Imagine if your phone didn’t rule your day to day life?

Get outside. I’ve been making a real effort with this, despite the ridiculous temperatures we’ve had over the last couple of weeks. We all know that getting outside is good for us, but sometimes getting outside is too easily put aside for other more “important” things. I know for me, I drag my feet getting outside, but once I’m out there, whatever activity I’m doing usually ends up being the highlight of my day. It’s time to make getting outdoors a priority.

Don’t Multitask.I’m terrible for this. I have too much on my plate, I try to get it all done at the same time, and the result is that I feel like I accomplish nothing. Or, I can’t let myself relax and just enjoy what I’m doing. I can’t watch tv without also being on my laptop, or I’m working on a craft project but I’m also answering work emails and checking Instagram. My goal is to either chose one thing and complete it before moving on to the next, or give myself permission to just enjoy what I’m doing without having to feel “busy”.

Opt out of emails. As I type this, the new emails on my phone number 558. Yeah. The few minutes it would take to opt out of most of those emails are definitely worth the peace of mind I would get not having new emails come through every ten minutes.

Learn to Say No. And it’s partner, learn to delegate. I am getting so much better at this, but it’s still a work in progress. I am slowly taking my Sundays back as a day for me and my family, and I find it make such a difference through the rest of the week if my Sundays are stress free and unbusy.

Stop & Enjoy the Moment. It’s so easy in our busy lives to go, go, go and sometimes we forget to stop and enjoy the little things. Whether it’s story time with your kids, playing outside with the dog, stopping to watch the sunset, or even just to think about something good that happened to you that day – it’s so important to stay in the moment and enjoy those little things, instead of letting them fly by as you think about the next thing on your to do list.

These are just a few of the things I’m working on incorporating into my everyday life right now in an effort to live a little more simply. Do you feel like you need to simplify and slow down in your day to day life? What are some of the little things you do each day as you try to achieve this?

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I often post about my 101 challenge with the hashtag #101in1001 or #whatmattersmost.  You can join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.  Or, you can follow me on Bloglovin or subscribe via e-mail to be alerted to each new post!