“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex…it takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.” – Albert Einstein

Can I just say that the word “simplicity” just sounds so amazing! Just the very idea of simplicity is something you can’t help but love. However figuring out how to achieve doesn’t always feel so simple.

How do we achieve simplicity in our lives? Heaven knows I am not an expert in achieving it but I do constantly keep a look out for tips on how to make it happen. I found a quote that reads “Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful.” I think it is also about being real with yourself on the “duh” things you really ought to cut out of your life. I also think there are some “duh” things we know we should do but we don’t make doing them a priority so they don’t get done and as a result we are overcomplicating our own lives rather than making them simpler.

Years ago I came across an article that listed tips on ways to simplify your life and here are a few of the tips they shared:

1. Get enough sleep every night. An exhausted mind is rarely productive.
2. Get up 30 minutes earlier so you don’t have to rush around like a mad man. That 30 minutes will help you avoid speeding tickets, tardiness, and other unnecessary headaches.
3. Fill up your gas tank on the way home, not in the morning when you’re in a hurry.
4. Get rid of stuff you don’t use.
5. Ask someone if you aren’t sure.
6. Organize your living space and working space.
7. Handle important two-minute tasks immediately.
8. Single-task. Do one thing at a time and give it all you got.
9. Clean up after yourself. Don’t put it off until later.
10. Write things down.
11. Use technology to automate tasks.
12. Finish one project before you start another.
13. Don’t try to please everyone. Just do what you know is right.
14. Stay out of other people’s drama. And don’t needlessly create your own.
15. Apologize when you should.
16. Don’t try to read other people’s minds. Don’t make other people try to read yours. Communicate.
17. Let go of things you can’t change. Concentrate on things you can.

Perhaps this weekend we can take the time to face the “duh’s” in our own lives that we know we should cut out or do differently in order to simplify going forward. Remember:

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” – Hans Hoffman

Make the necessary changes to let the necessary start speaking loud and clear in your life! And have a fantastic weekend everyone!

~Amy