Do you remember what happened; how you felt, who you spent time with, what you saw, heard, tasted, or experienced? Do you remember what moved you to tears or laughter? What you had for breakfast?
Do you remember any of those things unless you look at your calendar or your to-do list? Does every day feel like a race against the clock and a quest to see how much you could cram in and get through?
Once we began to simplify our life, we will realise that you want more than to just get through your life. We will want to show up for it, to be in our life and not just checking pieces of it off our list each day. To stop proving ourself by what we accomplished and start noticing what meant something to us.
Experiment, be curious, be gentle with ourself and remember we aren’t doing this to have a simple, organized life, we are doing it to have a life – a life we get to witness and want to show up for and experience with our whole heart.
Life has a way of taking over and sweeping us up so showing up for it won’t be an accident. We have to do it on purpose.
1. Make a little space.
When everything is important, nothing is. Start to show up for our life by making room for it. Make a little space by clearing some distractions from our living space, our working space, and from our calendar and to-do list. This doesn’t mean we have to get rid of everything right way.
Even 5% less will make a difference.
2. Put our phone down.
Our digital devices add value to our lives but they also steal us from our lives if we let them. When we put our phone (or other devices) down, we can notice our surroundings, listen to our heart, and make eye contact with our loved ones. We can pay attention to what is right in front of us.
Research shows that too much screen time has a negative impact on our attention spans and relationships which means a negative impact on our mental health and the way we show up for our lives.
There are plenty of things we can do to manage digital usage like turning off notifications or switching on airplane mode but the only way to show all the way up for the life right in front of us is to put the phone down.
3. Dress with less.
Deciding what to wear requires mental energy better spent on other things. Clean out our closet for good, create a uniform. By choosing what to wear from a small capsule wardrobe, we get to wear your favourite things every day and eliminate decision fatigue.
Save our brain power for more meaningful decisions, creative ideas and problem solving throughout the day.
4. Morning routine.
Sometimes our morning routine could be hours of writing, walking, running, cycling, yoga, or meditation. When we travel or have an early morning meeting, we should remain consistent with our morning routine, but make our is a shorter version.
Consistency is more important than intensity when creating a morning routine that fuels our day and helps you show up for your life.
5. Do less.
When we are overwhelmed, tired or stressed, the solution is less. Get rid of something on our calendar, something on our to-do list, something on our mind, and something on our heart.
Let go of the idea that we have to get it all done or who we are is somehow measured by what we cross off our to-do list. We are so much more than that. Even if we aren’t overly busy, becoming more intentional about how we spend our time and energy will help us get our life back.
Simplicity is the way back to love because it gives us the time, space and presence we desire to show all the way up for our beautiful, messy, magnificent lives.
Source: Courtney Carver, The Simplicity Space
