How can I simplify my life?

How can I simplify my life? I used to ask myself that question all the time. Even though I had a great relationship, a good job and a great social life, I always felt that there was something missing. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

The weekends were always too short, and the holidays were never long enough to relax properly. It got to the stage that I just wasn’t enjoying my life anymore. I was just going through the motions. My life didn’t seem to be my own. I wasn’t enjoying my job, so I applied for new positions until I finally landed my dream role. But the exhilaration didn’t last long, and the same negative feelings started to creep back in. I gradually came to realise that what was missing was my freedom.

I have made a choice to give up working for other people, to get my freedom back. I have realised that my time is more valuable to me than money. Now I just have to find a way to make that work for me. And I am determined to do just that!

Choices

There seem to be far too many choices to make in life. I find all the decision-making exhausting. When I am in a restaurant, I find the easiest way to decide what to have is to go through a process of elimination. I mentally remove everything that I know I don’t want. Once I have narrowed it down to a few options, I find it much easier to make a decision. It’s as if my mind is initially paralysed by all the surplus information. Once I have reduced the options to a more manageable number, I can make my choice. I simplify my life, by removing all the excess clutter that is stopping me being able to focus on the task at hand.

Overwhelm

Have you ever felt that your life is completely overwhelming? I certainly have. My life often seems to be out of control, and my to do list just keeps getting longer and longer. I’m well aware that I will probably never get through it all. Recently I have come to terms with that, by realising that I don’t have to do it all. I just have to do my best. For example, cleaning is never going to be high on my to do list, and I am OK with that.

I have always instinctively ignored most of the items I put on my list. In the back of my mind, I know I can read it if I ever need to remind myself of something, but there simply aren’t enough hours in the day, or days in the year to deal with everything. I will always need to prioritise and pick the most important thing to do first. What can you do to simplify your own life?

Out of sight, out of mind

I think I instinctively realised that I needed to hide all my clutter away, because it was distracting me from what was really important. I have finally realised what is truly important to me. My challenge to myself is to simplify everything in my life. It is one of my main aims for this year.

Since I moved house, I have kept about 95% of my clothes locked away in crates. I have put all my books into the spare bedroom. I have kept all the kitchen items that I rarely use in boxes in the spare room too. Now the kitchen only contains items that I use on a regular basis. It feels calm and homely, rather than cluttered and chaotic.

All of my paperwork and files are in boxes out of sight, apart from a single box and an in-tray containing current documents I am working on. Everything is much more organised, and I feel much calmer and in control of the situation. All my assorted sentimental stuff and the remaining household goods are in the spare room as well. I don’t need any of them. I will gradually work my way through them this year and decide what I want to keep. There’s no rush.

Project 365

I set up this website after deciding that I want to build a more creative life for myself, so I can give up my job and be in control of my own destiny.

I have set myself a goal of publishing an article on my website every day this year, to document my journey from employment to self-employment.

The name I chose was Project 365 because I see this as a year that I have dedicated to learning and self-development, as I countdown to freedom. It started on 1^st January 2021, so I have 355 days to go!

Why not check in on a regular basis to see how I am progressing, and what I have discovered?