How to Simplify Your Life: Practical Tips to Make Your Day Easier

Discover practical tips for simplifying your life and reducing daily stress. We share actionable strategies that enhance your routine and pave the way for more joy and presence in your everyday life.

• Email management through unsubscribing instead of deleting 
• Labeling leftovers to eliminate guesswork in the kitchen 
• The benefits of automating bill payments and grocery shopping 
• Simplifying your wardrobe to ease decision fatigue 
• Setting limits on social media usage for a more focused life 
• The two-minute rule for efficient task management 

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd love to hear your thoughts on simplifying your life, so feel free to share with me what tips work for you. Drop a comment or send me a message on social media!

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Chapters

• 1:00 Introduction to Purposeful Living
• 8:00 Six Simple Tips to Make Life Easier
• 34:00 Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

Hi friend, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast designed to encourage, inspire and equip you to intentionally live your life full of purpose. I'm your host, holly Kirby, motivational speaker, leadership cultivator, marketing strategist and personal cheerleader. Let's check out today's highlights. I am obsessed with the benefits of my Delta American Express Reserve Card From Delta Sky Club access, an annual companion certificate, discounts when using miles for travel, sea upgrades and so many credits like Delta State credits, rideshare credits, resi restaurant credits and so much more. Want to start enjoying some of these perks too. Well, sign up for one of the American Express personal or business card offers using my link in the show notes and we both receive bonus miles after you meet the specified qualifications of purchases in the specified number of months. Just see the link for details. Happy traveling.

Speaker 1: 1:00

Hi there, friends, today we're going to be talking about simple ways that you can make your daily routine easier so you have more time, less stress and a little more joy in your life. If you're like most people, it feels like there's never enough time in the day. Between work, family, social obligations and the constant digital noise, it sure is easy to feel overwhelmed, but it doesn't have to be that way. Small changes and simple habits can make a huge difference. One that I've embraced this past year is scheduling everything on my calendar in my iPhone. Now for being a calendar on the type of all person. It might not sound like a big deal to you, but this was a hard transition and one that I really resisted for quite a while. But I found that in the long run, it has truly helped me get things out of my mind faster, which has helped me not feel so bogged down with things to remember, but also has helped me not forget things, which that is very important. My daughter and I sit down every week and we go through what she has coming up and I get it in my calendar. My son will hop in the car after school and tell me he has this or that on a certain day, and I'll stop right then and there and put it in the calendar real quick. So, just like this new Embrace Time Saver for me, I thought we'd dive into some more easy ways to make your life simpler, starting today.

Speaker 1: 2:21

First off, let's start with something that's probably a daily stressor for most of us our email inbox. How many of you open your email only to be greeted with dozens of promotional emails or newsletters that you never even signed up for or you actually read. And what do we do? We delete them, right? Well, this just happened with my dad, where he was receiving dozens and dozens per day and he would go in to delete them. Makes sense, but here's the thing Deleting those emails is only a temporary fix. The next day, your inbox is all cluttered again. So instead of just deleting them, let's talk about the better option of unsubscribing. Now I get it.

Speaker 1: 3:01

Unsubscribing might sound like a hassle having to go into the email and unsubscribe on each one. Some have you re-put in your email but trust me, it is going to be worth it. There are some quick tools and resources out there too that can help you. Like unrollme to unsubscribe from multiple email lists at once. It's kind of like a spring cleaning for your inbox. Plus, if you're still getting emails from companies you actually want to hear from, there's the tool Clean Email to organize them into neat categories or simply direct them to a separate folder. But by unsubscribing from things you don't need, your inbox becomes cleaner and more manageable and you'll stop wasting time on unwanted distractions. So that first step on unwanted distractions. So that first step unsubscribe from emails, don't just delete them. Second one Okay, here's another tip to make life just a little bit easier, especially in the kitchen.

Speaker 1: 3:56

If you've ever stared at a container of leftovers and you've wondered how long has that been in there, or are they still good, or even what is that? Well, you're not alone. Our issue is that we have a side-by-side fridge and it just makes it hard to see what we have in the fridge. So getting a new fridge is on my list, but seeing that we just got this one about a year or so ago, it's not going to be happening anytime soon. And the truth is, regardless of what type or style of fridge we have side by side or not, it can just be hard to tell when it's time to toss those leftovers we do see or can find, and sometimes we hold on to them a lot longer than we actually should, especially if they get lost back in there. So here's a simple fix Label your leftovers with the date you made them.

Speaker 1: 4:42

Ta-da, it's that simple. Label your leftovers with the date you made them. Ta-da, it's that simple. Some people like to grab a piece of masking tape or maybe even a sticky note to write the date you cooked the meal and then stick it right on the container when you put it into the fridge. That way, when you open the fridge you don't have to guess when you made that casserole or that chili. Now, to make this even simpler, I keep small sticky strips on my menu board that hangs on the pantry and they're already written on for each day of the week Monday, tuesday, wednesday, so forth. Then I just grab one for the day of the week that I made that meal, and when I'm putting those leftovers or now leftovers into the fridge, I just put it on top of that container. This way, I clean out my fridge every Sunday and I know what needs to be thrown out. And when we remove the meal to heat it up, we just take off that little sticky strip and put it back on the menu board strip to use another time. So it's such a time saver and easily, consistently able to keep going on this, whether it be me or even for my children to implement as well. Now, not only can the small habit save you from eating something that's gone bad, but it's also going to save you the headache of sorting through old food to find something you can actually eat, especially when you're in a hurry. Plus, it helps you stay on top of food waste, which is great for your wallet and, of course, for the planet too. So that second one is label leftovers with dates.

Speaker 1: 6:07

Our third one let's talk about automation. One of the best ways to make your life easier is automation and no, I'm not talking about robots doing your chores although that would be nice but I mean automating simple everyday tasks that can free up your brain power for more important things. So, for example, how many of you have reoccurring bills that you have to manually pay every month? Well, setting up automatic bill payments for things like utilities, subscriptions, even your mortgage or rent, can save you a ton of time. Not to mention, it can also, by setting these up, you don't have to worry about forgetting a payment and then having to have a late fee, so just spending more time focusing on other things as well as perhaps saving you some money on those late fees too. Now, this is pretty simple to do, in the sense of you can just go on to your online banking and add in those services that you're wanting to set up for automatic bill pay. So, pretty simple have your utility bill with you. You'll have to input, like your record number, your account number and then how much you pay each month when you want to have it sent out. But again, once you get this all set up through your bank, it is super simple to then just implement each and every month, and you don't even have to think about it. It does it for you.

Speaker 1: 7:25

Now, another example of saving money through automated, simple tasks would be grocery shopping. If you have certain items you always buy, like toiletries, cleaning supplies or even snacks, you can use services like Amazon Subscribe and Save to automatically deliver those items on a regular basis to you. You don't even have to think about it anymore. Even grocery services like Walmart Plus can help you save both time and money, and physical exhaustion too. If we're being real, not only do I value the free Paramount Plus subscription that comes with my Walmart Plus, so check your shopping service to see what benefits might come with it, and so in my case, it really pays for itself and having so many benefits that it provides but I also save time in my day ordering through the app and then having the groceries delivered. But even it goes a step further I save money as I don't have my kids next to the cart, going through each aisle and being like can we get this? Can I have this? What about this? Have we ever had this? And so it just really helps us focus and get things here Now. Of course, it saves the physical demands of loading and unloading too, and this was super helpful after my hip surgeries. But basically I can schedule the delivery for when I know my kids will be available to help bring everything in. So it has no loading or unloading for us. And again, it's just so super simple delivering to your home or wherever you're at. We've even been at an Airbnb before and I've been able to use my Walmart Plus to be able to get groceries to us. Arrange for the day the time again. So super simple. You can check into your local grocer and see if they have something like this. Some even have a pickup option instead of delivery or if you just choose to pick up. So a lot of different options and again, checking those benefits at your grocery store.

Speaker 1: 9:13

And don't forget about automatic backups, too, for your devices. So backing up your phone or computer to the cloud can save you from the nightmare of losing important files or photos. Now, I learned this the hard way when a friend tried to help me back up my photos years ago and ended up deleting at least two years full of photos. Oh my lands. I still have heartache from that. So Amazon Prime photo backup, buying extra space in your phone, icloud to backup whatever works for you. But these automatic backups can be a lifesaver or, in my case, a heartbreak saver. So the step three automate simple tasks, from the bill payments automatic bill payments to grocery shopping, to automatic backups. They are just going to help simplify life.

Speaker 1: 10:04

Number four let's talk about something that's a little closer to home, your closet. If you're like most people, you probably have a ton of clothes, yet you still feel like you have nothing to wear. Well, it's a classic case of decision fatigue, and we actually have an episode I believe it was in season five about decision fatigue. I would highly recommend you go back and check that out, but it's something that adds unnecessary stress to our mornings. Now there are a few fixes for this.

Speaker 1: 10:34

Some adapt a capsule wardrobe. This is essentially a small, carefully curated collection of clothes that you can mix and match easily. The idea is to focus on quality over quantity. You don't need dozens of shirts or pants and shoes, but just a few versatile pieces that you love and that can be worn together in a variety of ways. The best part, well, a capsule wardrobe helps you avoid decision fatigue when picking out outfits, so, which means less time spent staring at your closet and more time spent on what matters. Plus, it's a great way to reduce clutter and save money in the long run. Another fix if that's not in it for you if you're like I, have to have my shoes. I hear you, I have a lot of shoes myself.

Speaker 1: 11:19

But another fix for separating out the clothes can still save that mindset of just simply space for dresses and skirts. Another for our long sleeve shirts. Another space for all of your short sleeve shirts, or at least just bundled together. You know another spot where all the sweaters and sweatshirts are next to each other, even the cardigans and jackets put side by side. You can do that, or even add to that color batching your clothes, and this can be done using the type of clothing separation where all All white long sleeve shirts are together next to all long sleeve black shirts and so forth. Or you can even just do it where you do your entire closet as color separation, so you don't have to separate necessarily by style of clothes, but you're separating by colors.

Speaker 1: 12:07

So all blue clothes together, regardless of long sleeve or short sleeve, or dress, shirt or casual, they're just all together. So when you want to wear a certain color, you easily find what options you have long sleeve, short sleeve, dress, so forth. All together in that color. Again, find what works for you. But bringing some organization to your closet can really simplify decisions, to make each day a lot less stressful. So, number four simplify your wardrobe lot less stressful. So, number four simplify your wardrobe. Number five, moving on, raise your hand. If you've ever gone on social media to check one thing and an hour later you realize you've been scrolling aimlessly for hours. No, just me, I'm pretty sure we all have our hand raised. Yes, we've all been there.

Speaker 1: 12:54

Social media can be a huge time suck and while it's great for connecting with people, it can also be a source of stress and distraction. So one easy way to make your life simpler is to set time limits on social media. You can use tools like Screen Time on iPhones or Digital Wellbeing on Android to track and limit your social media usage. So maybe try setting a 30-minute limit for the day and stick to it. When that time's up, put your phone down and do something else.

Speaker 1: 13:25

If you're like me and not really a scroller, I don't really get on social media to scroll and look at things, but I have to get on social media for work or to promote this or that. Well, we can still get sidetracked. So even pre-scheduling your post, which can be done on Facebook and Instagram, can really help us be intentional in getting what we need completed and not being tempted to just get on there and be distracted and looking at all these things when we're just trying to do a simple post. It'll help you be more present in the real world and this can even reduce that mental clutter that social media can bring. It's kind of interesting research, such as childmindorg and healthucdavisedu, I believe it is. Well, they've all shown that the more time one spends on social media, the less happy people are and even more envy or depressed or less content they become. It can even increase showing of anxiety or that all too real fear of missing out. So set healthy boundaries for using social media. As for how to use it, well, that may just be another podcast episode altogether, or even you can check out my book Facelift, for some suggestions on how to use social media. But step five set time limits on those social medias.

Speaker 1: 14:44

Number six here's one last tip for today the two minute rule. It's a simple concept that can work wonders in your daily life. The rule is simple If a task will take two minutes or less to complete, daily life, the rule is simple If a task will take two minutes or less to complete, do it immediately. Now, it sounds simple, but this tiny habit can prevent simple, small tasks from piling up into overwhelming to-do lists, whether it's responding to an email, washing a dish or even putting away your shoes. If it takes less than two minutes, just do it now. This keeps things from accumulating and keeps your space and your mind clear. And boy is that a big one for me, keeping space and mind clear.

Speaker 1: 15:26

Now, every night before bed, I try to make a simple two minutes to go through each room in the house and tidy up what needs to be done Laundry taken upstairs, shoes put back on the shoe rack, dishes even just put in the sink, whatever can help me feel like I can wake up the next day without lots of tasks already waiting for me to do. As for a clear mind, I'm old fashioned and I write things down, so sometimes we just can't get things done in two minutes, or there may not be enough time in our day to complete everything that's on our mind, but simply taking two minutes to write down your next day's tasks or even thoughts that are in your head, well, it can just help declutter your mind so you can find peace and rest and allow some shut off time. So that number six, the two minute rule, and there you have it Six easy tips to make your life just a little bit simpler Unsubscribing from unnecessary emails, labeling leftovers, automating routine tasks, simplifying your wardrobe, setting time limits on social media and completing two minute rule tasks. These small changes can help you save time, reduce stress and create more space for the things that truly matter, and to me, that is being present with my children.

Speaker 1: 16:47

Now, if you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a new highlight. I'd love to hear your thoughts on simplifying your life, so feel free to share with me what tips work for you. Drop a comment or send me a message on social media Facebook, it's at Holly's Highlights, and on Instagram, it's at Holly Kirby. That's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Y. Thanks so much for tuning in today and as Irish singer and songwriter Ronan Keating says and as Irish singer and songwriter Ronan Keating says, it's the simple things that matter most your family, the people you love, your health and sanity. So may all of these tips help you live just a little bit more simpler in being present and with those that you love.

Speaker 1: 17:31

Until next time, my friend, make it a good day for a good day. Thank you for joining me on this journey of life. I hope that today's highlight has been encouraging, inspiring and equipping so you can go out and live your life full of purpose. I'd be honored if you'd take a moment to leave a review or, better yet, subscribe. We can also stay in touch by joining my email list at hollykirbycom. We can also stay in touch by joining my email list at hollykirbycom. That's H-O-L-L-Y, c-u-r-b-y dot com. Until next time. Make it a great day for a great day.