MODERN LIFE, EH? There’s always so much to do and never enough time to do it.

Or it can certainly seem that way. But there are ways and means to simplify your life and make it a bit easier day to day. And as life is the sum of what we do every day, that seems like a pretty good idea.

Check out these seven life-simplifying tips and let us know if you have any more in the comments below.

1. Wake up a little earlier

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Ok, waking up is hard to do, so start off easy. Setting your alarm clock for a minute earlier every day will acclimatise you to getting up earlier slowly and won’t feel so painful. Then after you’ve reached your desired early wake up time, you can use that extra time to get things done in the morning, or just feel less rushed heading out the door.

2. Use your commute for education… or relaxation

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Whether you take public transport, walk or drive into work there are ways to take advantage of that time. You can do some things more than others of course, depending on your mode of transport.

You could learn a language or listen to an audio book, or if you’re not in charge of the driving, meditate or do a crossword or sudoku puzzle to keep the brain active.

3. Get some exercise the easy way

Fit Approach Fit Approach

Squeezing exercise into your day can be a tough ask at times. There are a couple of ways to add some interstitial exercise into your day that won’t take too long and should help with the calorie burning. From getting off your bus a stop early to taking the stairs, every step counts and sometimes a small change like that can make all the difference.

4. Plan your meals

alex ranaldi alex ranaldi

One chore you seemingly can’t avoid every day is cooking dinner. What you can do though is be more strategic in your meal planning. Rather than making it up every day with whatever is left in your fridge, or having to go shopping for food every day or two – plan your meals in advance.

You can even cook more than you need of some ingredient one day to make up the bulk of dinner or lunch the next day. For example if you’re cooking pasta for dinner, cook extra pasta which can be turned into a pasta salad with the addition of a few simple ingredients the next day.

5. Work in short spurts

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The internet and our phones have definitely done bad things to our concentration levels – even just in terms of how much distraction there is available, let alone not being able to focus as well as usual.

An easy way to get around this is to set a timer to work on a task, say 20 minutes, and concentrate totally in that time, no stopping to check emails or messages, knowing that you’ll get to take a short break after. Focusing this way means you’ll actually get more done, even in short spurts like that.

6. Get off your phone

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Speaking of phones, it’s fair to say most people are rarely without theirs. But being always available is actually subconsciously (and consciously) stressful, as work or other obligations are never far from your mind, even when you’re away from them.

Try turning off your phone for a few hours in the evening and see how you feel. You can then start increasing the length of time if you notice a positive reaction.

7. Get rid of the to-do list

ChrisL_AK ChrisL_AK

Let’s be honest, no matter how long and how hard you work at it, it’s unlikely you’ll ever truly get to the end of the to-do list. New things just keep cropping up to be added to it. So, throw it away. The important things will definitely get done and the rest of it probably wasn’t so important in the first place. Simple.

Have you any tips to make life more simple? Let us know in the comments below.

Introducing Vhi Life What happens when we go is complicated. How we take care of our loved ones is simple. Vhi Life, it’s simple life insurance that will support your family financially. 

Vhi Healthcare Limited trading as Vhi Healthcare is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Vhi Healthcare is tied to Zurich Life Assurance plc for Vhi Life Term Insurance which is underwritten by Zurich Life Assurance plc.