On our website, you’ll come across dozens of articles telling you that simple living is great, and guiding you on how to practice it. We’ve covered many aspects of simple living – from hobbies to healthcare to philosophy. However, so far we’ve only ever touched upon the subject of the benefits living a simple life has. It’s surprising how you miss these things, isn’t it?
So in today’s blog, we’ll discuss the myriad benefits simple living has to offer. You’re probably aware of some of them, but some others may surprise you!
1. Remove complexity and minimize stress
Simple living takes the complexity and hassle out of your life, so it becomes a lot simpler. People unknowingly complicate their lives due to social trends and media influence. Most new products are presented as ‘the next trendsetter’, but discoveries like the cellphone and the internet don’t come around very often. So most new tech – whether it’s fancy thermostats, security cameras, smart TVs or sensor lights – do nothing but complicate your life a little bit more.
Simple living encourages you to find the bare minimum, the “core basics”. When you strip down to this minimum, you’ll find yourself with a lot less stress. And when you do have stress, you’ll be able to manage it much better. Simple living presents you with numerous ways (all natural and perfectly healthy) to deal with stress. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness and camping out are some examples.
If you live simply, you won’t feel the need to compete, to work yourself to exhaustion, to do things you don’t have to (or need to). So when you know how to live a simple life, you essentially know how to lead a stress-free life.
2. Fewer distractions, leading to increased focus
When you trim out the excess from your life and make it simple, you’ll find you’re much less distracted. The world today is full of distractions – whether it’s billboards, notifications, social media, or email. Just about everywhere you look, a company is vying for your attention. Interestingly, as you switch to a simpler life, you’ll find ways to ignore these distractions. This is because instead of looking outside for entertainment, you’ll look inside.
As you start to be more mindful of yourself and your immediate surroundings and find healthy ways to entertain yourself, you’ll notice you’re able to focus better. You’ll be more productive at work, be able to think more clearly, work better under pressure, and have better memory and sleep.
Increased focus will help you at work, or while studying. Being easily distracted is a curse, and it’s one way too many people have experienced. When you’re able to focus better, you’ll get more done in less time, and you’ll also enjoy work more because it’ll feel easier.
3. More time to spend on productive pursuits and relaxation
You’re always busy, you’re all out of time. You have to postpone so much stuff because you simply don’t have the time for it. You have to miss events, you don’t get time to relax, you bring your work home with you. Many people haven’t been on a vacation or haven’t practiced their hobby for years.
Once you learn how to live simply, your life will become slower. Today we live a very fast-paced life. You know how life in villages is slow and relaxed? It’ll be a little like that. Having more time is a huge blessing. In my opinion, this may very well be the best benefit simple living offers.
You’ll be able to slow down and relax. Having tea on your balcony, watching the birds in the morning, going for a walk, playing with your kids…these are all luxuries available to those who have time. You’ll be able to try out more things, to get chores done, to find more hobbies, to read more books, to enjoy life.
4. Remove unhealthy elements from your life
The process of transitioning requires that you isolate unhealthy or unnecessary elements from your life – whether it’s habits, friends, expenses, whatever. This is because unhealthy or toxic elements aren’t “necessary”. Okay, you may have to deal with your arrogant neighbor from time to time. You can, however, stop pretending to be friends with him, and instead have a polite neighborly relationship.
As you weed out unhealthy things and people from your life, you’ll start to become a happier individual with less stress and more energy. Toxic people are a huge cause of stress in our lives, as are unhealthy hobbies.
Slowly, you’ll find better habits and people to replace them (if necessary), and you’ll be on your path to a more fulfilling life. Good friends, close relatives, healthy habits and sustainable hobbies can make all the difference in the world.
5. Getting more organized
As you remove unnecessary elements from your life and have free time, you’ll be able to organize things better. You’ll be surprised to find that pretty much all the time the simplest solution is the best one. It’s an interesting vicious circle – complicated solutions make our lives more disorganized, disorganization further complicates our lives, and we find complicated solutions to “simplify” things.
Lack of organization is a major cause of stress and confusion, and if you’re living a simple life you’ll nip this problem in the bud.
I, for example, run a business and keep everything organized with the help of emails and a daily to-do list written on paper. No fancy trimmings, nothing complicated. Simple living isn’t against using technology either, where necessary. Smartphones are one of the most convenient devices today, since they include so many useful functions – alarm, reminder, notes, flashlight, email, calling and texting…
Once you find the right balance between tech and old-school and zero in on the simplest solution that ticks all the right boxes, you’re all set! Whether it’s work, home stuff or paying bills – you’ll find ways to organize everything simply so you’re on top of things and your life’s running smoothly.
6. Getting closer to nature
Mother Nature is powerful, beautiful, miraculous. Our simple living tips will help you get closer to nature, and welcome it wholeheartedly into your life. Nature can help you improve many aspects of your life – whether it’s interior decoration, dietary habits, your health, or stress management.
Humans make use of nature often enough, but sadly their usage of nature’s resources is often damaging and unsustainable. Mining, fracking, inorganic farming, pollution, habitat destruction… We as a species are immensely destructive. Surely, you’re aware of the importance of conserving natural resources, and using less plastic.
If you follow the principles of simple living, you’ll be able to use nature to your advantage while also giving back. There needs to be equilibrium in the world, a sense of balance. You will learn how to maintain that, and make a difference on an individual level.
7. Free and sustainable hobbies
Once you get used to simple living, you’ll start to truly enjoy the simple things in life. I’ve seen people mention the smell of fresh laundry, sleeping in on Sundays and other small joys as ‘simple things’, but what we mean by this is long-lasting hobbies that are simple, and which can be practiced practically every day without getting bored of them.
Nature-based hobbies such as birdwatching, gardening, stargazing or scavenging never grow old. They cost nothing, they provide immense entertainment – with new things happening everyday – and they’ll last indefinitely. You won’t run out of seeds to plant, birds to watch, stars to spot, or rocks to collect.
These hobbies aren’t addicting, and they don’t have the kind of negative effects digital hobbies do. You’ll be outdoors, getting some exercise and sun, and being mindful of the world around you. And you’ll love it! What more could you ask for?
8. Less clutter, and a more mindful existence
Living a simple life with less entails getting rid of all the clutter you have. Humans take pride in their materialistic possessions and pack their homes full of stuff. Life is a journey, and we think one should travel light. As long as you have everything you need (which is surprisingly little), why lug extra stuff around with you?
When you have less clutter, you’ll have less to clean, less to maintain, less to do. Makeup, decoration, trinkets, clothes, gadgets…we have way too much of these things. While some of these are definitely necessary (clothes and a cellphone, for instance), you could do without most others.
Having less clutter will give you more free time, more money to invest in a better future, and much, much less stress. So this weekend, scour through your cupboards and see what needs giving away. Your life will be so much simpler without it.
So these were the benefits of living a simple life – but there are so many more! You’ll save money, you’re far from the madding crowd, you’ll be more content with life, your home will be neater, you’ll help the environment…trust us, the benefits of simple living are hard to list, but easy to feel. Give it a try!