If you had to ask me the number one piece of advice I’d offer to anyone who is struggling with time management – it would definitely be – ‘simplify your life’.

Once you simplify your life, it is a lot easier to manage. Your days become slower. There’s less to think about.

Speaking about keeping your life simple, I’m going to keep this blog post very simple. If you’d like me to dive deeper into any of the topics that I will list, comment below or drop me an email. I’d love to help!

Here are 99 ways to simplify life now

  1. Put everything on the calendar, and throw out the paper.
  2. As a backup, take photos of all of the important pieces of paper and then throw them away.
  3. Teach your kids to do chores.
  4. Don’t do anything that doesn’t need doing.
  5. Follow a morning routine.
  6. Follow an evening routine.
  7. Meal plan.
  8. Use a shared grocery app.
  9. Batch cook & freeze.
  10. Invest in a slow cooker.
  11. Don’t aim for perfection, aim for done.
  12. Prepare snack baskets for the kids.
  13. Avoid shopping with the kids if you can.
  14. Declutter your purse.
  15. Sort your drawers using containers.
  16. Have a quick look at your closet and donate anything you do not wear.
  17. Give way 2 pairs of shoes.
  18. Unsubscribe from emails that do not interest you.
  19. Clear out your computer’s desktop.
  20. Separate your laundry in different baskets at source.
  21. Put everything back in it’s place…
  22. …or else group like items together neatly until they go back to their dwelling space.
  23. Have a trash can in every room.
  24. Spend less time on social media.
  25. Set your priorities daily.
  26. Get bills paid online.
  27. Label baskets & containers.
  28. Prepare next day’s outfits nightly.
  29. Designate a place for your keys.
  30. Deal with incoming post daily.
  31. Leave some white space in your calendar.
  32. Take shortcuts where you can.
  33. Automate where possible.
  34. Delegate. This is golden!
  35. Say no. You don’t always have to say yes.
  36. Own less.
  37. Shop less and buy with intention.
  38. Consider investing in semi-permanent eyebrows.
  39. Get rid of one thing you do not need everyday.
  40. Meditate.
  41. Leave home earlier when heading out.
  42. Set alarms for the whole week.
  43. Leave cash in the car for fuel & parking. Do this monthly.
  44. Have a handbag emergency kit.
  45. Let kids clean up their messes.
  46. Let go of the things that do not matter.
  47. Always carry wipes.
  48. Get your kids to bed at a decent hour.
  49. Wake up 15 minutes earlier.
  50. Keep bags in your car to throw out trash regularly.
  51. Carry a power bank.
  52. Have one medical folder for each child with all their information ready to go.
  53. Keep a list of healthy snacks on hand.
  54. Back up important files.
  55. Share your calendar with your spouse, and vice versa.
  56. Keep spare shopping bags in the car.
  57. Always carry an umbrella during rainy season.
  58. Do one thing at a time.
  59. Declutter your mind.
  60. Bulk-shop for your gifts.
  61. Or buy gifts all year round (ps: I do both)
  62. Check in to your bank accounts regularly.
  63. Set reminders for recurring appointments.
  64. Go wireless where you can.
  65. Don’t care about what others think.
  66. Plan for occasional days with no to-do lists or plans.
  67. Keep a packed activity bag for the kids, ready to go.
  68. Always keep a potty, tissues and wipes in the car.
  69. Stop trying to mimic Pinterest.
  70. Be present.
  71. Create a simple paperwork system.
  72. Remove phone notifications.
  73. Use your phone’s ‘do not disturb’ at times when you should be resting.
  74. Consider a smaller home.
  75. Or, one closer to more amenities.
  76. Alternatively, switch to activities, services and shops that are closer to your home.
  77. Teach your kids independence.
  78. Opt for quality, and not quantity.
  79. Save all your passwords using an app, or your phone’s capability.
  80. Don’t overthink.
  81. Take one day at a time.
  82. Carry a water bottle everywhere you go.
  83. Get a handbag organiser.
  84. Use the cloud.
  85. Keep spare sets of all your keys & label them.
  86. Opt for a hairstyle you can style easily.
  87. Buy spare stamps and keep them handy.
  88. Bulk-buy greeting cards.
  89. Leave for work earlier.
  90. Buy online.
  91. Send me an email with something you’re struggling to simplify. If I get a substantial number of requests, I will blog about it.
  92. Have a quiet cup of tea everyday.
  93. Use a GPS in your car.
  94. Throw away expired beauty products & other things which have been sitting there for too long.
  95. Never leave a room empty handed.
  96. Don’t wear shoes inside the house.
  97. Use my ‘one-minute-rule’. Anything that can be done in under a minute should be dealt with straight away.
  98. Stick the garbage collection schedule to the top of your bin if it’s concealed (or somewhere close to it if it’s not).
  99. Be practical.

Before I head off, just a wee reminder that if there’s any topic from the list which you’d absolutely love me to dive into a little bit deeper – please let me know! Let’s simplify life now!

Happy Friday mama!

Nakita xxx

PS: Did you know I’m not a fan of to-do lists? The only kind I can and will use is the very short, repetitive tasks that I might just forget. The rest of the stuff – I NEVER use a to-do list. Want to hear why I want you to throw yours away? 😂 Then you’ve got to join me live later on today on the Mama Manual Facebook page at 4:30pm Malta time (GMT + 2).
Take this as a reminder if you’ve already ready this last week! 😉