20 habits that make your life more simple than 97% of people

Mastery Den, Saturday Edition, 4-min read.

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One of the toughest things in this age is keeping our lives simple.

You notice how hard that is?

So many things to try, buy, and fry.

But when we take on more, we spread ourselves thin like tomato paste on toast.

I don't always do things simply, but when I do, it's like sucking on a pipe of fresh oxygen.

My mind clears, and everything seems easy.

Here are some ways I've learned to make things easier:

Physically slow down.

I get it. It seems in this chaotic world the only way we can even attempt to compete is by going fast.

But most people are jacked up on caffeine doing busy work that means nothing.

Slow down, ditch the stimulants, and you'll make more intelligent decisions that go further.

Do more with less.

There's a ton of stuff sitting right under your nose that stands to gain from your attention.

Do you see what I mean?

For example, I have a newsletter that could make much more money if I spent time finding a sponsor instead of trying to open a new income stream elsewhere.

Focus on your top three.

Yes, you have a million things you need to do.

But everything gets easier when you bring your attention to the next three.

What are the highest priority three?

Ask yourself this throughout the day, and you'll have no problem with overwhelm (because it's in your head).

Use templates.

The clever among us have identified those tasks they repeat often and assigned templates to them.

For example, I copy over a new template every morning that helps me plan my day and content.

Have an emergency fund.

Set aside at least $5k for emergencies.

When you don't have a financial fallback, you'll roam around with a nervous crackle in your tummy.

There's always that risk of falling into the red, making for a stressed, highly complicated life.

Stop having expectations.

Expectations make life stressful and you resentful.

When we expect things to be a certain way, we will almost always be disappointed. Instead, let them go, or with regards to people, make agreements.

Shake hands on a deal so you both follow through, like your son and cleaning his room.

This makes life 100x easier.

Time block.

Give yourself clear chunks of time to do specific tasks.

You can even use a big red tomato timer.

Commit to ONE thing in that time block.

This ensures you do the right kinds of task, without meandering aimlessly and welcoming distractions.

Moments of mindful breathing.

Breathing counteracts the stressful build-up of thoughts and puts the body at ease.

This simplifies life because a simple life is a creative and happy life.

Drop the excuses.

It's funny how complicated we make our lives out of fear.

We feel fear and come up with excuses to avoid owning that fear.

But when we do what we know we need to do, we're free of self-beratement and wasted energy from the stalling and the shame.

Act more and overthink less.

This is the bane of many of our existence.

Review your life and see how much time has been wasted in overthinking.

How far you'd be if you'd just acted instead of merely planned to act.

Stop buying into your thoughts.

There's a big difference between gut-instinct thoughts (wisdom) and worried egoic (personal) thoughts.

You must learn to stop taking the personal thoughts so seriously.

When we let go of them, everything gets easier.

Make sure you master one thing.

You can do as many things as you want with your life.

In fact, having a range of skills and talents will often set you apart.

I advocate for leaning into your polymath nature. But instead of being great at 16 things, become a hybrid genius at ONE thing, or at most two things.

You do this by combining skills rather than working on them separately.

For example, my brand combines many interests but delivers mainly through writing.

Make low-risk, high-upside decisions fast and high-risk decisions slow.

Act fast on things you know have a significant upside and low downside, like writing and publishing that article.

Act slow on (or avoid entirely) decisions with a large potential risk or a low potential upside (like buying that bag of candy worms).

Take breaks like a bawse.

If you're hunched over a screen for more than 50 minutes at a time, you aren't allowing for self-optimisation.

This comes from coupling rest, chill and gentle reflection with productive work.

Life gets simpler when you temper work with rest.

Cut all pings and notifications.

You know you were supposed to do this years ago.

Cut them all out.

This includes getting your phone out of sight when you commit yourself to working.

Distractions can be the difference between success and failure.

Own less.

I know, it's obvious, but we all know you're lugging far too much around.

It makes life heavier, and there are more decisions to make.

You also limit your flexibility greatly. Throw it out, and stop loading up with more useless stuff.

Set boundaries.

The people around you must be clear on what you do or do not abide by.

If they don't, you are liable to be walked all over, making life very complicated.

Say no to things that drain you and make it clear that these things don't get through the door.

No phone zones.

Let's face it. Smartphones are a time suck.

Beyond ditching them altogether, you might consider designating certain areas in your house, like your bedroom or bathroom, where the phone does not go.

You don't question it.

You just follow the commitment and watch your phone hours reduce.

Batch your tasks.

You can write several posts at once, for example, so you don't have to switch thinking modes.

This is a much more effective way to get more done.

Have fun.

This seems frivolous and naughty, but it makes life worth living. Almost anything can be to be fun, even washing the dishes.

You can't outwork the guy who enjoys what he's doing.

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Much love,

Dragon Alex.

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