August is home to National Simplify Your Life Week. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a time set aside to look at the complications in our lives and find ways to smooth it all out. It’s a time for throwing away all the stress and complication of modern life in favor of a healthier, happier, simpler way of living.
Stress, after all, is one of the biggest causes of drug use and adverse health situations in America. When someone is stressed out, it can feel like drinking alcohol or using drugs is a good way to deal with that stress. Not only does this never work to actually handle the situation that is upsetting the person, it actually makes the stress worse. After all, alcohol and drugs are stressors in themselves.
They harm your health (because they’re poisons), and they can cause more problems such as losing your job or damaging a relationship. Because these negative situations cause more stress, they create a feedback loop. The person is more stressed out, uses more drugs, which causes more stress, etc. Eventually, the only possible outcome is addiction or even overdoses and death.
It makes sense, then, that we should all look for ways to beat stress by simplifying our lives. Narconon Arrowhead is helping out by providing several ways to do so.
Start Making Written Plans
One of the best ways to start simplifying is by having a plan. Too many of us just go about our days doing our work or chores and spending our free time by doing whatever comes to mind next. We don’t plan ahead enough, so we can end up wasting time when we forget needed actions. This can make life rather complicated.
In order to simplify, you have to start writing down all the important actions that you actually need to get done. When you have them written down where you can face them in the real world, it’s easier to focus on the simple and necessary parts of your day.
Cut Out Your Screen Time
Almost all adults in the US spend way too much time looking at screens. It used to just be the TV that we were addicted to, but now most Americans also spend a great deal of their time staring at computer screens and the screens of our smart phones. This leads to feeling disassociated from our friends and family members and constantly getting distracted.
In order to significantly simplify your life right away, find ways to cut out your screen time. Instead of watching TV every night, find a hobby or start reading. Instead of checking your phone every two minutes, put it away somewhere in your house where you can’t hear it an only check it every hour or so. You’ll find yourself feeling much calmer almost right away.
Get Rid of Junk
One of the biggest sources of mental complication is the physical complication in our lives. We almost always have a lot of junk around our houses that really doesn’t need to be there. Go through your house and figure out what you haven’t used in a while. One good rule can be to honestly look at what you have used in the past year. If you can’t remember getting something out in the last year, there’s a good chance you won’t use it in the next year, either.
Either give it away to friends or charity (or simply throw it away) but you’ll start feeling the stress just drop away.