How simple is your life? Or how complicated, busy, chaotic and demanding is it? If the latter is a more relevant question, and you regularly find yourself struggling with overwhelm, how often do you take a step back to see if you can simplify things? Not something we do often is it? It can be really hard to do when we have the pressure of so many seemingly competing priorities. This is also something we spend a lot of time talking with clients about – so trust us. If you’re struggling at the moment, you’re not alone!

woman struggling with overwhelm

National Simplicity Day

Did you know that today is National Simplicity Day in the US? Henry David Thoreau was born on this day in 1817. He was an author, environmentalist, abolitionist and transcendentalist. Transcendentalists advocate a ‘simpler’ life, so that you can be truly in touch with your inbuilt, intuitive knowledge about yourself, the universe, and what you need to thrive. The day is an opportunity for individuals to take a step back and reassess how busy and complicated their lives are, and to acknowledge where they might want to streamline!

The feeling of overwhelm can often feel unique to you – especially when we see others living an ‘Instagram-worthy’ life! But in reality, we all know how it feels. We feel like we have too much to do. Too many people to see. Too much ‘stuff’ in our homes. Things are too noisy, too expensive. We have too much social media, too much tech, and so on! Sound familiar?

How to beat overwhelm as a business owner

As business owners, those demands can be even higher, with an endless To Do List. But ask yourself – are all the things on that list in line with your bigger vision? How about your values and your version of success? Or the way you want your life to look and feel? It’s hard for us to lean into the way we really want life to be if we’re over-complicating things and giving our time away to things we don’t want to do, or living in ways we don’t want to live.

Now, I’m not suggesting it’s that easy for us to not have to do any of the tasks we don’t love, sometimes we just have to! But, it’s definitely worth looking at how you can simplify your day to day life. And in return, perhaps the space you create is the call you need to put out to the Universe to bring in more of what you want!

Why not try any of the following approaches to create more space and simplicity and notice how things change as a result:

1) Unplug

Give yourself dedicated time that is not spent plugged into a screen, whether that is phone, laptop, ipad or something else. Taking ourselves off our screens and engaging in other activities that hold more meaning can be a powerful thing to do. Create the space away from screens to remember what other things you love to do.

2) De-clutter

This is the ultimate way to simplify and create space. We love a good de-clutter and getting things in order! Living with less “stuff” feels so good and very calming!

3) Think

… before you buy or book in. Whether you keep finding yourself buying things for your home or wardrobe, or perhaps you can’t resist over filling your calendar and your time….how about pulling back and thinking twice? See how much time / space / calm you create by being more aware of how you’re spending your time and your money.

4) Get into nature and be quiet

When you get outside, why not leave the airpods at home? We find it so hard to switch off and really be present in the moment. A big game changer for me was to stop listening to anything when I’m out walking. Doing this really allows you to take in the beauty of the nature around you, and it’s much better for wellbeing and feeling calm.

5) Be healthy

Keep it simple with your diet. Avoid over processed, packaged foods and aim for a colourful rainbow of natural, nutritious fruit and vegetables, a variety of protein and wholegrains and plenty of water. Again, what do you invite in when you simplify your diet, look after your body and feel in touch with yourself?

As a final word – if you’re struggling with overwhelm, check in with your values and your picture of success. Then take out what is leading you away from them. And of course, if you need some support to move forward, we’re here for you!