26 Simple Ways to Make Life LESS Stressful and MORE Enjoyable

INSIDE: My A-Z guide on how to make life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable. No matter how stressed or overwhelmed you might be feeling right now, these 26 ways to make life easier to manage are guaranteed to instantly reduce the overwhelm. Give one of them a try today and see how much better you feel!

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A life LESS stressful…

Do you wish life was less stressful and more enjoyable? You’re not alone! We all have things going on in our lives that stress us out. Thankfully though, there are a few easy ways to reduce those stress levels and take back control. And today in this A-Z guide on how to make life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable, I’m sharing with you what they are!

No matter how stressed you might be feeling, do some of these and you’ll be leading a life less-stressed before you know it – I promise! And, because I’m all about keeping things simple, to make life even easier, I’ve created a FREE cheatsheet that has all 26 ways on it for you to download, print and keep! You’ll find it plus lots of other great cheatsheets and printables in my Subscriber’s Resource Library. Find out how to gain access at the bottom of this post.

OK, are you ready to find out how to make life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable? Let’s dive in!

An A-Z of how to make life LESS stressful…

A – Adopt a positive mindset

If you want to live a life less stressful, you need to have a positive mindset. Why? Because the way in which you view the world around you greatly influences how stressed you feel. View life from a pessimistic point of view, always expecting things to go wrong or for there to always be problems, and that’s exactly what will happen.

If you’re a glass-half-empty kind of person, try adopting a more positive mindset for a few weeks. Focus on solutions instead of problems, look for opportunity instead of obstacles and try to see lessons instead of failures. I guarantee that not only will life become easier to manage, you won’t feel so stressed out either!

B – Be thankful for what you already have

It’s all too easy to compare ourselves to others and focus only on what we don’t have. But that can bring us down and stress us out. If you spend more time worrying about what you’ve not yet achieved instead of celebrating how far you’ve come, turn things around by practicing gratitude.

Gratitude is a positive emotion and so, when practiced regularly, not only do we start to feel happier, our stress levels reduce too. We become more content with what we already have, which in turn makes us want for less. Get into a regular rhythm of practicing gratitude by writing down three things you’re thankful for every single day.

C – Choose the less-stress option

Life really is only as complicated as we make it. More often than not, there’s a simpler way to do something but so many of us insist on making things complicated. Are you prone to doing this? Make life less stressful by choosing the less-stress option.

Next time you’re faced with a task or problem, ask yourself what the less-stress option is. Is there an easier way to do it? If so, go with it. Resist the urge to make things more complicated than they need to be!

D – Do it now instead of later

We all have tasks we keep putting off. Jobs we know we need to do but ignore. We tell ourselves “I’ll do it in a minute” or “I’ll do it later” or “I’ll do it tomorrow” but we don’t. And then, before we know it, a week has gone by, we’ve still not done it and the fact we’ve not yet done it starts to stress us out!

The silly thing is the majority of those tasks would only take a couple of minutes to do and life would be a lot less stressful and so much easier if we just did them. Next time you find yourself saying “I’ll do it later“, stop. Just get on with and do whatever you know you need to do and see how more accomplished – and less stressed – you feel!

E – Eliminate the unessential

Our lives are full of things we think we ‘should‘ be doing and ‘stuff‘ we think we should have. But a lot of it really isn’t essential and all it does is weigh us down and stress us out. Saying goodbye to what’s not essential frees up our mental and physical space. It relieves us from unnecessary stress and gives us more time and energy to focus on the things that do matter. Things like quality time with friends and family and time for ourselves.

What is unessential in your life? What are you hanging on to that you could let go of? Go through your to-do list and identify all the tasks that have been on there for three months or more. If you’ve not done them yet, you probably don’t need to. Free yourself from unnecessary stress and scrub them from your list!

F – Fill your cup first

Just like our cars need fuel and our mobile phones need charging, we need time to rest and recharge too. If we don’t fill our own cups first, how can we have the mental and physical energy needed to take care of the ones we love? Write down a few ways you can make your own wellbeing more of a priority and then do one ‘fill your cup‘ activity from your list at least once a week – without feeling guilty about doing it!

G – Get organised!

The number one way to lead a life less stressful? Be more organised! Life is SO much easier when you have a plan. Whether you prefer a digital app or good old fashioned pen and paper, get yourself a planner and start writing things down. Make a note of important dates and events you need to remember. Check in on your diary at least once a week. Make a note of what you need to do based on what you have going on.

H – Have fun – and lots of it!

Just because we’re all grown up doesn’t mean we can’t have fun! Just like our kids, we need time to play too. Having fun helps reduce our stress levels and can increase our sense of well-being. Without fun life very quickly becomes dull and boring.

When was the last time you had a giggle, let your hair down and lived in the moment? If it’s been a while maybe it’s time you made having fun more of a regular thing. Try adding some play time to your schedule. Whether it’s on your own, with your spouse or a friend, commit to doing at least one fun thing a week.

I – Identify your time suckers

Being pushed for time and never having enough time to spare can greatly increase our stress levels. But knowing where our time is going, how we’re spending it and then making moves to claw some of it back can really help.

Do you know what your time suckers are? If never having enough time is something that stresses you out, try identifying your time suckers and see if you can eliminate some of them. Spend a week tracking how you’re spending your time. Look at where you’re wasting it and ask yourself how it can be better spent.

J – Journal

Not only is journaling a great way to get to know yourself better, it’s a great stress-buster too. Offloading your thoughts onto paper is incredibly freeing. Over time, by re-reading what you’ve written, you’ll begin to see patterns in your thought processes and behaviours. This is especially useful when you’re feeling stressed but don’t know why.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed but aren’t sure what’s causing it, try keeping a journal for at least 30 days and look back at what you’ve written. Look for clues as to what’s stressing you out and ask yourself what you can do about it.

K – Know your ‘why’

When you know your ‘why’ – the reason you do the things you do, you have direction and purpose. And when you have direction and purpose, life becomes less stressful and more enjoyable.

Knowing your ‘why‘ can help you to step out of a life on autopilot and into one of purpose. Not only does it make it easier to set goals that truly resonate, but whenever times are tough, your ‘why‘ will give you the strength and motivation to keep going. So, what’s your ‘why‘?

L – Let the little things go

Our days can be full of instances that irritate and annoy. Whether it’s someone pushing in, the grocery store not having what we need or someone cutting us up at a roundabout, occurrences such these can really stress us out. But only if we let them. Learning to let the little things go, acknowledging they’re outside of our control and pushing past the negative energies that could easily cloud our day can really help to make life less stressful.

Next time you feel irritated by something, try not to let it get to you. Acknowledge it for what it is, accept that it’s out of your control and move on.

M – Make spending time together a priority

Spending quality time with friends and family is a surefire way to keep those feelings of stress at bay. After all, there’s nothing like being in the company of the ones we love. But sometimes, despite best intentions, we get distracted by everything around us. In a bid to keep on top of our never-ending to-do lists, we do a little here and a little there whilst telling our kids “in a minute“, “not right now“, or “Mummy just needs to xyz” and then, before we know it, it’s time for bed and yet again, the day has slipped us by.

Ask yourself how you’re spending the time you have together. Are you making the most of it? Is the time you’re spending together quality time, time where you’re fully present or are you distracted trying to do two things at once? Make spending time together a priority, be fully present and watch those stress levels drop.

A-M of a life LESS stressful…

There you have it – my A-M of how to make life LESS stressful and MORE enjoyable! Here’s a quick recap:

A – Adopt a positive mindset.
B – Be thankful for what you already have.
C – Choose the less-stress option.
D – Do it now instead of later.
E – Eliminate the unessential.
F – Fill your cup first.
G – Get organised.
H – Have fun!
I – Identify your time suckers.
J – Journal.
K – Know your ‘why‘.
L – Let the little things go.
M – Make spending time together a priority.

Want to know what N-Z are? Check out part two of my A-Z guide here…

Don’t forget to download the FREE cheatsheet that has all 26 ways to make life LESS stressful on it. You’ll find it plus lots of other great cheatsheets and printables in my subscriber’s Resource Library. Simply fill in your details below to subscribe.