10 Mindful Hacks to Make Life Easier

I am sure you would agree; anything you can do to add more peace and calm into your life is helpful. I have put together this list of some routine things I do every day to try and make life easier.

1 – Carve out Time for Meditation Every Day

Pick a set time to meditate every day, so it isn’t one of those things that gets lost in the shuffle. I am a very routine-oriented person, so I get up, I eat my breakfast, and then brush my teeth. The next thing I do before even opening an email, glancing at my phone, or getting dressed is the daily Calm Meditation. Later in the day, around 1 o’clock, I meditate again using the Insight Timer app. This time, I like to use the David Ji healing meditation for 25 minutes.

2 – Limit Your To-Do List

Experts agree that loading up a to-do list is a recipe for failure. Try starting with a 3-5 item list and then just do one thing. If you have time to do another and another, then okay, do it. But don’t put pressure on yourself to complete everything on your list. If you run out of time, simply move the to-dos to the next day.

3 – Free Your Mind Each Day to Get More Done

Along with my meditation, I stop everything around 10/11 a.m., and I take a half-hour bike ride. I also break for lunch, which means eating a snack while I play Angry Birds or another game on my iPad. This short 30-minute downtime frees my mind from obsessing about the day, and it helps recharge me to get more done in the afternoon.

4 – Balance Work and Play

Human beings are not productive animals when we sit for 8-10 hours a day and work. Be sure to break up your work with small bits of fun (reading, walking, listening to music, etc.), so your mind and body don’t start resisting from all the pressures of work, work, work.

5 – Keep the Positives Going

My neighbor and I have started this little game where each morning at 8 a.m., she and I text each other a fun “inspiration” for the day. It can be anything like something we made up, a nice post on Instagram, or something we read in an article online. It’s an excellent way to start the day and cultivate a new friendship with a neighbor I like.

6 – Make Gratitude a Priority

Gratitude is a superpower. The more you appreciate and feel grateful for what you have, the more you receive. Every night before bed, I start a big gratitude list thanking God/The Universe for all I have, including stuff like fresh air, clean water, and food to eat. The list gets enormous, but the practice puts me in a great mental state to drift off to sleep. I wake up happier when I do this.

7 – Help Someone

Whenever I help someone with anything, no matter how small, I just feel good. I am a born caretaker, and I love helping people either with my work, actions, or even just a kind word. Sometimes while in a store, I will strike up a conversation with the cashier and ask how their day is going. I don’t just pretend to care, I really listen to the answer. Sometimes even a casual compliment will make someone’s day.

8 – Turn Off or Limit Your Exposure to the News

The news is nothing more than garbage these days. It’s full of bias and opinion and barely any facts. I know people are addicted to it, and they need their fix, but it’s not positive or helpful to fill your head with all that negativity. If you can’t turn it off and stay away, limit how much you watch. I notice a real difference in my friends and family; the more they watch the news, the less happy they are. I stopped watching all news in 1985 and not only did I survive, I actually thrive not exposing myself to all that darkness.

9 – When You Eat, Just Eat

In this busy world, we have all gotten very good at multi-tasking, but it’s not good for us, nor is it very productive. So, when you are eating a meal, just eat. Enjoy the texture, color, taste, and experience of eating. When you are brushing your teeth, just do that. We miss so much of life by not being present in the moment. Try to slow down, do less, and concentrate only on the one thing you are doing at this very moment.

10 – Try New Mindful Things

There are dozens of great apps to help you be more mindful. A few of my favorites are Insight Timer with classes, meditations, and soothing music. The Calm Meditation app has all that, including podcasts and sleep stories. Another great app to help make life easier is the Tapping Solution app to ease anxiety, fear, and other issues. Many of these mindful apps help by setting reminders so you won’t forget to add a little mindfulness into each day.

Even if you try only a few of these tips, you might find that they help make life easier, and who couldn’t use that these days?