It’s no secret that stress can contribute to a variety of mental and physical health problems. There are countless studies on stress that indicate that daily stress can have a large impact on mental health. Sometimes we don’t realize how many things are adding unneeded stress to our lives. This can drain our emotional and physical energy that could be better spent on more useful things.

Minimizing your life isn’t necessarily about getting rid of everything. It’s not always about losing your possessions or pairing down. It can also be learning to focus on what’s important and being mindful of your condition. In the past few decades, stress has been a popular topic among research studies.

One study in particular was conducted at the University of California in Irvine (UCI) in 2013 http://pss.sagepub.com/content/24/5/733 showed that managing stress was key to avoiding serious mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. Clearing up the clutter from your life can do wonders for your stress level. Below are a few tips on ways you can rearrange your life to make things easier and reduce your levels of unnecessary stress.

Rearrange Your Life

Lack of organization can lead to a lot of anxiety. Losing your wallet, phone, car keys, shoes or other important things can cause a feeling of panic that you can do without. By getting organized you can create a system to ensure that this doesn’t happen. Below we have a few recommendations to help you organize your life better. This can free up your mind and help you avoid unnecessary stress.

  • Make to-do lists. You can use them to organize your schedule, keep track of errands and focus on what’s important.
  • Get some help. It’s never too early or too late to ask someone for a helping hand. Maybe you can find some tasks to delegate to a relative, friend or caretaker.
  • Designate a place for important things like your keys. That way you will automatically know where to find them. This can mean putting your keys in the same pocket, or putting them on the same key hook.

Are you holding on to too many possessions?

At some point or another we all end up collecting things that don’t really serve any good purpose. Do you really need 5 sets of silverware when you are the only person in the house? Does it take forever to do your laundry because you have 15 of the same white undershirts? Do you dusty collection of VHS tapes you no longer watch? Sometimes our possessions seem to burden us.

Having an excessive amount of things that serve little purpose can increase stress. There are a wide range of issues that can arise as a result of having too many things such as sleep disorders, irritability and problems concentrating among other things. Sometimes we consume things without realizing the implications. Simply realizing that you need to take action isn’t enough, but it is a step in the right direction. If you don’t even know where to begin, consider getting help from a professional or a friend.

Disconnect

In today’s world we are connected by the web more than ever. Phones, tablets and computers are connected to the internet 24/7. Sometimes technology can chain us down. It can be hard to escape email, Facebook, text messaging, online games, phone calls etc. While these things can keep us up to date with news, friends and family – it can also be easy to go overboard. You don’t have to dump your mobile phone or completely go off the grid, setting some healthy boundaries can be enough. Consider the following tips.

  • Check your email only at scheduled times.
  • Only answer texts at certain times of the day.
  • Turn off the internet when you don’t want to be disturbed.
  • Screen your calls.
  • Get rid of junk mail and promotional offers you aren’t interested in.
  • Turn off the television, try not to watch more than 2 hours a day.
  • Get a hobby to engage yourself in such as drawing, a musical instrument or golfing.