Peaceful Simplicity: How to Live a Life of Contentment

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

This fantastic quote summarizes something that I’ve been trying to focus on recently in my daily life:

“Whatever the tasks, do them slowly
with ease,
in mindfulness,
so not do any tasks with the goal
of getting them over with.
Resolve to each job in a relaxed way,
with all your attention.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master

In our daily lives, we often rush through tasks, trying to get them done, trying to finish as much as we can each day, speeding along in our cars to our next destination, rushing to do what we need to do there, and then leaving so that we can speed to our next destination.

Unfortunately, it’s often not until we get to our final destination that we realize what madness this all is.

At the end of the day, we’re often exhausted and stressed out from the grind and the chaos and the busy-ness of the day. We don’t have time for what’s important to us, for what we really want to be doing, for spending time with loved ones, for doing things we’re passionate about.

And yet, it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s possible to live a simpler life, one where you enjoy each activity, where you are present in everything (or most things) you do, where you are content rather than rushing to finish things.

If that appeals to you, let’s take a look at some suggestions for living a simple, peaceful, content life:

What’s important. First, take a step back and think about what’s important to you. What do you really want to be doing, who do you want to spend your time with, what do you want to accomplish with your work? Make a short list of 4-5 things for your life, 4-5 people you want to spend time with, 4-5 things you’d like to accomplish at work.
Examine your commitments. A big part of the problem is that our lives are way too full. We can’t possibly do everything we have committed to doing, and we certainly can’t enjoy it if we’re trying to do everything. Accept that you can’t do everything, know that you want to do what’s important to you, and try to eliminate the commitments that aren’t as important. See this article for more.
Do less each day. Don’t fill your day up with things to do. You will end up rushing to do them all. If you normally try (and fail) to do 7-10 things, do 3 important ones instead (with 3 more smaller items to do if you get those three done). This will give you time to do what you need to do, and not rush.
Leave space between tasks or appointments. Another mistake is trying to schedule things back-to-back. This leaves no cushion in case things take longer than we planned (which they always do), and it also gives us a feeling of being rushed and stressed throughout the day. Instead, leave a good-sized gap between your appointments or tasks, allowing you to focus more on each one, and have a transition time between them.
Eliminate as much as possible from your to-do list. You can’t do everything on your to-do list. Even if you could, more things will come up. As much as you can, simplify your to-do list down to the essentials. This allows you to rush less and focus more on what’s important. See this article for more.
Now, slow down and enjoy every task. This is the most important tip in this article. Read it twice. Whatever you’re doing, whether it’s a work task or taking a shower or brushing your teeth or cooking dinner or driving to work, slow down. Try to enjoy whatever you’re doing. Try to pay attention, instead of thinking about other things. Be in the moment. This isn’t easy, as you will often forget. But find a way to remind yourself. Unless the task involves actual pain, there isn’t anything that can’t be enjoyable if you give it the proper attention.
Single-task. This is kind of a mantra of mine, as I talk about how to single-task all the time. But it’s an important point for me, and for this article. Do one thing at a time, and do it well.
Eat slower. This is just a more specific application of Tip #6, but it’s something we do every day, so it deserves special attention. See this article for more.
Drive slower. Another application of the same principle, driving is something we do that’s often mindless and rushed. Instead, slow down and enjoy the journey. See this article for more.
Eliminate stress. Find the stressors in your life, and find ways to eliminate them. See this article for more.
How and why to slow down. This is such an important point, that I’m going to point you to two other articles on this: here and here.
Create time for solitude. In addition to slowing down and enjoying the tasks we do, and doing less of them, it’s also important to just have some time to yourself. Read this article for more.
Do nothing. Sometimes, it’s good to forget about doing things, and do nothing. Here’s more.
Sprinkle simple pleasures throughout your day. Knowing what your simple pleasures are, and putting a few of them in each day, can go a long way to making life more enjoyable. Here’s a list of 75 simple pleasures.
Practice being present. You can practice being in the moment at any time during the day. Here’s how.
Find inspirations. Learn from the best. Here are 5 inspirations for being in the moment.
Make frugality an enjoyable thing too. Instead of delayed gratification, try enjoying life now while saving for later.

If you liked this article, please bookmark it in del.icio.us. Thanks!

See also:

Peaceful Simplicity: How to Live a Life of Contentment

Photo by Aaron Geller

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits.

This fantastic quote summarizes something that I’ve been trying to focus on recently in my daily life:

“Whatever the tasks, do them slowly
with ease,
in mindfulness,
so not do any tasks with the goal
of getting them over with.
Resolve to each job in a relaxed way,
with all your attention.”

- Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Master

Unfortunately, it’s often not until we get to our final destination that we realize what madness this all is.

If that appeals to you, let’s take a look at some suggestions for living a simple, peaceful, content life:

What’s important. First, take a step back and think about what’s important to you. What do you really want to be doing, who do you want to spend your time with, what do you want to accomplish with your work? Make a short list of 4-5 things for your life, 4-5 people you want to spend time with, 4-5 things you’d like to accomplish at work.
Examine your commitments. A big part of the problem is that our lives are way too full. We can’t possibly do everything we have committed to doing, and we certainly can’t enjoy it if we’re trying to do everything. Accept that you can’t do everything, know that you want to do what’s important to you, and try to eliminate the commitments that aren’t as important. See this article for more.
Do less each day. Don’t fill your day up with things to do. You will end up rushing to do them all. If you normally try (and fail) to do 7-10 things, do 3 important ones instead (with 3 more smaller items to do if you get those three done). This will give you time to do what you need to do, and not rush.
Leave space between tasks or appointments. Another mistake is trying to schedule things back-to-back. This leaves no cushion in case things take longer than we planned (which they always do), and it also gives us a feeling of being rushed and stressed throughout the day. Instead, leave a good-sized gap between your appointments or tasks, allowing you to focus more on each one, and have a transition time between them.
Eliminate as much as possible from your to-do list. You can’t do everything on your to-do list. Even if you could, more things will come up. As much as you can, simplify your to-do list down to the essentials. This allows you to rush less and focus more on what’s important. See this article for more.
Now, slow down and enjoy every task. This is the most important tip in this article. Read it twice. Whatever you’re doing, whether it’s a work task or taking a shower or brushing your teeth or cooking dinner or driving to work, slow down. Try to enjoy whatever you’re doing. Try to pay attention, instead of thinking about other things. Be in the moment. This isn’t easy, as you will often forget. But find a way to remind yourself. Unless the task involves actual pain, there isn’t anything that can’t be enjoyable if you give it the proper attention.
Single-task. This is kind of a mantra of mine, as I talk about how to single-task all the time. But it’s an important point for me, and for this article. Do one thing at a time, and do it well.
Eat slower. This is just a more specific application of Tip #6, but it’s something we do every day, so it deserves special attention. See this article for more.
Drive slower. Another application of the same principle, driving is something we do that’s often mindless and rushed. Instead, slow down and enjoy the journey. See this article for more.
Eliminate stress. Find the stressors in your life, and find ways to eliminate them. See this article for more.
How and why to slow down. This is such an important point, that I’m going to point you to two other articles on this: here and here.
Create time for solitude. In addition to slowing down and enjoying the tasks we do, and doing less of them, it’s also important to just have some time to yourself. Read this article for more.
Do nothing. Sometimes, it’s good to forget about doing things, and do nothing. Here’s more.
Sprinkle simple pleasures throughout your day. Knowing what your simple pleasures are, and putting a few of them in each day, can go a long way to making life more enjoyable. Here’s a list of 75 simple pleasures.
Practice being present. You can practice being in the moment at any time during the day. Here’s how.
Find inspirations. Learn from the best. Here are 5 inspirations for being in the moment.
Make frugality an enjoyable thing too. Instead of delayed gratification, try enjoying life now while saving for later.

If you liked this article, please bookmark it in del.icio.us. Thanks!

See also:

Posted on 22 August 2007 in Happiness, Simplicity |
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Comments (28)

Tess Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 6:37 am

Great quote and post

I’ve only just discovered this site and am having to stop myself trying to greedily gobble up all the archive posts at once - which would complete go against the nature of what you say!

I have recently found that I can do housework (my all-time problem in life has been living in a messy home) if I make a mental shift and do it with love for my home. Sounds a bit schmaltzy, I know, but I is working for me. It’s a form of the mindfulness you talk about here.

brent Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 7:44 am

omg, leo thank you. posts like these are why I stopped by your site in the first place

Craig Harper Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 8:39 am

Hey Leo,
Great Post.
Love your #1. “What’s important”. This is what it’s all about.
Keep up the great work.

tom Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 9:26 am

Love the post. But isn’t one’s level of contentment/simplicity inversely proportional with the number of items (with links!) on one’s contentment/simplicity list? I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with simplicity!

Improbus Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 9:43 am

Wax on, wax off, Grasshopper.

Christa Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 10:46 am

Leo

You are doing a great job. Keep up the good writing.
I am sharing your website with all my friends and family.

MrBlonde Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 12:39 pm

I’m amazed about what a damn good blog this is. I’m subscribing to it right now! I guess spending some time every day reading it, even if I don’t follow the advices you say, can make my life a little happier. I hope this does. Well, thinking of it more thoroughly, I don’t believe following this advices is that difficult.

Keep up the good work!

Georgio Says:

August 22nd, 2007, 19:37 pm

Leo your posts are awesome. They a person improve 1% a day - which compunds over a year to be massive! - just as you have chosen with the life changes you’ve made. Keep up the great writing!

Dan Says:

August 23rd, 2007, 1:40 am

Hi Leo. Your blog as a whole is still of great value. Nevertheless I noticed that you don’t write as frequently as you did before. The contents of your lastest post are okayish, but not as fresh as they were before. What’s up? Regards, Dan

Hignesh Hirani Says:

August 23rd, 2007, 10:08 am

Leo Says:

August 23rd, 2007, 18:13 pm

Hi Dan … thanks for your feedback. A couple of things in response:

1. Actually, my posting frequency is pretty even. I did post a lot of shorter ones in the first month or so of this blog, but based on feedback from readers, they wanted longer and less frequent posts, more in-depth stuff. So I’ve cut back to 5 weekday posts, what I would call “feature” posts, on the 5 weekly topics posted in the sidebar here.

In addition, sometimes I do a shorter post, letting people know about stuff, or just doing something for fun, like the 10 odd minimalist things I do post, or the 6 annoying fetishes post I did last week — nothing major, just short and fun stuff (well, fun for me). So my posting frequency, at least in the last few months, has been pretty regular — I don’t think I’ve missed a day that was planned, and I’ve added other posts now and then.

2. As for the quality of the articles, I guess everyone has different tastes. I’m sorry if the recent ones haven’t been to your taste — perhaps you could give me some specific suggestions where you think I could improve. That would actually help a lot.

Personally, I felt the last few articles were pretty good. This post, Peaceful Simplicity, is actually one of my favorite posts I’ve ever done, but again, everyone is different. Others might not like it as much. Yesterday’s post on building a financial cushion was one I thought would be useful to some, and not so useful to others. Apparently, others found it useful, but you might not have. The day before was the 20 organizational tools suggested by the readers, something that I actually enjoyed and many others found useful.

Now, I’m not saying you’re wrong — you are entitled to your opinion, and I respect it. However, some articles appeal to some people and not to others … again, if these haven’t appealed to you, or aren’t useful to you, maybe you could give me suggestions.

Actually, I always welcome suggestions by email. The comments to this post are probably not the best place for a bunch of suggestions, so feel free to email me. In addition, I post requests for reader suggestions now and then, and in truth, I really listen to those suggestions, as long-time readers know, so feel free to chime in then, or any time really.

Thanks again, Dan, for the feedback, and please do give me more specific suggestions for improvement. I try my best, but there’s always room to be better!

moruku Says:

August 24th, 2007, 8:59 am

Did I mention that I love you? In a friendly way anyway, posts like these make me really happy, because this is what my goal in life is, to live a relaxed life where I can put a good deal of time into my appointments, minimizing stress and such, I’ll link it on my blog later this evening.

Thanks a lot!

v Says:

August 24th, 2007, 16:34 pm

HI,
I really love the spirit of your blog, but you know what? When I read this post and saw all the links to other articles, I didn’t feel like my life was being simplified. I felt STRESSED OUT! Too many things to read and go away to and come back to this, etc., etc. Am I the only one?

GP Says:

August 24th, 2007, 20:34 pm

For this “type A” innkeeper, a good “ouijay” breath… slow down to go faster
happy weekend
gp in montana

Mariette Says:

August 24th, 2007, 21:39 pm

Hi Leo,

I love your blog and in particular this post. It’s so easy to forget in our busy lives that are so plugged in all the time to stop, even for a couple of seconds, and just breathe. I’m particularly fond of Thich Nhat Than’s suggestion (I don’t recall in which book) that we use car horns or red stop lights, or any other sound that we hear a lot in our daily lives as a reminder to concentrate on the breathe for a moment. This is such a helpful mindfulness practice and can be so relaxing, much more so than shopping (at least for me!)

WaterLearner Says:

August 27th, 2007, 3:59 am

Hi Leo!

What a good blog full of good advices! Will sure start to frequent your site!

Blessings!

David B. Bohl at SlowDownFAST.com Says:

August 27th, 2007, 9:36 am

Excellent post.

He was no Zen master, but UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said: “Be quick, but don’t hurry.” What this means to me is that we can be productive, efficient, and effective, and bring intensity to everything we do, if we simply slow down and take our blinders off, quit running from one thing to another, and coming up for air every once in a while only to plow ahead again. We need to do something to enhance our quality of life NOW instead of the quantity of things in our lives.

matelot Says:

August 27th, 2007, 17:24 pm

I hate the fact that that is blog doesn’t have a printer-friendly version ! arrrrggghhh !

Leo Says:

August 28th, 2007, 6:53 am

@matelot: Actually, there is a printer-friendly version … all you have to do is use your browser’s print command, and the print version should be printed. Also see the “print page” link right above the comments of each post.

pril Says:

August 31st, 2007, 23:29 pm

Hey nice post, I have really sat down in this last vaca “Backpacking” 7 days of survivail There is a lot we all take for granted . The island we were on was 8 by 4 miles no cars no electric no running water minuse the village that is less then a half mile big, Giving your self time is really needed! after this trip i can see that! and slowing down doesnt take as much time as one would think!
:)

Vince P. Says:

September 1st, 2007, 17:35 pm

Leo - matelot is right; there really isn’t a printer friendly version of this. If I print this, I want to see the author’s article, not the comments of every wit on the net. Furthermore, I don’t want the honking huge header, the side bar, the ‘See Also’, the ‘Favorite Links’, etc. to also print. That’s all crap I would rather not waste paper on.

One can work around that by copying the relevant portion to Word or another program and printing from there, but then that’s just the same as saying that this site does not provide a printer friendly version of its pages.

Leo Says:

September 2nd, 2007, 22:49 pm

@Vince P. … have you tried the “print this page” link above the comments? It was specially designed to print a cleaner copy of the article. When I use that link, the only thing that prints is the content (aside from the header image). There’s no comments, no sidebar, no see also, no favorite links.

If it doesn’t work the same for you, let me know. Also, if you have a suggestion for how I can change it (I’m not a technical expert), let me know.

Thanks!

Steve Says:

October 4th, 2007, 22:00 pm

I’m 49 years old and considered myself pretty easy going till one day I got on youtube and watched some video clips of Dean Martin. Believe me, anybody would look uptight compared to Dean. Many think he was drunk and that’s why he was so relaxed but the truth is that was only his stage personna, the glass he was sipping from had apple juice in it.

Pistolette Says:

October 31st, 2007, 14:37 pm

Just stumbled across this site, and I’m so glad to have found it. Please keep up the good work, and I’ll stay tuned in.

Vern at Aim for Awesome Says:

November 4th, 2007, 0:22 am

Nice post… I just found your site and will grab the RSS feed in a sec. I also write about these types of subjects. Recently I wrote a mini-series about “How Little Do you NEED?”. I think it ties in well with this and I’ll provide a link off the main page to your post here. Best of life, Vern

mohammad diab Says:

November 10th, 2007, 12:40 pm

i love my life and iam happy in what god have gave me .if u wish to live a happy life like me, u should do every thing in your miend sooooooooooooooooooo live to be love ..ok ok

moudy

franky Says:

February 19th, 2008, 4:40 am

gr8t quote il try it out sometime

Tad Says:

March 28th, 2008, 1:09 am

Leo,

I think slowing down and enjoying what you are doing is a great idea. This really puts you in the moment. Whenever you start to worry about what happened yesterday or what you have to do tomorrow, you begin to stress out over uncontrollables. Living in the present is a great way to de-stress.

Tad
http://growingintoyou.com/