Have you ever been overwhelmed by the tasks of adult life? It’s an easy thing to have happen and a common experience once you are out on your own. When you were young and lived at home under your parent’s roof (and authority), everything was taken care of for you. Once that life situation ended either after high school or college, all the responsibility shifted to you. 

Life is not easy. But there are some common practices that, if you do them, can make things easier along the way. At the least, they can reduce the stress that comes from being an adult and making decisions for yourself. Here are four life hacks that can make your life more enjoyable.

Declutter Daily

Unless you’re one of those people who genuinely loves to clean, chances are you often feel you’re drowning in stuff. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning out the entire garage or the basement. However, most of the time, even those tasks can be accomplished with just a little bit of effort each day. A daily declutter habit helps prevent junk mail from piling up on the table you always drop it on.

This mindset can be further applied to other problems in your life. If you want to take control of your financial wellness, learning how to live with less can facilitate that habit. The more possession you have, the more you have to worry about.

So set aside 10 minutes daily to make a sweep through the house to see what you can declutter. It will keep you from having to spend a whole day doing it later. 

Related Content: I Love to Clean the Bathroom

Collect Life’s Secret Codes

Life is full of little secrets. Chances are, a parent, grandparent, older sibling, or someone else taught you some of these. These are the little life tricks that on their own, may not seem like much, but as you accumulate a lot of them, they make things so much easier.

These hacks can be found all over the Internet. Suggestions like washing and prepping all your fresh fruit and vegetables when you bring them home from the grocery store, putting a couple of tennis balls in the dryer to help clothes dry faster with fewer wrinkles and learning how to season an iron skillet so that it lasts and food does not stick. These may not seem like earthshattering suggestions. But you can streamline your life and save time by regularly doing these things.  

One hack that I learned years ago was learning what your vehicle identification number (VIN) means and where to find it on your car.  This can be handy if you’re buying a used car and want to find out if the car was involved in a recall, wreck, flood or had other issues. If you work in the industry (such as a fleet manager), being able to find this number can be especially helpful since you can also track things such as warranties, insurance, and registration. The numbers assigned are not random. You can learn to locate your VIN number and what each digit in it means.

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Move in the Transitions

Everyone knows that exercise is important. It’s one of the fundamental things to living a healthy life. But your problem with exercise is everyone’s problem. How do you fit it into an already packed schedule?

A great way to do it is by grabbing the moments in between tasks when you are either waiting on something or transitioning from one thing to another.

Are you waiting on a pot of water to boil on the stove. Are you ending your workday? Will the laundry be dry and ready to fold in 30 minutes?

The temptation is to relax or get on your social media account during these times. However, these moments are great spaces to do a few stretches, squats or move in another way that works our your body. Even simply deep breathing exercises can be great way for you to reduce stress. The bonus of this hack is that it also helps break you of the habit of scrolling on your phone every time you have a free second.

Related Content: Barriers to Entry: The Ongoing Battle With Exercise

Talk to People

Everyone communicates but few really connect with other people. To connect, you actually have to talk to others. Even if you’re shy or an introvert, some interaction with other humans is important. You will almost certainly feel better for it.

You can set yourself a goal, such as three short conversations with strangers each day. You may end up building genuine connections, particularly by doing this in the places where you go regularly. 

The best places to find people to talk with are church, your job, a grocery or department store and your neighborhood. Start there with simple conversations and see how much better it makes you feel.

Leave a Comment or Answer a Question Below: What is your go-to life hack? What have you found out in adulthood that you didn’t know when you were younger?