11 Brilliant Ways to Create More Space in Your Life - Life's Little Pleasures and Struggles

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When our lives are full of ‘clutter’ that doesn’t serve us, what we really need doesn’t have the room to fully enter. It’s when we let go of what we don’t need what we do love and value can finally arrive. When we create space in our lives by removing the things that no longer work for us – unnecessary stuff, bad habits, negative thoughts, unhealthy relationships, etc., we create the space for new things, new people, and new opportunities that truly matter.

By removing all the things that are keeping you from doing so, you create more space in your life for the new to enter. You create the space for the things that you love, the activities that you enjoy, and the people that you value and care for.

What does it mean to create more space?

Creating space is a way of opening up your time, energy, and living space to allow more room for things, people, or opportunities that serve greater purpose for you. To create more physical space, you may need to declutter and let go of the unnecessary, unwanted, and unloved stuff, change the layout of spaces within your home or office, or even find new places to do the activities that you want to engage in.

Creating mental space can include removing negative, unhealthy thoughts or harmful ideas from your head, letting go of the grudges and guilt, or minimizing your expectations. It also means cutting off the toxic people that drain you of your energy and add drama and negativity to your life. By doing so, you can bring your focus back to what matters most and do things that will add value and meaning to your life.

When you create space, you create possibilities. And the possibilities are endless…

Ways to create more space in your life for the things that you value and love:

1. Identify what matters most to you

Before you do anything to create more space for the things you love, you need to first identify the things that you truly value. When there is a gap between what we value and the actions we take, it may cause us to feel distressed, disconnected, and directionless. In order to map out your path to greater well‑being, you first need to figure out what you value most. What is it that you want to create space for? What do you enjoy doing, but don’t have enough time to do? Make a short list of 5/6 things that matter most to you, that you value and love, write those down, and then focus on them.

Knowing what matters most will help you choose how to spend your time, resources, and energy as you begin to move your life in the direction you want. For example, when you realize that you place a high value on health and wellness, it may make it easier to make healthy food choices at the grocery store or when you’re dining out.

2. Track your time

Now take note of how you spend your time for a week or so. See what things actually fill up your day. Are there things you could drop or minimize to make more time for the things you love? Often we get stuck in a daily routine that’s anything but what we really want our days to be like. Is there a better way of doing things? Changing your routine is under your control. Make a new routine that’s more pleasant and more accommodating – filled with things you love and enjoy.

3. Create morning and evening routines

Create space by developing a morning and evening routine. The biggest challenge in creating space is your habits and your routines. Your habits and routines are pretty much established. You have set ways of doing things. maybe you like to start your day with morning prayer or some music. You like to end the day with some yoga or by reading a book.

Wake up 15 minutes early. Rather than rushing to make your morning tea or coffee, take a moment to look through your window and enjoy the beauty of early morning. Smell your coffee before you drink it. When you serve or feed your children breakfast in the morning, have a conversation. It could be about any topic that is important to them.

Exercise autonomy over how you spend the beginning of your day and how you end your day. Mindfully use this time for self-care and self-improvement that nourishes your body and soul.

4. Declutter your physical space

This one is very important if you truly want to create more space for the things you love and enjoy. A cluttered, disorganized home takes a lot of your time and energy for cleaning, maintaining, and organizing stuff. If your home is cluttered, messy, and disorganized, it’s a challenge for you to keep your stuff in order. It takes a lot of time and efforts to clean and organize your home, and keep it tidy. More stuff = more mess = more cleaning time. You could use that precious time doing something you truly love and enjoy!

Also, when you get rid of unnecessary stuff that don’t serve any purpose or spark joy in you, you unearth more space in your home that can be used for something that you and your family all can enjoy together such as a cozy reading nook, a craft room, or a prayer room.

5. Declutter your schedule

What are the things, activities, and commitments in your life that you don’t want or need? Take inventory and keep only the essential. If your days are jam-packed with chores, errands, appointments, meetings, extra curricular activities, and social gatherings, find a way to simplify and make more space in your days.

Figure out what things are important or essential and what are not. Cancel or postpone those that won’t hurt. Create some space in your schedule for the things you love and want to do for your own happiness. If it’s that new language you want to learn, book you want to write, trip you want to take, home renovation you want to do, blog you want to start, then declutter your schedule. Make a plan and space to make it happen so when inspiration strikes, opportunity knocks, or circumstances line up, you’re ready to act.

If your calendar is full with ‘should’ obligations that keep you tied up, it’s like telling the universe you’re not ready yet and there is no room for this new blessing.

6. Say “no” more often

Create more space in your life by saying ‘no’ when you must. So, learn to say no in a polite manner without being rude. And the sooner you learn it, the better it is for you. If you say ‘yes’ to every request, you will never have any free time. Rather, you will unnecessarily make your life harder by keeping busy with the things or people that will not leave any time in your schedule for yourself or for the things you want to do.

Remember that every time you say ‘yes’ to something you don’t like to do or don’t have time to do, you are saying ‘no’ to something else that you truly want to do. Saying ‘no’ when you need to say ‘no’ is actually one of the key habits for those trying to simplify and enjoy their lives.

Get super protective about your precious time, and say ‘no’ to everything but the essential requests – without feeling guilty. If you cannot say ‘no’, other people’s priorities will quietly sneak into your days and become your priorities.

7. Consolidate your tasks

There are many things you do that are similar kinds, and you can pair them together in order to save time and make time for the things you love. A good example is running errands. At the start of the week, plan what you need to do and then group errands by location. Instead of running errands several times a day or week, do it once or twice to save time and gas. Also, you can cook and prepare food in large amount to eat for a few days. That will save you a lot of time to spend on the things that matter to you.

Create space by going on a social media detox. Be diligent in your use of technology. After determining the short list of useful apps and online sites and services you want to keep, cut out the rest. You would be surprised to see how much more you can get done in a day when you put down your phone and focus on things that you have always wanted to do, because the pervasiveness of devices leads to an overload of stimuli that distracts and disengages.

Figure out what you do simply to waste or kill your time — maybe surfing the internet, watching TV or YouTube videos, mindlessly browsing social media, chatting/talking unnecessarily etc. You have to eliminate or minimize these time-wasters to make time in your day for the more important things, the things that make you happy and that you love to do.

The average American spends 2 hours and 6 minutes a day on social-media alone (source), but that time investment yields sparse rewards. Studies reveal that spending time on social-media doesn’t make people nearly as happy as activities that really engage them, like playing games, taking a walk, reading, gardening, and eating with family.

9. Simplify and prioritize

You can also create more space by simplifying and prioritizing your tasks and daily/weekly/monthly goals. Everything can’t be a priority on your list. When everything becomes a priority, nothing is a priority! So, before you make a to-do list, ask yourself – “Is that a priority for me right now?” or “Do I need to do this today?”. Sometimes you do things because you assume they are essential, but if you give it some thought you can find ways to move on without them.

Take a careful look into your priority list, and simplify your tasks and goals. When you simplify your tasks and goals, you are prioritizing what is most important and meaningful to you in your life right now. Do those things and add some of the things you love and want to do with those. Setting a priority helps you focus on the things that nourish your soul and make you happy.

10. Cut out toxic people

Whether you have a friend who finds a problem in everything, or a family member who calls every day to complain about how unfair the world is, or a relationship that feels one-sided or cold – all these people can take up a lot of space in your life.

While you shouldn’t cut off people out of your life just because they’re going through hard times, setting healthy boundaries is essential for your own well-being. Spend less time with them or if it’s really necessary, move on and create space for relationships that bring you life, not drain it. Cutting out toxic people frees up space for those who matter most in your life.

11. Take charge of your finances

It doesn’t matter how much money you have, if your financial life is complicated and messy, it leads to procrastination and a lot of stress. If you’re not taking charge of your financial situation and managing your money well, financial stress will take too much space in your life.

Commit to taking charge of your money. Simplify your financial life, create a budget and establish clear goals, and your financial decisions will become much simpler. You’ll spend less time, effort, and energy managing your money once you’ve taken charge of your income. There’s a sense of peace and relief that comes with financial freedom.

Final thoughts

When you use these techniques to create more space in your life, you’ll find that you’ll have more emotional, spiritual, and creative energy. Using that extra energy, you’ll be able to be more present, more mindful, and more engaged with your life choices. Ultimately, by having adequate space in your life throughout your days, you’ll live a more inspired, meaningful, and fulfilling life.