10 Things That Are Making Your Life Unnecessarily Complicated

Procrastinating

Procrastination is out here ruining lives. It really is. It makes people fail tests because they waited until the last minute to prepare. It keeps individuals from getting the jobs that they want because they keep saying they'll turn their résumé in…tomorrow. It's even causing drama in friendships because it causes folks to wait 10 minutes before a movie starts to actually leave the house and make a 30-minute drive to the theatre (over and over and over) again.

I don't quote Dr. Phil often, but there are a couple of times when he's said something that is super on-point. When it comes to procrastination, as it relates to tardiness, he says that it's a form of arrogance because what you're ultimately saying is you don't respect other people's time and you believe they should wait on you.

Procrastination is also a liar. It tells you that you've got more time than you actually do. Listening to liars most certainly will make your life unnecessarily complicated.

Dairy

You might've heard this before, but it's certainly worth repeating. The only mammals to drink another mammals' milk are humans. Not only that but milk is for baby mammals — baby cows, baby goats, etc. — not grown ones. That's probably why as much as 65-75 percent of us are lactose intolerant (after infancy), huh?

There are plenty of studies to back up that dairy isn't good for us. It doesn't produce the kind of calcium that our bones actually need, it contains the kind of cholesterol that's bad for our hearts, there's a direct link to dairy and bad breakouts and obesity and don't even get me started on the antibiotics that are found in a lot of dairy products.

If you want a simpler life for your health, you'd be better off taking a calcium supplement and finding some dairy substitutes/alternatives. No doubt about it.

Not Having a Budget

Fail to plan, plan to fail. These words are certainly true when it comes to how we spend our money.

Case in point. I just read an article that said 82 percent of us order takeout no less than twice a month, which tallies up to roughly $1,200 a year and almost $70,000 over our lifetime. People always joke about not knowing how to cook or needing to learn, not knowing they could be taking dream vacations or putting money down on a (bigger) house if they did.

A budget is simply making a plan for your coins and — this is key — then sticking to it. Take it from someone who had to learn this one the hard way — you are definitely making your life unnecessarily complicated if you are a frivolous spender.

Last-Word Syndrome

A few years ago, I spent an entire weekend in an online/text debate with a friend of mine's husband. It got so heated that neither of us wanted to talk to each other for a couple of weeks after that.

Looking back, it's funny because my friend was like, "Ohh…that was you? I was wondering who he was sitting up in bed feverishly typing to." It wasn't the stats and studies that got him and me all up in a tizzy. It was that we both wanted to get the last word in; something that I realize is a trigger for both of us.

If there was $10,000 on the table for winning debates, I'd earn my fair share of moola. But there's not, so I've stopped doing it so much. The main reason is that if you ever watch two people try and get the last word with each other, more times than not, it not only pisses them both off, but it comes off as looking pretty childish too. All of that wasted energy…for nothing. Nope.

Going to Bed with Your Phone

Interior designers will tell you that bedrooms are for sleep and sex; that's it. So, why are so many of us going to bed with our phones like it's the best lover we've ever had?

Aside from the fact that sleeping with your cell phone (even if it's on your nightstand or underneath your pillow) can increase your chances of having cancer and the light on the screen makes it harder to fall asleep or stay asleep; plus, it totally jacks up our circadian rhythm, which is our body clock. When our rhythm is off, so is our metabolism, our appetite, our stress levels, and our moods.

If you're constantly going to bed with your phone and then waking up in a bad mood, blame your phone before anything else. And you already know the potential drama you're baiting by starting your day on the wrong side of the bed.

Why choose to make life harder than it has to be?

Not Taking Evening Primrose Oil

Thankfully, I never was the girl who had sucky periods. I'd get a zit that 98 percent of the time would leave a mark the week before, had cramps and heavy bleeding on the first day and that was pretty much it. But let me tell you, since I started taking evening primrose oil, I don't even get those period-related symptoms.

If PMS, acne, eczema, and/or menopause-related issues are driving you completely up the wall, I dare you to add evening primrose oil to your daily regimen. I don't know one person who takes it who hasn't seen a noticeable improvement in their overall health and well-being.

Sleep Deprivation

Speaking of waking up in a bad mood, I've got a friend who stays moody yet brags about being able to survive on less than four hours of sleep. They're in denial because no one is doing right by their mental health or physical well-being if they aren't getting at least six (preferably eight) hours of sound sleep a night.

Not only does sleep-deprivation cause your brain cells to fall out with each other, it weakens your immune system, spikes your blood pressure, lowers your sex drive, puts you at risk for diabetes and obesity, messes with your posture and, it can even affect the longevity of your life (and not in a good way).

Sleep is not a luxury; it's a necessity. Anyone who believes otherwise is making their life unnecessarily complicated.

Following Your Past

I don't do social media. My life is very peaceful because of it. But when it's used for a purpose and in balance, I see a lot of the benefits that it provides.

The main thing I don't get about using it is when people end relationships — platonic or romantic — yet still decide to follow those individuals on social media. I liken it to breaking up with a boyfriend and having him as a next-door neighbor. By proxy, we're still a part of one another's lives and that can make it challenging to move on.

Even if it's possible for you and an ex — ex-significant other, ex-friend, ex-whatever — to be friends (and by that, I mean "cool") in the future, there still needs to be some space and time allotted to process and heal. How are you gonna be able to do that while constantly checking out their IG stories?

Some folks never get to what's next because they're constantly following their past, literally. And living in the past will surely make life unnecessarily complicated.

Not Having a Confidant

Something my mother's husband once told me that's super on-point is to get 1-2 confidants; no more, no less. They don't have to necessarily be your friends either. They are two people with whom you have a mutual understanding that you can tell each other anything and it won't go anywhere.

And I mean, ANYWHERE — not a spouse, not a friend of theirs that you don't know…not even in a so-called anonymous hypothetical situation. Basically, it's a safe place to share, vent, and gain another's perspective without worrying that it will ever get out beyond that conversation.

Life got a lot less dramatic in my world ever since I took his advice. Besides, when you're only divulging your deepest and darkest to two people, if that info ever gets out, you know exactly who leaked it.

That's not so much the case when you're telling seven of your "closest" friends and you are unable to keep tabs on your business.

Pettiness

One more. I recently read a quote that had me be like "Okaaay?" It said, If you're going to post something to make someone mad, please make sure that they care first. In other words, if you're going to be petty, make sure it's worth your time.

Personally, I'm not sure it's ever worth it to do things that are trifling, mean, narrow-minded, or will result in little consequence — all of which are definitions of the word "petty". I also don't know too many instances when being petty didn't come with some unpredictable fallout.

If that's what you're after, do you. But if you want a less complicated life, pettiness is something you can — and should — most certainly do without.