Focus on what you can control
Your days are filled with random events that are out of your control. Getting emotionally and mentally worked up over them is a waste of energy. Guy swerves and cuts you off in traffic? Give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he has a loved one waiting for him in the hospital. Get dealt pocket Aces and lose to pocket Kings? That happens 20% of the time; be happy you got your money in good.

You may not be able to control what happens to you, but you can control how you react. That itself can often be the deciding factor between outcomes.

1. Avoid toxic people
   Vampires do exist. They are the people who drain you of your energy, shut down your ideas, complain non-stop, and exude negativity whenever they can. Life is easier when you're surrounded by positive people who try to lift you up rather than bring you down. Who you associate with plays a large part in who you become.

2. Care less about the opinions of others
   We do things so often based on the perception of others. We chase the elusive job for prestige and that brand name car for respect. Social media exacerbates this - we care less about the concert in front of us than how we'll be perceived for attending it; we care less about the scenic view in front of us than how many likes it'll garner.

Discover what your values are and be content to fulfill them without the outside influence of what others think. If you find enjoyment in a particularly weird hobby, just do it.

1. Declutter
   You need fewer material possessions than you think. Get rid of stuff. Tidy up. Clean up your desk. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been an Amazon best-seller for quite some time now. There's a good reason why.

2. Avoid the news
   News is depressing, misleading, and largely irrelevant. It detracts you from point #1 which is to focus on what you can control. We all know the world is imperfect and tragedies are happening as we speak. Being constantly "informed" of this makes us no better off than before. For further reading on why to avoid the news, I wrote a blog post on Quora about it here: Stop-Following-the-News

3. Get comfortable saying no
   Accept fewer invites to go out if you'd rather stay home. I have a bad habit of saying 'yes' when people invite me to an event I'd rather not go to but is far away enough that I'll just deal with it later.

Treat your time as the valuable commodity it is, even if it means protecting it with 'no'.

1. Schedule your day
   This may not work for everyone, but a few people I know live off their calendars. They input blocks of time where they'll work on specific tasks. The benefit of this is that you know exactly what you should be doing at almost every hour of the day beforehand. Yes, this means they also schedule "free time." Try it and see if it works for you.

2. Have a strong support system
   Whether it's family or friends or mentors, having people you trust for advice can make life much easier. Generally the best advice comes from someone who was in your shoes before and has lived a life you'd want for yourself. A few words here and there can literally shave years off the learning curve and save you a lot of frustration and wasted effort.

3. Make 'today' more of a priority
   Too many people go through life waiting for "some day." Some day they'll be able to travel the world. Some day they'll find the love of their life. Some day they'll have enough money and finish that book inside of them. Some day they'll have more time to spend with their kids.

Some day may never arrive. Prioritize today.

1. Take care of your body
   Exercise daily, eat healthy meals, drink lots of water, get enough sleep, floss, shower, stretch, etc. Your body is the machine through which you navigate this world. A well-oiled machine will take you farther and arrive there more efficiently. Even if you don't think much of your body today, you likely will ten, twenty years down the road. Make it easier on future you by keeping your body in check today.