The Best Argument For Minimalism I've Found So Far
Look, I'm not trying to get you to give up all your stuff and be a dish towel wearing hermit.I'm asking you to look seriously at your baggage (physical, social, and emotional) and decide what actually adds value to your life.Here's a great example:
This is a photo of a divorcing couple, in court, dividing up their beanie babies.
I don't know the details of this breakup, so it could be a completely healthy one for all I know.All I can tell you is that it looks an awful lot like they are valuing the wrong stuff.Consider this a strong visual representation of "Christmas Yet To Come."Whether it's physical stuff, emotional stuff, work projects, ideas, or whatever--it's up to you to make sure you're focusing your time and energy on the few things that truly add value.The rest is all noise.The rest is a distraction.
2 Minute Action
What is your intention for today?What will you accomplish?What will you get done no matter what gets in your way?Decide on one, focused thing and get going.
[TOOL] Evernote Vs. iOS Notes
I just caught myself looking at a comparison review of Evernote and the iOS Notes app.
I pay $8/month for Evernote and I have been for years.
But I’ve noticed that I haven’t really used Evernote over the past few months. I had exclusively been using iOS Notes.
That money is being wasted!
But why?
Evernote has always been better.
- Evernote could record your voice and save it as a note.
- Evernote could scan your whiteboard notes and make THOSE searchable.
- Evernote could upload everywhere and do everything.
Over the past few years, they built more apps, more extensions, and more features.
Scannable. Skitch. Web Clipper. And many others.
It became a brain.
And then . . . I realized I didn’t actually want a brain.
I wanted a note taker.
The number one feature that mattered to me was how quickly I could get my notes app launched so I could capture my thought.
That was it.
None of those other sexy features actually mattered!
iOS Notes has fewer features, looks less sexy, and doesn't scan anything.
But it does what I need it to do.
What a lesson about productivity and business!
It’s so easy to get distracted by features and extensions and compatibilities.
It’s harder to focus on the minimum viable feature.
The one thing that actually solves the problem.
Time to unsubscribe to Evernote.iOS Notes wins!
2 Minute Action
If you could only get one thing done today, what would it be?
What other things will definitely happen and impede this from getting finished?
Is this one thing dependent on anything else (like someone else’s work) to get done?
How can you get around it?
Just thinking like this for 2 minutes will make all the difference in actually checking things off.
Focus like this makes you immune to distraction.
And if you fall into the vortex of sexy app features (like I just did), it’s this learned habit of thinking that will get you out.
How The Heck Doing Less Can Possibly Be More
My shoes were falling apart.I had holes in the sides, but I didn’t care. They worked.They were comfortable and I could use them for a lot of different activities.I kept them for over 2 years.Why?
Things should add value to your life.
This means replacing them when they are no longer useful or serve their initial purpose.Más soon as the things in your stop adding value (you stop using them or you forget about them in a closet for 6 months) you should throw them away, recycle, or donate them.This is a pretty effective way to turn that thing into something that is useful again.
“Love people, use things—because the opposite never works.” - The Minimalists
This is true in life as it is in work.The same is true in physical possessions as it is for daily tasks
2 Minute Action:
Take 2 minutes to run a quick audit on how your day will go. What will you be doing for each hour of the day?If each thing on your list had to fight for it’s life to stay in your day, would it make it?What percentage of your day are you spending on actions (or inactions) that aren’t adding value?How might you reallocate that time if you knew you only had another year left to live?The good news is that you probably have more than a year.The bad news is that the clock is still ticking.