There’s a post over at Zen Habits that I enjoyed awhile back that can be found here.
“Doing less” is a great message for anybody who wants to rationalize being lazy…but the good kind of lazy. The efficient kind of laziness where you get everything done without trying very hard. You find pressure points and exert little energy.
I used to over plan things. I would find everything I wanted to accomplish and spend awhile coming up with a daily system and routine to get them done. It was an endless cycle and eventually the system got overloaded…I couldn’t plan anymore…things fell apart…I got discouraged…then I tried again when I felt less like shit.
Now, I’ve embraced minimalism. I cut back on everything.
I started with my possessions. If I haven’t used it in 6 months, it was trashed.
If I was only keeping something because I “might” end up using it later, it was trashed. Expensive items were sold and cheap items were trashed. I put everything in a pile, and really, only a few things made it out alive.
I moved onto activities. I stopped going out to bars to get drunk – not the drunk part, just going out. This one wasn’t that hard to do. I rearranged my hobbies so I could spend more time on the ones that will make me a better person in the end, or rather, who I want to be.
I now have 4 days off per week…to do anything. Hopefully it’s something worthwhile…but if it isn’t, that’s OK too.
I buy essentials and don’t replace something until it’s certainly broken.
I know homework is due on a certain day but I don’t stress about it. If I feel like sleeping instead of doing more math problems, I’ll take a nap and possibly stop working on it for a few days…and I’ll feel great about it. If it’s important enough, it’ll get done.
I am less involved in the drama of everybody’s life. I involve less people in the drama of my life. I don’t try to cajole people into doing things – I let the pieces fall and go from there.
I drive slow and watch the town go by – so I use less gas, get less frustrated and have less of a chance of getting into an accident.
Automation is your friend and you should learn to love it. Automate everything you can. Finances, your house, your phone, computer tasks, shopping…everything. The less you need to think about and remember, the better off you will be.
It’s the concept of doing less that will clear your day and your mind to accomplish what really matters. You can take your time. You can use your brain more. You can learn and remember better and more clearly. So go ahead – try doing less of everything. Instead of you moving around life, let life move around you.
