Some Reactions Via Minimalism

I really liked this. I enjoy your writing style in general, but these thoughts are good.

Are you a minimalist subscriber? The connection between minimalism and time here is a great trajectory. Minimalism is often lauded for its lifestyle benefits, health benefits, etc — but the focus on time is not as highly discussed.

1. Thank you for connecting “saving time by getting off of social media” with the mindless habit that it is. Social Media isn’t just the problem, our drift towards it as a “homeostasis” comfort it. Well put.
2. People do their laundry more than 1x / week? I am with you on every two weeks! But I think the important note is you pointing to minimizing the wardrobe in general. Again, the point isn’t the time you spend on laundry, but having to do too much unnecessary laundry.
3. Netflix ain’t always bad, right? That’s either a justification, or, this is about a consumer / “entertain me and numb my mind” problem. Creators vs. consumers.
4. For the food — the default of going out to buy food, especially pre-made food or fast food (which is kind of pre-made) is a great way to expose that you are substituting health for, supposedly, saving time. But I don’t think people realize that they could often cook something in the same amount of time they spend getting in the car, driving, having the food made, and returning.
5. I loved how you described the process of un-hoarding our lives. My family took time last spring to get rid of 1 thing per day equivalent to the number of day it was for 33 days (so by day 33 you were getting rid of 33 things, day 27 was 27 things). It adds up to a lot of things. The biggest realization? We thought we didn’t have much stuff. We ended up getting rid of even more things because the process simply exposed how much stuff we did have. Most people assume they don’t have that much stuff…we are wrong.
6. Yes to deep cleaning. I loved how you articulated this. Very helpful.

The only thing I would add is with what you say at the end — I don’t know that people will have the motivation to take these steps without realizing what they actually want. I’ve written about this before (The Law of 2/3 — A Lifestyle Suggestion), but the practice of naming what is important to you will therefore implicate what is now impossible to do. Wanting to invest in your family and surf social media for hours are mutually exclusive.

The problem is that the latter is easier, more dopamine inducing, and a ‘more likely to drift into habit’ activity than the former.

The good thing is usually the harder thing and unless we understand what we truly want and why we want it, I don’t think we will have the motivation to take your advice.

Thank you for saying these things…our world needs to hear them.