minimalism – Mindflight

Launching a new obsession

(and helping those who want more time for theirs)

For everybody who has kids, busy lives, jobs with long hours, long commutes, and no time, I feel you. This post is all about doing something you always wanted to do, but don’t think you have time for.

I feel like I have almost no time. That’s not really true, but it sure feels that way. I’m not writing as much as usual, reading or doing art as much either. That’s because my new job is taking more time and energy and I want to get my new career off to a good start. Yet, time slips by as it will and I re-prioritize.

Now, with all that said, why is it that I’m buying an electric guitar so I can learn to play it? Because I want to. I really, really want to. Hearing live guitar just gives me a thrill that little compares to, and it’s high time I do something about this interest.

But I have that little time problem. Here’s what I’ve done, maybe it will help you.

Steps to making more time in your life

Tally up all the ways you spend your time. Recreation, work, eating, commuting, resting, etc. You don’t have to write this down, but maybe think it over during a commute, a morning shower, or a quiet meal.

Prioritize your activities. Start with the non-negotiables and work your way down. Don’t forget sleep and exercise. Often, those are sacrificed for other things that really aren’t as important.

Reduce what’s least important. Recreation is important. Even so, maybe those two hours of TV could be reduced to one, or maybe there’s a website that is a total time-suck that could be eliminated. Knowing yourself and your behaviors will really help here. Remember, you aren’t really giving things up, you’re making room so you can enrich your life.

What you can’t reduce, combine. Deep knee bends when brushing your teeth. Meditation when falling asleep. Reading books or drawing during lunch breaks. Listening to music in the shower. You could label everything in the house in a foreign language, so you practice as you go about your routine. Get crazy with it!

What you can’t reduce or eliminate, make more efficient. For example, if you spend twenty minutes going out to get lunch at work, spend an hour on the weekend packing up five lunches for yourself. That way you can grab and go, and use that lunch period to do something else. It saves money, too, and the lunches might be better for you. Or lay out your clothes before bed so you don’t have to fumble in the morning. Little things can really add up.

Staying a little more organized (having a place to put everything) has saved me a whole lot of time – I don’t waste it trying to find stuff.

Now that you’ve eked out a bit more time, figure out what you really want to do more of. Then break it down into bite sized pieces. If you’re learning a language, try for a word at a time. If you’re reading a book, you could read a few pages here and there. If writing, it’s a little harder but similar. If you want to exercise, you could design mini work outs.

Finally, put it all together. Fit your bits of progress in wherever you can – work out when watching TV, read audio books when driving, write during breakfast, or whatever works for you. You can definitely find time to do things, but it takes drive and creativity! The great feelings of accomplishment are more than worth the effort, and you’ll feel more fulfilled as a person. As a bonus, lifelong learning helps keep the brain healthy and staves off depression.

My own example

I wouldn’t be writing this article if I didn’t have the same problem! I have a full time job, a half hour commute, time with the spouse, time doing housework, taking care of the ever demanding cat, shopping, doing errands, and internet time.

Some things are non negotiable, like work, sleeping, spouse, eating, errands, commute. But I realized I could cut the net time down a bit. I’ve wanted to learn to play guitar for a really long time, it’s on my “bucket list,” and I want to get to it while my fingers are still limber. Besides, I found a beginner’s guitar kit for under a hundred bucks, which is way less than I thought I’d find one for. So I can cut back online gaming by a half hour and slide the guitar right in that spot. I can also use odd moments to watch YouTube lessons and read up on music theory. I can do this without sacrificing (much) on blogging and the other things I need to do. Mine is a simple case because I don’t have kids, but this system will work for almost anyone. Still, I already feel more at peace because I know I’m doing one more thing I always wanted to try, instead of waiting till the right time comes.

Instead of waiting for the right time, I’m making the right time.

Happy living!

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/launch/

Minimalism is a Mindset

Healthy Living

A person can donate all their possessions to charity and still end up with a cluttered home within a year unless they change their mindset.

I have had to give up most of my things several times in my life. More than once, I’ve had to fit everything I owned into a carload. I was good at finding things at good deals, so I’d always end up with twice as much stuff within a few months! A lot of my security came from having stuff.

This started to change when I had to drive across several states with only the things I could fit on and in my Hyundai Elantra and it’s home made roof rack – including bedding, tent, sacks of dried rice and beans, clothes, spouse, and two cats. After that I never wanted to have too much stuff again.

The stuff crept in again but not as quickly as before. I started to focus on quality rather than quantity. When I had to move one more time, I had better resources for moving everything but used that move as a reason to rid myself of more dross and replace it with more good quality items.

I can see the effect of my mindset changing – smaller spaces look larger as I have less furniture. I have more time in my day because I don’t have to organize things. I can find everything easily. Once, I was famous for always losing things. Now, I know where everything I need is, right away, and I find it the first time.

Life is a bit more satisfying as I move from plastic to glass and metal and get rid of disposable things around my home. I feel more settled. As the things I use grow fewer in number, but more beautiful, my life feels more like art rather than common drudgery. I haven’t had to spend a lot more money to do this, but I have had to be intentional about my purchases and choose quality over convenience or quantity. I still have a long way to go. However, my changing mindset has brought peace to my life and home!

via Daily Prompt: Minimal

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/minimal/

A Clean Sweep – low cost minimalism

Healthy Living

You already know all the benefits to minimalism. Health, a cleaner home, less time spent reorganizing, less stress, etc. Sometimes it seems like you have to be rich to be minimalist. You really don’t, though. Not if you do it right. In fact, you can even save money. Here’s how.

Right now, this very moment, is a fantastic time to live in if you are interested in minimalism. Data storage is tiny and cheap, multi-function electronic devices are common, and almost every book, magazine or song is available for download. What once could only be stored in stacks and stacks of boxes or on shelves, can now be fit into a small pocket. That’s a real benefit for someone who is trying to be more minimalist.

I have been able to fit nearly my entire library into one SD card, and my music collection consists of four or five CDs plus several hundred songs in an 8 GB Mp3 player that cost $5 including shipping. My eReader cost $50. My computer maybe $300 and I’ve had it for about four years so far.

What has this done for me? Simplicity, even the basic level that I practice, allows me to support two adults in fair style on one income, even though I barely make over minimum wage. (Of course, I own my car, allowing low insurance rates, I don’t pay for cable, I found an apartment that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and my phones are $25 a line. That helps a lot. Even so, the principle is sound.)

My point here is that minimalism is easier to achieve with some of this modern technology and it can save you a bundle, in time, in storage space, and in money. It can be a great feeling when you walk into a neighbor’s house and think “wow, they have something on EVERY wall, and things stacked on EVERY surface. I couldn’t live like that!” Then you think “wait, I did live like that. I love my new life.”

I see it as freedom. Freedom from this:

You don’t have to turn your home into a monk’s cell to embrace minimalism.

Also, I won’t advocate getting rid of certain spare items. Sometimes stuff breaks, and you will be better off if you don’t have to buy a replacement right away. That’s what poor folk often do, poor folk like me, because we don’t have a spare wad of cash lying around. When you do keep spares, though, keep them in good order and keep them out of the way, such as in a labeled box. Know what you have, why you have it, and where it is. I have a few extra cooking knives in my drawer, and also my trusty (and old) eeePC in my desk in case the main PC has something happen to it. It doesn’t take up much space.

I took a hard look at my appliances and got rid of my food dehydrator, my juicer, and my printer. Print jobs are ten cents a page at the library on a high quality full color printer. My printer takes thirty or forty dollars to fill with ink, and then it expires before I even use it halfway. With the juices I drink, it would cost more to buy the fruit than just buy the juice. The food dehydrator was poor quality.

That brings me to another good guideline – if you buy something, buy the best quality you can afford. Ultimately, it costs less to buy better quality then to have something break. That saves money too, as well as headaches.

With these tips, and modified ideas from the innumerable other minimalism articles out there, you can save money and have a better life. The key is not to go ultraminimalist but simply be mindful in what you buy and why you buy it.

By contrast to the clutter I left behind, each bit of minimalism I find feels like this: