When I created Live Simply and started writing about how live a simpler life I was in a bubble. My RSS feeder was full of minimalist, healthy living, and simple living blogs. The books I was reading were Walden, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Simple Living Guide books, and pretty much anything that had to do with Stoicism. I was building pen pal relationships with other bloggers who had similar blogs and ideas.

I wasn’t just consuming this information I was practicing it as much as I could. I took part in the 100 item challenge. I meditated. I exercised. I ate well. Slowed down. And then I hit a plateau at about 2 months.

It seemed like everything I read was just a rehash of something else that someone else wrote. There were no new ideas in this sea of simple living articles. I too was guility of just writing about other peoples ideas just with my own little twist.

And so I stopped. Not because I wanted to stop practicing what I learned but because I became bored of reading the same thing over and over again.

This brings me to the question where – what  does the future hold for Live Simply. The answer is I do not know. I will likely write some posts when I feel like I have something unique to offer – but in no way will I maintain a ‘writing schedule’ simply to churn out boring and unoriginal articles. I truly want to help other people simplify their lives but I just don’t know how yet.

So what would you like me to do with this place? Here are a couple of ideas’s I have brewing.

• Make this a collective of Live Simply practitioner  to write blog posts. If this is the direction, I will require ORIGINAL ideas and content.
• Add a forum so people can discuss this stuff to their hearts desires.
• Provide Tools and Resources for people to Live Simply. What would be useful to you that currently is not out there?

I have opened up the comments to get your opinions.

“All things human are short lived and perishable” – Seneca

Contemplating the transient and impermanent nature of your life will give you richer, happier, and more significant daily experiences. This can be done by purposefully contemplating and thinking about difficult things. Scenarios like what if so-and-so past away unexpectedly, you lost your job, or your car was stolen. Doing so will give allow you to have greater appreciation for the people and things you value most.

The rub here is that we already think about these negative things passively and unintentionally everyday. We have these unsavory mental movies play when we are driving, in the shower, doing the dishes, or doing monotonous chores. It is a natural defense mechanism to help prevent bad things from happening. By purposefully thinking about things like – what would I do if a family member died – we prepare our selves for stopping them from happening.

The second rub is, most of these things are out of your control. Letting negative ideas run rampant through our minds has a negative affect on happiness. It is better to purposefully imagine them rather them just happen.

The trick is to purposefully (not just let happen) think about these negative scenarious so that we can have greater appreciation for everything that is in our lives. For example, 3 years ago I bought a vehicle that I have wanted for a very long time. I even took out a loan to get it. The first 6 months driving it was great but after that the honeymoon was over and I was onto wanting a different car. Since then I have sold the ‘dream car’ in place for $1,000 dollar cheap yet reliable car. I no longer worry about keeping my car in immaculate shape, whether or not it will be dinged, car payments, or wanting another nice car because I am bored of the one I have. This whole process of getting a loan, buying the car, and then selling it could have been avoided if I appreciated the car I already had. I hope the principles outlines below will help you avoid similar circumstances.

By purposefully contemplating negative things that can happen to you, to your loved ones, or your things can help you be less of a pessimist and more of an optimist. “By conssciously thinking about the loss of what we have, we can regain our appreciation of it, and with this regained appreciate we can revitalize our capacity for joy” – William Irivine.

What I did with the car was let negative thoughts and irrational wanting add stress to my life. Here are some strategies to help combat these types of things from happening to you and as a result lead a happier existence.

3 Principles to being happier that you can start now

Principle 1

Imagine loosing a loved one. Yes it sounds morbid but taking time thinking about loosing the things we value will make you value you them more. “We should love all of our dear ones…, but always with the thought that we have no promise that we may keep them forever- nay, no promise even that we may keep them for long.” -William Irvine. Understand that kissing your significant other, having dinner with your parents, or playing fetch with your dog may be the very last time you do it. And thats OK. Like I said in the opening sentence, our lives are transient and impermanent.

Take for example two dog owners. The first dog owner gets home at 5:00 P.M. everyday to his dog wagging his tail and very happy to see him (its the happiest moment of the dogs day). By routine he grabs the leash and takes him for a walk. It is more of a chore than something he enjoys doing. He does it more out of routine and responsibility than love. The second dog owner, gets home at 5:00 P.M. and is just as tired from a day at work but is excited because he gets to spend time with one of his best friends. He knows that his dog will only be around for a finite amount of time and that there are no guarantees that he will even be there when he gets home. He appreciates the very fact that he has the opportunity to spend more time with his dog.

Here we have two very similar situations yet also very different. Externally, they are both getting off of work and taking there dog for a walk. Internally, one is happy and one simply going about life. One dog owner appreciates the time he gets to share with his friend because he contemplates the uncertainty of the next time they can go for walk while the other dog owner is jaded and indifferent. Which would you rather be?

Principle 2

It is one thing to contemplate the limited time we have with the people and things we value but it is another thing to contemplate your own mortality. This advice is very much in line with Seneca’s Stoic philosophy when he said ‘Live as though this very moment was our last.’ This nugget of wisdom that has been around for centuries is well known but often misunderstood.

Imagine that you were given 1 week to live, what would you do? Likely travel, buy cool things, go to new places, spend time with loved ones, do things you have always wanted to do, and be overly extravagant. But that is not how this advice is intended. Seneca would want not want you to change your activity but rather your state of mind.

The reason why is you should already be living the life your ideal life, not waiting for something to happen to start it. Seriously, what are you waiting for?

Here is your though experiment. If you were given 7 days to live, would you change anything in your life? If so, identify the changes and start doing them.

Principle 3

The trick to being happy with our possession is to be happy with what we already have. Marcus Aurelius said ‘most of us spend our idle momenets thinking about the things we want. Instead, it would be better to think about the things we have.’ Nothing has changed much since he has been around. People will always want what they don’t have and when they get it they will want more. Everything we value and love will someday be lost. Or our own death will deprive us of them.

“The things you own end up owning you.” -Tyler Durden, Fight Club

Minimalist 101 is for the complete beginner who wants to learn how to adopt a minimalist lifestyle. Minimalism, in regard to lifestyle, is purposefully limiting your possessions and responsibilities to the bare necessities so you can focus on more important things.

Benefits of being a minimalist

Before you leave the path of material excess and board the journey of minimalism you’ll want to know some of the benefits that you can expect.

• More Time. The more you own the more time it takes to maintain and manage those things. If you have multiple cars that means more oil changes, maintenance, and paperwork. If you have more clothes it means more time doing laundry, shopping, and thinking about your wardrobe more often. If you have more electronics that means more time upgrading, updating, and thinking about your devices. Getting these things to the bare minimum will increase your time you can spend on other, more important things.
• Focus on experience. Since your reading this you are likely at a point where your possessions have become a burden. They eat up too much time and energy and make you feel stuck; as Tyler Durden said “The things you own end up owning you.” Being a minimalist will free up time, money, energy, and responsibilities which will give you the opportunity to be happier.
• More happiness, less stress. The old adage of less is more is unquestionably true.

What does it mean to be a minimalist?

Being a minimalist doesn’t mean you need to be frugal, reclusive, meditate, grown your own food, or go live in the mountains. Being a minimalist simply boils down to making a conscience decision to remove the unimportant things from your life so you can refocus your energy. You can do this in whatever capacity or however you want.

Should you choose to fully embrace the minimalist lifestyle there is a reverse keeping up the Joneses mentality to look out for. Just like many people who occupy a good deal of time with upgrading and buying new things, some minimalists will occupy copious amounts of time with reducing. Like it is some sort of competition to own less and less. This is the same sort of fixation on things we want to avoid.

Just remember not to get so caught up with this that you loose sight of why your originally started – to allow for more time and energy on the experiences that make you happy.

Letting Go

An integral part of becoming a minimalist is understanding and appreciating possessions for what they are for. They should be beautiful, functional, or both. Cultivating the mentality that things are just things is important for being able to be happy with very little.

Action Item 1 – Reducing Things

Now its to the practical advice about how to start on the path of being a minimalist. A good place to start is reducing your possessions.

1. Be vocal. Whether you have roommates, live with a significant other, or with family you should  let them know what you’re up to. Just tell them that you are doing some spring cleaning and getting rid of some junk.
2. One fell swoop. I’ve read and talked to a lot of people about getting started with being a minimalist and the general consensus is  to just start at one drawer, closet , box, or shelf at a time. What worked for me was to spend half a Saturday de-cluttering all of my living space and my car. In my last post 21 Simplicity Tips Everette Bogue used a metaphor and suggested to “have a bonfire – Take everything you own that you [and] haven’t used for more than a year plus and watch it melt away.”
3. Piles. Create two piles. One pile with the things you know you will get rid of. The other pile with things you are not sure about. With the ‘maybe’ pile just keep that in a closet for a month. Whatever you end up not using in that month likely you should get rid of it – unless its a seasonal item. Check out taking inventory of your things for more details about this step.
4. Dump. I donated about 90% of the stuff I was getting rid of and sold the higher prices items on Craigslist and ebay.
5. Repeat. After a few month I ended up going through the process again. There were a lot of things that I thought I needed but just never used. I now have less than 100 items. If your interested, you can see a list of all my stuff.
6. 1 in and 1 out. To avoid the hording mentality you can use the simple rule of 1 in and 1 out. For every personal possession you bring into the house, you can give away another item. It won’t work out exactly like that but it by keeping it in mind it will help avoid bringing to much stuff in.

Action Item 2 – Reduce Media – TV & Internet

Minimalism is not just about reducing physical clutter but also being mindful of how you spend your time. Part of being more focused is controlling which type and how much media you consume.

• Television. Traditionally, we got our stories from oral story telling. This has been replaced by digital media. In the American Time Use survey on average Americans spend half of their daily leisure time (2.8 hours) watching television. Substituting that 2.8 hours a day is a step in the right direction of re-purposing your time for activities that make you happy. Try canceling your cable. Selling your TV. Get a 1 movie at a time Netflix account. Anything to keep your screen time to a minimum.
• Computer. The internet is becoming the new TV.  Shows, Movies, Games, News, Social Media, Dating, Interaction, Reading, Writing, Communicating, Work. You can do it all online. Recently I took the plunge and canceled my at home internet service. I do all my writing in a basic Text editor and when I want to publish an article I just go to the coffee shop or library. My computer time is now much more productive because I don’t want to be at the coffee shop for a few hours every day. Instead I go 2-3 times a week for an hour at a time. I format my blog posts, schedule my twitter and Facebook updates, reply to email, read my RSS, and then leave. At home I now spend more time cooking, having company over, training my puppy,practicing ukulele, and reading more. Screen time is screen time – whether it be a TV, Computer, iPad, or smart phone.

Action Item 3 – Reduce accumulated Debt & Weight

Debt and Excess fat are the result of over indulgence. Getting rid of either of these involves changing habits and is not a quick change like the previous action steps. It takes months or years to make any significant impact on reducing these two.

• Debt. It took me 11 months of working 2-3 jobs at a time to pay off my CC, Car, and the remainder of my student loans. One of the benefits of being a minimalist was it made getting of debt much easier because it was easy being frugal. If you have debt being a minimalist will make getting out much easier. Keeping a low over head + making more money = pay off debt faster.
• Weight. Check out how I have easily stayed under 10% body fat for the last 3 years.

Action Item 4 – Spend more time doing what you love

This is the reason you’re developing  minimalist habits. It is not about perpetually reducing everything in your life but rather making room for more important things. Here are somethings I enjoy doing with my new free time.

• Learning Spanish and how to play the Ukulele.
• Rock climbing with my sister once a week.
• Getting out of town at least 2-3 times a month. Last weekend I went spear fishing and abalone diving for my first time.
• Taking my dog to lake more often.
• Having a date night with my girlfriend at least once a week.
• Reading more books and watching less TV.
• Writing more.

What about you?

If your a beginner and trying to form more minimalist habits what would you do with your extra time? For those who have been a minimalist for a while, what advice would you give to a beginner?

I’ve asked some of my favorite bloggers for their best simplicity tips that they use in their lives. Here is what they had to say.

1. Zen Habits and mnmlist – Leo Babauta

Knowing what’s important is always a good start — otherwise everything seems important, and you are constantly switching to new things. I pick something important, and clear away all other distractions. I like working in the early morning, when the world is quiet and asleep. I also use very simple tools — for writing, I use a simple text editor that does nothing but write. Last, it’s crucial that I immerse myself in my work, or whatever I’m doing, and enjoy it immensely. That makes everything else fade away, and I’m living in that moment alone.

2. The Art of Non-Conformity – Chris Guillebeau

Chris Guillebeau

The most important simplicity habit has nothing to do with how many items you own or how many times a day you check with email. The important thing is focus—do you know why you do the things you do? Are you working towards something over time, or just hopping from task to task? If you can bring focus and intention down to a laser-sharp level, you’ll be far more productive than everyone else… regardless of how many socks you own.

3. Location Independent – Lea Woodward

Lea Woodward

We follow the 80/20 rule when it comes to stuff – we know we use/wear 20% of our stuff 80% of the time so we use this knowledge to decide what we own and carry with us. A few things we do to keep our lives simple:

1) We make every purchase a conscious decision – which means that we always ask ourselves whether we really need something or really want it and think about how we’ll use it (and for how long) once we purchase it. It’s not just a financial thing but more a conscious effort not to fall into the trap of consumerism and buying things for the sake of a few, short-lived moments.

2) Whenever we buy something new, we try to give away something we already own – either recycle it, give it to charity or give it to a friend/family member

2) We declutter our living space (we don’t have a permanent home at the moment), our possessions and our digital stuff (hard drives & cloud computing apps) every few months to keep things streamlined and easy to find.

4. Lori Deschene – Tiny Buddha

Lori Deschene

I find that simplifying works best from the inside out. Here is what I am working on now:

Work on Simpler Thought Processes.

It’s estimated we have around 70,000 thoughts per day. This involves judging, analyzing, planning, assessing, regretting, worrying and ruminating.

In Everyday Zen, the author, Charlotte Joko Beck recommends breaking thoughts down into the simplest possible terms. If you feel angry with Bill, instead of telling yourself an elaborate story about that, think of it as it is: Me Anger Bill. And then try to let it wash over you. This way it doesn’t become a tornado of reactive emotions and thoughts.

I rarely break things down like that, but I work at keeping thoughts simpler to be more present in my life. If you can see a situation for exactly what it is, and minimize the internal story-telling, you’re much better prepared to live peacefully in the moment without fighting it.

Speak Your Mind.

I am about as transparent as a person can be. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I always express how I feel. By getting things out and talking them through, I minimize negative thoughts and the drama that often comes with relationships.

On the flipside, I need to work on how and when I share what’s on my mind. My boyfriend doesn’t need a play-by-play of my fears when he’s watching House, working on his screenplay, or walking into the bathroom. But the fact that we discuss and work through everything keeps our relationship simpler.

The same goes for relationships with friends and family. When you’re honest with yourself and other people, there’s less of the drama that makes relationships complex—less forming expectations, getting disappointed, mistrusting, projecting, and resenting; and more simply being and enjoying.

5. David Risley – Confessions of a Six Figure Blogger

David Rislet

My biggest advice would be to keep your workplace clean. Don’t leave crap all over your desk and stuffed in the cabinets. Don’t put things to the side and tell yourself “maybe I’ll get to it someday”. I find that the cleanliness of the space around you is reflective of the cleanliness of your mind. Clean your space and minimize some, and your mind feels fresher and more focused. Every time I’ve felt overwhelmed or not productive, if I stopped and looked around my office, I notice it is messy. Well, surprise surprise!

6. Everett Bogue – Far Beyond The Stars

Everett Bogue

Have a bonfire. Take everything you own that you haven’t used for
more than a year plus and watch it melt away. It’s so liberating to
watch anything with a huge and often useless psychological-pull burn.
Yes, you’ll cry. Yes, it will hurt. But in the end you’ll be free,
which is the end goal of simplicity anyway.

7. Jonathan Mead – Illuminated Mind

Jonathan Mead

I think one of the simplest and most useful habits I’ve developed is to not be committed… at the start anyway. It’s hard to reach your goals when you’re always looking at the end destination, and looking at how far you have to go. I’ve tried to take the habit of just committing to 5 or 10 minutes to getting started, and seeing what happens. If it flows, awesome! If it doesn’t, that’s fine too, I can move on. But most of the time it works incredibly well. Once you’ve gotten started, you’ve overcome inertia and can start building momentum. So, sometimes not being committed is more useful when it comes to reaching your goals.

8. Viral Marketing – Glen Allsopp

Glen Allsopp

My favorite simplicity tactic is to use a time schedule. Basically you start out each day with a list of your most important tasks, and you give yourself a time limit as to how long you can take to do them. If you go over that time limit, then you must stop, and move on to the next task. If you have free time later then you schedule that task in again. This makes you focus on the task at hand, as you only have so much time to do it. The key with this is to be strict with it.

9. Danielle – White Hot Truth

• I process my in-box to almost zero emails everyday. (Unless I’m on the road, in which case Iignore mostly everything so I can truly chill or get down to business.)
  

  Danielle LaPorte

• I very, very rarely do face-to-face meetings. Phone or Skype.
• I have DVDs delivered. In Canada, the best system is Zip.ca, in the US, it’s likely NetFlix.com. It’s ridiculous how much niggly stress this takes out of the day-to-day. (And my kid LOVES getting new movies in the mail!)
• I nurture my core friendships.
• I ruthlessly unsubscribe to anything that doesn’t inspire me.
• I liberally say “no thank you” — especially to “free” stuff

10. Pat – Smart Passive Income

Pat

One of the biggest distractions in my life is…myself. I find that if I think too much about something, whether it’s a potential business idea, or what to eat for lunch, I usually end up wasting time, not following through, or just settling for something less. To keep things simple, all I do is trust myself. In trusting myself and the actions that I take, I put peace to any type of war that is going on in my head, and I can move forward with business and in life. Of course, some self-questioning is mandatory (i.e. is this the right decision, or do I really want to eat that right now), but I try not to think too hard about those things, and trust that my experience will help me make the right decisions.

11. Amy – Harrison Amy

Amy Harrison

Being honest with myself about what really made me happy was the first step to a more simple life. When I finally did that, I turned down work I didn’t enjoy and stopped doing things on what I felt I “should” do.  It was scary, but it was the only way I could have more time and energy to focus on the people and things that really mattered. Now, when I’m working I’m excited and inspired by my clients and their passion. When I spend time with friends and family I’m much more present and appreciative of the moment. By basing decisions on whether it’s in line with my values rather than worrying if it’s the “right” or “wrong” thing to do makes life so much easier. Oh, and notebooks. I couldn’t live without my notebooks and planning my week ahead on a Sunday night.

12. Annabel Candy – Get in the Spot

Annabel Candy

If you’re busy then the best way to simpliffy your life is to set up some routines. It sounds dull but by setting up simple routines and getting organised I free up my time for doing the things I really want to do – writing and enjoying my family and the stunning beaches where we live.

I get up early so I can fit in my excercise and that doubles as my me time and mediation. I run a business so I prioritise paying clients to make sure they’re happy first. Writing proposals or visiting new clients comes next and finally other writing jobs.

I have three kids so I plan our meals up to two weeks in advance based on a simple rota of healthy, quick to make meals that most of us like – with 5 in the family it’s hard to find something everyone likes every night! I have a shopping list with all the ingredients and staples like washing up liquid and soap on it so I can just tick the boxes as I run out of stuff and buy in bulk. The list is organised according to the aisles in my supermarket so I spend less time shopping for food too.

I keep everything in a certain place so, for example, when we have karate I can just grab the karate bag without stressing and wasting half an hour looking for all the different karate bits and pieces for each child.

Little routines and plans like these have simplified my life and cleared my thinking. My mind isn’t cluttered with worrying about what we’re going to eat, what work needs to be done next or where my son’s reading folder is. It’s free to wander and enjoy the important things in life: people and creativity.

13. Marko – How to Make my Blog

Marco

Professionally speaking it was moving from a Windows computer to a Mac one. In terms of simplicity and minimalism macs are just so much better than Windows. And I don’t only mean the in terms of minimalism of the design, it is the whole operative system. It just helps remove all the distractions and get down to doing the real work. Would definitely recommend to anyone looking to work better.

14. Mars Dorian

Mars Dorian

I value focus more than anything else. Whenever I need something get done, I give myself a hardcore time limit (a stop watch !), which makes my focus laser-sharp. Every other distraction
gets ignored – only I and my task remain. Focus is my new religion – the quality of your focus shapes the quality of your life !

15. Kelly Kingman – Sticky Ebooks

Kelly Kingman

Harness the power of mornings and naps.
There’s nothing like the focus and creativity you have when you just wake up — before the concerns of the day have started to eat up your mental energy. I try to take at least 30 minutes every morning to sit down and create something — sometimes it is for the blog but often it’s just a freewrite (I love 750words.com for this). The key here is to not even open your email program or web browser before you do this. Smart phone users beware, it’s tempting to peruse email while munching granola, but as soon as you let your mind go down that path your focus splinters into too many directions.

I do my best to tackle my most important, creativity-demanding project early in the day while I’m fresh. If I can’t for some reason, a late-afternoon nap can give you a “second morning” later in the day, as long as you keep it short, about 20 or 30 minutes, because otherwise you run the risk of feeling groggy. It’s best to experiment with what feels right for you.

16. Joanna Penn – The Creative Penn

Joanna Penn

Decide on what you want for your life, your brand and your business, then focus on achieving that specifically. As your network grows online as a blogger, more opportunities come your way and you could spend a lot of extra time doing fantastic things that don’t actually contribute to your main goal. This can add complication and stress to your life and you may end up resenting the time you spend on these other things. So, every time you get a request from someone think about whether it adds to your main goal. This might be guest blogging or speaking at an event, an interview or joining in an online launch. If it doesn’t fit what you really want, then pass. Spend your time working towards that main goal without distraction.

17. Reese – Design by Reese

Reese

For the past year, I’ve used morning pages, a technique from the book The Artists Way to help declutter my life. Most days I try to write 3 pages, or approximately 750 words before I do anything else. Morning pages help me clear mental distraction and the cobwebs from my brain. The point of them is to spit out whatever comes to mind, and in doing so, you leave more room for your best thoughts, ideas and creativity to shine. What I’ve found it also helps me do is destress, gain control of the days task, and get perspective on conflict and issues. It’s probably the best tool I use in my arsenal to boost creativity and productivity. When I’m really lucky, the morning pages sometimes also lead to some of my best written pieces.

18. Tamar Weinberg – Techipedia

Tamar Weinberg

I am a big virtual worker, and I use a lot of web-based applications to make that happen. My biggest tool is just Gmail + Remember the Milk. I merge all of my email accounts into one single Gmail interface (I’m above the 7GB limit and am paying!) and use labels like crazy (but effectively). I use Remember the Milk like a calendar/to-do list. The Remember the Milk plugin for Gmail gives me a great snapshot of what I need to do everyday in a great familiar interface.

19. Matthew Frazier – No Meat Athlete

Matthew Frazier

Simplifying my exercise routine, particularly running, has had a major impact on my life, even outside of fitness.

I used to run with all these gadgets—iPod, GPS device, heart rate monitor, watch, fancy running shoes.  I thought I needed them to distract myself from the physical discomfort of exercise.

But when I got rid of all these things and just started running, a funny thing happened: the hour-plus each day that I spend exercising became my most mentally-productive time of the day.  I’ve found that after 20 or 30 minutes with just my thoughts, I get into this zone where everything clears away and I’m completely relaxed.  Most surprisingly, creativity absolutely flows during this time.  When I’m finished running, I feel rejuvenated rather than exhausted, and I can’t wait to get my ideas down on paper and turn them into reality.

What’s more, when the gadgets are gone, it’s so easy to just get out the door and make the time to exercise.  Minimalist, barefoot-style shoes like Vibram Five Fingers enhance the experience, physically and mentally, by letting you feel the ground as you run.  It’s much closer to the running that humans have done for so much of our existence.  It produces a primal feeling of satisfaction and contentment that modern running shoes just can’t give you.

20. Chris Lopez – Fit and Busy Dad

Chris Lopez

As I’m sure it is for anybody just starting out, living simply and with less, was a challenge – especially with a large family (my wife and I have 5 kids).  But with lots of focus and an understanding of what’s really important to us as a family, we’ve been able to really pare down to the essential and hopefully, at the same time, teach our kids about what really matters in life – family, health, creativity, experiences vs. possessions and compassion.

That said, there are several habits that I have worked hard at implementing into my daily practices to really allow me to focus and create a simpler and more manageable life and environment.  Here are some of the most important habits to me right now…

Becoming an early riser.With a hectic household, my golden time has been the hours between 5 and 7am. During this time the house is quiet and I am able to use my “fresh” mind to create, plan and write. It’s during this time that I come up with some of my best ideas and am the most creative.  Waking at this time and going through my morning routine also sets me up for my day. I am able to get more done in those 2 hours than most people can get done in an entire day.

Clear both your mental & physical desk. It is next to impossible for anyone to work when there is clutter. If your mind is full of ideas, thoughts, stressors or “to do’s”, the likelihood of you accomplishing anything of significance is low. When this happens to me, I do a simple exercise called a mind dump.  I write down everything that’s in my head at the moment and go through the list and slowly let go of anything that I cannot afford to worry about or take care of at the present moment.  It’s a very liberating exercise and frees my mind to allow myself to become more focused at the task that I want to accomplish.  In addition to that, I also make it a priority to keep my work surface free from distraction.  All I will have on my desk is my computer, keyboard, mouse, a lamp and a small potted plant.  No distraction means more focus in both the mental and physical realm.

Block your time. I have a set time to exercise and I don’t let anything (or anyone) distract me. I have a set time to answer emails and make phone calls, after that, I don’t look at emails or answer the phone at all (unless the call is from my wife or kids).  I have a set time to create everyday. It’s not so much about regimen or sticking to a schedule as it is about grouping like activities together.  That way, my mind is focused and in the right mindset to accomplish similar tasks.  I create and write in the morning (activities that require a fresh and focused mind). I communicate -answer emails and make phone calls – in the afternoon (activities that don’t require as much “brain power”).

21. Anastasiya Goers – Balance in Me

Anastasiya Goers

Set up priorities in life. I think that setting up priorities is the very first step to eliminating distractions in life. If you know what matters the most in your life then you can easily make the right choices, you can eliminate things that are cluttering your life and you can  find the right balance between what needs to be done and what you want to do. Things that tend to matter the most are health, family, money/career, spirituality/emotional balance, social activity, interests and hobbies (you can add anything else that matters a lot to you). If you can find just the right balance between all these areas then you can enjoy a full but not cluttered life.
The easiest way to set up priorities is to look at your life and ask yourself “What matters the most to me right now?” and “What will matter the most in 5, 10, 25 years?” Each action in your present should be a step towards your future that you will not regret. I think this is the key to living a simple and yet full life.

22. Yaro Starak – Entrepreneurs Journey (Late Edition)

Three years ago I made a big change that made my life MUCH simpler. I decided to focus on just one business – my blogging business. Prior to this I had several different websites in several different niches. At different stages in the last ten years I also had a proofreading business, an offline English school and a website devoted to a card game.

Summary

There is a plethora of great ideas about simplicity in this post. Here are some of the main themes that were repeated by many of the bloggers.

• Focus and immerse your self in your work. Remove distractions like computers, cell phones, and people and keep your work area clear of clutter.
• Own the bare minimum. If you haven’t used something in 6 months get rid of it.
• Wake up early. Get the most important tasks of the day before everyone wakes up.
• Block your time. Set specific time frames to do your most important work.
• Exercise. Keep it simple. Just some shorts, t-shirt, and shoes and go run and do body weight exercises.

“Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution” – Charles Darwin in The Origin of Species

In my previous post How to Get Under 10% Body Fat… And Stay There I touched briefly on the style of eating I have used to stay at 7% body fat for the past three years and in this post I will delve deeper in this style of eating so you can learn how to implement for yourself. It is often referred to as The Paleo Diet but it is also goes by the names  the paleolithic diet, caveman diet, stone-age diet, hunter-gatherer diet, and the ancestral diet.

In this post I will be using the word ‘diet’ regularly and is not meant to mean weight loss. Instead it will be used it was originally was used for – what someone habitually eats and drinks.

What is the Paleo Diet?

First off, the word Paleo is short for Paleolithic which is the era of time from 2.5 million years ago up to 10,000 years ago. This era ended when we began the transition from a nomadic hunter-gathering people to a stationary agricultural people that relied on farming and animal husbandry.

The Paleo Diet is the type of food that was available during that paleolithic era. This mainly consists of meats, vegetables, plants, fruit, nuts, and seeds.

Why the Paleo Diet?

Within the last 7 years I have experimented with a myriad of diets. I’ve weighed, measured, used supplements, counted calories and although they work and would recommend them in certain situations for certain people these tedious method of limiting caloric intake are not meant to be a lifelong habit. All of this time spent experimenting with various methods of eating eventually led me to try paleo and I have been using it for over three years now.

Cordain, the most well know paleolithic nutrition researcher, writes “Our genetic make-up [is] shaped through millions of years of evolution [and it] determines our nutritional and activity needs. Although the human genome has remained primarily unchanged since the agricultural revolution 10,000 years ago, our diet and lifestyle have become progressively more divergent from those of our ancient ancestors.”

Furthermore, “the principle that if an animal or plant is removed from its natural habitat, or if the environment changes in some significant way, it is likely that it will be less well adapted to the new conditions, and will consequently show some signs of physiological or behavioral maladjustment. This principle applies to all species including Homo sapiens (source).” We are now removed from our natural habitat. For the first time in our lineage we eat large quantities of to grain, processed food, sugar, and on average have become much more sedentary. Our bodies were thrust into a new environment so quickly by the rise of our civilization and technology that natural selection was put in the way side and left us stranded in a new habitat left to figure out the best way to not just survive but also thrive.

Herein lies the issue that we face today. How do we eat and move in an environment where the default mode of diet and exercise is not in line with our genetic make up? The answer is to move and eat like a hunter-gather would have. The art and difficulty with this solution is to navigate this diet without it compromising your social life, staying consistent with paleo food choices, and becoming well versed at cooking with a new style of eating.

I have stuck with paleo and will stay with it for a few different reasons other than the theorizing.

• I can eat as much as I want as long as it is one of the approved foods; though there are a few exceptions to this that I discuss below
• No need to measure.
• Its fresh, delicious, and tasty!
• There is no guilt or second guessing.
• I am in great shape! Check out picture in the about page.
• It is easy and simple to follow once you get into the rhythm.

Here are a few reasons why you would want to use The Paleo Diet.

• Loose weight quickly (Österdahl).
• Maintain weight loss (my personal experience).
• Reduce acne (Cordain).
• Long term use can help prevent the ‘Western Diseases’ (Eaton).

Criticisms

Like any style of eating there are opponents, and the Paleo Diet is no exception. Taylor write that The Paleo Diet “can be highly restrictive, socially disruptive, and expensive ” Here are my counter points:

• On it being highly restrictive: Yes it is. It restricts your options and choices to only healthy foods. It makes shopping for food simpler because only about 5% of whats in the grocery store in natural-whole food.
• On it being socially disruptive:  I go to bars, parties, events, and do a lot of hiking, travel, road trips, and camping. Limiting my self to meats and plants does not impede on my social life. I will sometimes use these outings to splurge but more often I make do with Paleo with as much ease as my western-diet-consuming counterparts. Side note – do not become some sort of food elitist just because you are eating healthy, no one likes that person.
• On being expensive: I have been using Mint (online financial software) since October of 2007. My monthly average for groceries since than is $204. This also includes things like soap, dog food, tooth paste, and other house hold items so the actual average for spending at a grocery store is about $180 a month for food. I also spend about $50 a month at the farmers market so I’ll put the cost of food for 2 people at $230. $115 a month to feed a person in the US is well very reasonable.

8 Rules for Starting and sticking to it

If you are interested in giving the Paleo Diet a shot here are some guidelines to get you started.

1. Clear out all of the food from you kitchen that did not exist before we had agriculture. If you can dig it from the ground, pick it from a tree, or kill it with a stick than you can keep it in the house.
2. Start experimenting with new recipes and pick a few from the Resource list at the bottom of this post and get the ingredients from the store.
3. While you’re at the grocery store pick up some other meats, veggies, fruit, and nuts that you like for snacks.
4. If you are unclear about if something constitutes paleo than take a look at this list of approved foods.
5. Fluid intake should have no calories. Water, tea, and black coffee are good. Despite its not Paleo, 1-2 glasses of red wine a few nights week have been shown to be healthy.
6. Check out your local farmers market.
7. Look into some local Community Support Agriculture programs and get a share of your a local farms crop each week.
8. Earlier in the post I mention that you can eat as much as you want but there were some exceptions. The exceptions are Nut & Seeds. If you are working on weight loss than it would behoove you not to consume to many of these. It is easy to consume half a pound of almonds just by keeping them with you through out the day. Keep it to a hand full a meal.

Cutting Costs

If you let it get out of hand eating all whole and natural foods can be expensive – but so can eating processed and unnatural foods. Here are a few ways to keep costs low and quality high.

• Meat is by far the most expensive part of the budget for this sort of diet and buying in bulk is the way to go. Here in the Bay Area there is Costco but any place you can buy groceries in bulk should work. I’ll go to about once a month and stock up steak, ground beef, chicken, and seafood.
• When it comes to nuts Costco is your friend again. I like the Walnuts and Macadamia nuts.
• I buy most of my produce from the farmers market. There are a few reasons I do this.
  • I like eating produce that is in season because it tastes better.
  • It supports local farmers.
  • Its usually cheaper than the grocery store.

Other habits to help you live longer and be happier

Only 10% of your genes determines how long yo will live, that other 90% is lifestyle. Only 1 in 5,000 people make it to 100 years old. After some studying and research about populations of centenarians, here are some lifestyle habits they all  have in common.

• Plant based diet.
• Stop eating when you are 80% full.
• Have a purpose after your ‘working career’ is over. Is your life totally consumed by your work? What do you plan to do when the job is done? Have a reason to wake up in the morning. You need a purpose beyond your career.
• Another thought is not to retire. “Evidence shows that in societies where people stop working abruptly, the incidence of obesity and chronic disease skyrockets after retirement,” says Luigi Ferrucci, director of the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.
• Have a core group of friends through childhood to old age. Many centenarians kept the same friends from their chilhoold all the way up to they died.
• A common denominator between centenarian populations is that none of them exercise like we perceive it. Instead there life is set up so that move naturally doing everyday routines. These include walking to the store and carrying groceries, using stairs daily, and gardening.
• When they do some sort of exercise it is something they enjoy like biking, hiking, or swimming.
• Floss everyday. There is a correlation between the amount of bacteria in your mouth and the rate of thickening of your arteries.
• Consume whole foods, not supplements.
• Drink red wine & green tea.
• Belong or participate in some sort of spiritual community.
• Be outgoing. People who are social and outgoing are more likely to live longer due to lower amounts of stress hormones.
• Don’t smoke.
• Have babies later on in life.
• Sleep 7-8 hours a night. This is imperative to the healing process and longevity of cells.
• Laugh more! Those with a sunny disposition manage stress better
• Do some sort of mental activity everyday. Reading, taking classes, meeting new people, travel, new hobbies, getting better at your current hobbies, learn a new language, writing, and musical instruments.
• Take in omege 3 fatty acids. Preferably from fish.

Gerneral Information about Paleo

• Neanderthin (Paleo) life style
• PaleoDiet.com
• The Paleo Diet
• Introduction to the Paleolithic Diet
• Robb Wolf
• EvFit

Paleo Recipes and food information

• My Paleo Kitchen
• Eat, Move, thrive
• Paleo Food
• Everyday Paleo
• Marks Daily Apple

Paleo Books

• The Paleo Diet: Loose weight and get healthy by eating food you were designed to eat
• The Paleolithic Solution
• The Paleo Diet for athletes

Until recently, human diets consisted of combinations of wild animal carcasses (including brains, bone marrow, and organs), shellfish, fish, fruits, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, insects, larvae, nuts, and seasonal honey and eggs. These dietsprovided balance in critical metabolic processes, favored health, and allowed our ancestors to thrive, reproduce, and pass theirgenes to subsequent generations . Modern humans are physiologically adapted to the diets of our ancestors, which shaped our genetic makeup (Cordain).

For a while now I have mulling over the idea of getting rid of my cell phone because I have come to realize how much of a distraction it was for me. Luckily, my dog Dexter sensed this growing unease the phone gave me and made the executive decision by chewing up my iPhone. When I came home one afternoon and found remnants of the phone spread throughout the living a room a sense of relief came to mind; not a sense of frustration that I would have undoubtedly had only a year ago.

Some Background About Myself and my old job

Going backwards in time briefly so that can I tell you a bit about myself and my previous job. For four years I worked in a high stress, demanding, start up company in the Bay Area that offered Microsoft Exchange Email Hosting to Businesses. My role in the company was managing and training the entire technical support team, training the technical support teams of our partners who resold our services, and took all the escalated technical support cases that my team could not solve. Since it was an enterprise class email hosting company it was expected of me to answer emails within a few minutes during office hours and answer emails and phone calls within the hour in my off hours. Since this was my first salary and career oriented job I just did it because I thought I had to.

When I left that job a year ago to finish college (I wasn’t able to work and go to school at the same time) I took with me the habit of constantly getting updates from my phone all day and night even though I wasn’t being paid to do it.

I spent a year after that job hooked to my iPhone just like I had been while working with the company. Instead of answering work emails and calls I was staying up to date with friend’s status updates, browsing the web, downloading apps that just wasted more time, and watched videos.

This was until (like I mentioned earlier) my dog ate it.

Back To Now.

The last month without a phone has been surprisingly easy sailing. I thought it would have been much more difficult to go from 8 years with some sort of cell phone at all times to not having one at all.

When he chewed the phone I was only a week away from going on vacation for 2 weeks and now a week has gone by after vacation and still am with out a cell phone and there is no sense of loss, withdrawal, or missed connections or opportunities. I thought that no cell phone would make me some sort of recluse but in fact I am starting to form habits of go out and be more social.

Socializing aside, I find that with one less medium that ‘updates’ me whenever someone wants to get a hold of me has allowed me to be more focused. When I’m at dinner, a bar, friend’s house, writing, reading, hiking, or any other activity I pay much more attention to what’s going on. When I had a phone I wasn’t rude like text messaging while at dinner but it was always in the back of my mind that it would be something I would have to check once dinner was over. In retrospect, the anticipation of having to check my texts, missed calls, and voicemails created stress in my life – a stress that I didn’t even know existed until it was gone.  I have a gut feeling that if I were to get rid of my Facebook, that same realization about a unknown stress would surface; but that’s for another day and article.

The most enjoyable change in my behavior is an increased ability to pay rapt attention to one singular thing at a time. If I am loving, I am loving. If I am writing, I am writing. If I am washing dishes, I am washing dishes. Focused.

Why You May Want to Go Without a Phone

I’ve only gone without a cell phone for a month but there are a few things I have learned that may give you cause to consider ditching yours. If you have some more reasons I’d love to see them in the comments.

1. The cost. Though this was not a huge factor for me it may be a consideration for some. Ignoring the upfront cost of purchasing the phone, I was still paying about $90 a month for calling, text messaging, and data; about $1,080 a year. I assure you this extra 1k of money will go somewhere in my life that will be of much higher value.
2. How much time do you actually spend talking? I for one only spent a few hundred minutes a month actually using the phone for talking. The rest of the time was spent checking mail, Facebook, watching videos, and using apps. I have easily replaced talking on the phone with spending more time with people in person and other forms of mediums of communication.
3. Intermittent distraction all day.  I didn’t realize it till now but I did not like all the little updates and messages from my phone all day. One less thing to check on and steal my attention.
4. A phone is for your convenience, not the callers. A personal trainer friend of mine always leaves his phone in this gym bag or with the ringer off and only checks it when he wants to. I was talking to him the other day about how I’m going without a cell phone and he said that he learned from his mom that a phone is for his convenience, not the callers. Just by owning a phone it creates this false sense of obligation to answer every call and text as it comes in.

Understandably this is not a viable option for everyone. You may need to be there for your kids or require to be on call for work. A possible alternative is to downgrade your phone to something that just has text and voice. This may help you reduce the amount of distractions a phone can bring with the internet and apps.

How To Thrive and Live Simply With a Mobile Phone – Alternatives

When you voluntarily relinquish certain possessions (or in my case have them chewed up) from your ownership it sometimes takes planning and possibly forfeiting certain conveniences in order to gain more control of your time so you can concentration more important things. Here are some ways I have replaced certain functions of the phone to being online or omitting them from my life.

1. Voice Mail. I signed up for a free Google Voice account. How it works is you get a free phone number from Google and whenever someone calls that number all of the phone numbers you attach to it are called at the same time. So if someone were to hook up their office phone, cell phone, and home phone all of them would ring at the same time if someone called the Google Voice phone number. If none of the phone numbers are picked up and the caller leaves a voice mail it is sent to the Google Voice account which you can set up to your email address.
2. Texting.When I had a phone I would probably get 500 text messages to one voice mail. Most of those text messaging conversations could have been done with a 1 minute phone call, email, or just plain better planning. I do not think it is necessary to have a medium of short written communication that goes everywhere I go. I choose to omit text messaging and just have people send me a message on Facebook.
3. Talking. I’m trying to minimize this as much as possible. I would much rather have face time with someone then be on the phone. Over the last month I haven’t needed to use a phone other than when I’m at work. Should I get to the point where it becomes to inconvenient I will probably use Skype.
4. Social Media. I currently use Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. I love not carrying these media outlets with me in my pocket. Even if I didn’t check them there was always this nagging feeling that I could when I ever I wanted to. You are probably familiar with that feeling.You are working on something that requires critical thinking and when a tough problem comes up you reach for your Facebook icon because it is easier. It is now much easier for me to sit down, concentrate, and have more focus – allowing me to finish tasks faster.
5. Google Maps.  Google maps is something that was very useful for me. Fortunately I have a GPS in the car and can just as easy use that.
6. Web Browsing. When something came to mind or to my attention I would frequently just look it up right then and there. Over the last month there have been a few times where I wanted to look something up but that shouldn’t be a reason to carry a phone. If I need to remember something I will just write it down in my mini moleskin and look it up later.

More posts like this

I really enjoyed writing this post. I like the idea of picking one belong at a time and breaking it down to its bare utilities and functions so I can make a more informed decision on whether or not it adds enough value to my life to keep in my ownership. If you have any suggestions of other items to have an entire post dedicated to please leave it in the comments.

It’s easy to get caught up with the minutia of daily living and to fritter your time away on things that detract you from maximizing your happiness and purpose. Years are spent in a state of mind that has a ambiguous path where the destinations along the way are things in which contribute to more complex living. A wiser path would be inherently simpler so that the journeys purpose is to live for rich experiences.

A few reasons why we tend to have unnecessary complexity in our lives.

• A false sense of what we think will make us happy. Many of us grew up in an environment where success is evaluated by a job, salary, house, car, wardrobe, and general adherence to the mentality that the more you have the happier you will be. If you are reading this you may have already figured out that having more is not directly correlated with happiness.
• I’ll be happy when I have...  Lifestyle inflation is the perpetual increase of adding creature comforts to your life. Always upgrading to the next best thing. A new phone every 6 months, a new car every 2 years, and bigger and bigger houses to fit everything in. It takes up so much precious time to support this sort of lifestyle; time that can be better spent traveling, going out with friends, and enjoying life rather than supporting your possessions.
• Not knowing what makes you happy. All of this simplifying is done for a reason. So you can spend more time with the things that make you happy.  Figure that out so that when you have more time and resources you know where to put them.

The purpose of a simpler life is to minimize distractions so that you can focus as much time as possible on the things in life that you believe will make you happy. For me that is family, friends, travel, and good health. I am gearing my life so that I can focus as much time and energy into those things. Check out why you should live simply.

In order to reap the benefits of simplifying you need to know that it is a process. It took many years to get to a certain level of complexity so it will take time to get to a certain level of simplicity. Depending on where you are this can be a few days or a few years. A person like my cousin, a 20 year old rock climber, was able to pick up and go live in Central America for 3 months because of minimal commitments and things. We all have varying levels of commitments that require our time but generally the less you have the more flexible you can be.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.  It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.”  ~E.F. Schumacher

Do you want to start making changes so that you can lead a simpler life but do not know where to get started? Here are 100 Tips, Tricks, and Hacks on how to start living a simpler life.

1. Downgrade your iPhone, Android, Blackberry or whatever smart phone you have. Replace it with something that only has the ability to text and make phone calls and if you’re feeling up to it disable your voice mail. Is it really necessary to have a life line to your Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and 5 email addresses where ever you go? Could you go without a cell phone? After years with these phones I am happily cell phone free. Read about how I broke my iPhone addiction.
2. Consolidate everything to one computer. If you have old ones lying around try to sell them or donate them.
3. Put everything you own online. I like having the mentality that if I threw my laptop out the window and never saw it again I could pick up a new one the next day and have all my files readily available. Google Docs for the office files. Flickr for the pictures. External hard drive for the music. Or, use Dropbox for everything. There are a million and one ways to store your stuff online, this is the combination I use and it works for me.
4. Get all of your icons off your desktop. All they are is digital clutter. Create a file stricture that works for you and stick to it.
5. Have your browser open to a blank window with no URL. If you want to search for something just type it into the URL box.
6. Cancel your cable service and use Hulu or Netflix On Demand.
7. Ask your self: Is the lifestyle you have supported by payments, maintenance, and attending your time to expectations of others? If the answer yes then pay off you’re debts, sell the things that require your time and don’t contribute to you’re happiness, and quit obligations that you don’t need.
8. Clear off you’re desk. Only have on it what you absolutely need on it to complete what you’re working on. Less distractions will mean better focus. Right now all I have is my laptop and tea in front of me.
9. Get a $20 used bike from Craigslist and use it to get groceries, go to the park, go to the gym, or go to work if its close. You’ll get more exercise and save money on gas.
10. Get rid of all the things you don’t use. Check out how to simplify your things by taking inventory.
11. Get a money clip and just carry around your license and debit/credit card(s). Do you really need to take that buy 10 get 1 free Sushi roll card everywhere you go?
12. Be cognizant of Parkinson’s Law and how it applies to your life. It states that “Work expands so as to fill time available to its completion.”  This can also be correlated with your space. The more space you have in your backpack, shelf, closet, trunk, drawer, room, house, or land the more likely you are to fill it with things. Just because you have empty space doesn’t mean you need to fill it. Just because you have 8 hours of time to work doesn’t mean it should take you that long.
13. Consolidate your banking accounts to the bare minimum. For most, this will be a checking account, Credit card, high Yielding savings account, and some sort of retirement account like a Roth IRA or 401k. I like to use one credit card for everything to rack up travel miles and pay it once a month.
14. Don’t be Fat. I know i’m being harsh, but seriously. If you are working towards a simpler life and you are overweight than eating more food that you need is a vestige of a life that errs on the side of materialistic excess. Check out How To Get Under 10% Body Fat… And Stay There.
15. Unplug from your earphones.  Spend some time enjoying your surrounds by being able to use all your senses. Use this time for reflection, thinking, and saying to people walk by.
16. Focus on one thing at a time. As I am writing this the only thing on my desktop is a blank text document on my laptop. No web browser, phone, email, or people. The only thing distracting me from writing these words are my own thoughts.
17. Bulk grocery shopping. I use to go to the grocery store 3-4 days a week and now go 1-2 times a month meat and odds and ends. Once a week i’ll get to the farmers market to get my produce.
18. Create a car maintenance schedule and add it to your calendar. Eventually I will get to the point where I don’t need a car but currently have one. I added the maintenance schedule to my Google calendar and set it up email me when I need it serviced for something other than an oil change as I do those my self.
19. DVD’s, CD’s, and Books – Oh my! It seems almost fashionable to have a book shelf of all the media you have but how much of it do you actually use? Get your Movies On Demand. Music from iTunes or Amazon. And for Books, save the ones you will reread or refer to. Consider a ebook reader. Or best yet, start using the library.
20. Add your number to the do not call list.
21. Resign from commitments that deter you from your goals.
22. Drink Yerba maté when you need to concentrate. The chemical composition of Yerba Mate has a unique blend of natural chemicals called xanthines. Unlike many other teas who simply stimulate the central nervous system Yerba Mate has a relaxing effect on smooth muscle and a stimulating effect for myocardial tissue. I find that it helps me focus for longer stretches of time.
23. Eat simply. Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, and Seeds. Avoid drinks with calories.
24. Go comando. Its much more comfortable, less things to wash, and less things to own.
25. Know This: Reducing frills and luxaries in your present lifestyle will lead to an emphasis on the beauty and joy of living.
26. Ask your self: Do the things you own promote activity and self reliance or does it lead to passivity and dependence?
27. Purge your stuff. This is the first big step simplifying your life is to take control of your things rather then them take control of you. Start with three boxes. One for garbage, one to donate or sell, and one to keep. Use this method without mercy on every cabinet, drawer, closet, shelf, and trunk you have. After a few weeks go through and purge again.
28. Move to a smaller place. If you’ve gone through a huge purge and found yourself with extra space then a new place may bode will with your newly found minimalist tendencies and help stave off more clutter in the future.
29. Slow down. You don’t need to meditate to relax. Stand still in the shower for a few minutes. Concentrate on your breathing when doing the dishes or laundry. Spend a few minutes with your dog just brushing its coat. Act calm, collected, and mindful when ever possible. When we are tense we tend to hold our breath. Relax. Breath.
30. Spend less than you make. Don’t overcomplicated this, just be consistent with your plan. Try and get to the point where you can save half of your income.
31. Keep your weekends free.
32. Wake up early. Use this time for exercise. You will feel better all day.
33. Identify the things that complicate your life. Take a few minutes and write a list of the things that are unnecessary and distracting. Think about your nutrition, fitness, technology, people, finances, and work. Then identify what you want to accomplish in each of those categories. Now, only do the tasks that will help you accomplish your goals with each.
34. Buying new things. When something new comes in try to have it replace something or else you will just start the process of accumulation again.
35. On Drama. Every organization or community has drama and you will naturally come to know some. Just keep it to your self and remember that “Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; and simple minds discuss people.” Yes I advocate simple living but not simple thinking.
36. Focus on creating. Spend time creating everyday. Music, Writing, Poetry, Art, Graphic Design, Coding and other creative and artistic endeavors. Don’t just consume.
37. Go outside. Your lunchtime shouldn’t be spent at your desk. Eat outside. Walk. Run. Bike. Practice your art. Eat with friends. Do errands that you would have to do after work. Whatever it is just get away from the desk.
38. Unsubscribe. You are getting emails, RSS, newletters, mail, phone calls, and social media updates that act as bombardment of distractions through out the day. For the love of god control these thing as I bet they are controlling you.
39. On Frugality. Simplifying your life doesn’t necessarily mean to live frugally. The focus is to be outwardly simple so that you can be inwardly rich. I spend just as much money now then I did a year ago. Instead of it going to things it now goes to experiences.
40. Don’t take part in conspicuous spending. Instead, buy things that add happiness to your life rather than status symbols.
41. Know this: If the task at hand does not contribute to or enrich the things that are most important to you then it a impediment to your happiness and inner growth.
42. Empty your trash. Its weird but it feels good to have an empty trash right? Its like taking a shower and washing the  day off you. Just one of those quirky little things that feels good.
43. Weekly Media fasts. Have a day or two each week where you don’t check your email, Facebook, or phone. The purpose is two fold. First, to enjoy that day. Second, if you can’t spend a day without those things than its time to re-prioritize some things in your life.
44. Quote: “With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meager life than the poor. The ancient philosophers, Chinese, Hindoo, Persian, and Greek, were a class than which none has been poorer in outward riches, none so rich the inward.” Thoreau
45. Stop and chat. How often has someone started talking to you and you all you could think of is how to get out of the conversation? Yet you had nothing pressing to occupy your time with next. Let people talk and listen to them.
46. Create forward motion in your life. Don’t think it will just happen by itself. Seek out new job opportunities. Become a freelancer. Become something that you are interested in. Do it on the side and maybe you will succeed or maybe you wont. If you don’t, find something else and try again. It may take a few bumps till you get something that works. It doesn’t need to be what you’re passionate about, just something different. If you’re the type of person who has dozens of passions likely there a just dozens of superflous interests. Passion comes after mastery, not before.
47. On Toil. The masses of people toil and fritter their time to satisfy a lifestyle that is based on things. Do work that helps others while supports a lifestyle that is based on experiences and happyness.
48. Make the choice to live simply. Recognize that a radical change in what you value (experience rather things) can make a beneficial impact on your world view.
49. Bring your own lunch to work. Its healthier, cheaper, and saves time.
50. Explore the tiny house movement for inspiration.
51. Explore the 100 items or less movement.
52. You don’t have to be a monk, spiritual, or be in poverty to be dedicated to a simple life.
53. Know what you will do with your extra time. You’ve gone through and got rid of things and cleared your schedule, now what? Start looking at the things that are most important to you and pay rapt attention to them. For me, I want to be a better writer so I spend time in the morning and evening and just writing.
54. On Replying. Don’t. Every reply you send will likely mean another in return. Emails, Tweet, Text, Voicemails, and so on. These tools that make things simpler end up complicating communication by means of excess.
55. On Travel. One of the great benefits on being a minimalist and living simply is the ability to move easy and travel light. Last winter I spent 3 months in Washington and Tacoma snowboarding and working from home and now am getting ready for a year long bike tour through central and south america. If I had too many payments and things that required my attention this sort of living would only be a fantasy.
56. On Letting Go. Let go of materialistic attachments.
57. Web surfing. Once in the morning and once in the evening. This includes your RSS, Social Media, email, and just general fucking around. All the other time should be focusing on other things. You don’t need plugins, widgets, or programs to mange your time or block certain content, just have the will power to do it your self.
58. On Gratitude. If you are grateful for things you have you are likely to be content with less.
59. You will be happy when…. you have a house, car, boat, motorcycle, or a 1 week vacation. What will happen is you will get that shinny new thing and just want more. Instead, learn to love not having things.
60. Try new things. “The core of a mans spirit comes from new experiences” – Christopher McCandless aka Super Tramp.
61. Impressions. Focus on impressing people with who you are rather than what you own and adorn yourself with.
62. Your ‘favorite’ TV shows. If you insist using your precious time on television shows then try to get them On Demand through Hulu, Netflix, or iTunes. You will be able to watch them when you have free time instead of making an evening around it. You will also cut down on commericials.
63. Habits. Change one habit at a time. Want to loose weight? Instead of focusing on weight loss focus on getting fitter. Athleticism before Aesthetics. Spend  4 weeks just on the exercising. After you have established that in your routine start working on another habit. One step at a time.
64. Stop incoming letters. Just like limiting your email you should try to limit mail as well. Getting rid of it all together is best. This includes catalogs, bank statement, magazines, utililities, and so much more. Most of this stuff can be handled online and automated.
65. On Legacy. Other than your close friends and family, who will remember you? What have you contributed to making this a better place. Again, do work that helps others.
66. Its not about quality over quantity. Its about necesesity. Its no use buying something that is stylish and well built if you don’t need it. I have a $300 doller netbook that weighs 2 pounds. Yes, a Macbook would be nice but since the only thing I use the computer for is writing it is not necessary.
67. Hold hands when you walk with your partner.
68. Keep a notepad on the refrigerator. When you remember there is something you need to get from the grocery store or you are running low on something just add it to the list. When you’re ready to go to the store just tear it off and bring it with you.
69. On Solitude. Frequently just spend time to your self. This could be for an hour or a weekend. It will be a good time to reflect, clear the clutter in your mind, and focus on self development and where you should be focusing your energy.
70. Wardrobe. Stick to a style and stay with it. Go for more natural colors as it will be easier to match. You should impress people with who you are rather than what you’re wearing. Superfluous clothes begets superfluous tendencies.
71. Trouble with impulse buying? Use the 30 day rule. When ever you get the hankering to buy something that is not a necessity just hold off for a month. After a month it just may be something that is more than a passing impulse.
72. Explore Barefoot running. Its better for your running technique if you use the POSE running method.
73. Reading at length. Increasingly people are reading fewer books which is having a negative impact on our linear thinking. We are reading more and more short messages. Texts, blog posts, updates, and articles. We are accustomed to bouncing around from one fact or thought to another  This degrades our attention span and critical thinking, making it increasingly difficult to follow one piece of writing for an extended amount of time. After 2 pages you may start to fidget, check your phone, or start skimming. When you are ready to sit down for a book or long article turn of the internet, phone, and TV and just focus. Were you able to make it through this whole article without being distracted?

“Plain Living and High Thinking” ~ William Wordsworth

Here some of the most useful minimalist blogs I have read over the last few months that have been helpful to me in leading a simpler life. They are in no particular order.

Minimalist and Simplicity Blogs

1. Mnmlist and Zen Habits. by Leo Baubata.
2. Far Beyond The Stars by Everette Bogue.
3. Rowdy Kittens by Tammy Strobel and Logan Smith.
4. Becoming Minimalist by Joshua Becker.
5. Step 1 Minimalist by Brett.
6. Exile Lifestyle by Collin Wright.
7. Unclutterer by Erin Doland.
8. Miss Minimalist by Francine Jay.
9. Abundance Blog by Marelisa Fábrega.
10. Simply Minded by Dave.
11. Simplifi.de by Barbara and Luke.
12. Stone Soup by Jules Clancy.
13. The Simpler Life by Sam Spurlin.
14. Be More with Less by Courtney Carber.
15. The Art of Great Things by Jeffery Tang.
16. The New Pursuit by Bill Gerlach.
17. Minimalist Zucchini by Minimalist Zuchini.
18. We Live Simply by Jonathan Blundell.
19. Minimalist Life by Abhishek Mukherjee.
20. You, Simplified by Charley.
21. The Minimal List by Naomi.
22. On Simplicity by Sara.
23. Think Simple Now by Tina
24. The Simple Dollar by Trent Hamm.
25. Simple Mom by Tsh Oxenreider.
26. The Happiness Project by Sonja Lyubomirsky.
27. Simply Enough by Tabita.
28. Minimal Student by Jessica
29. Live Simple by John December.
30. Choosing Voluntary Simplicity by Shirley.

Feel feel to contribute some of your own to the comments.

“Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary because health is worth more than learning.” ~Thomas Jefferson

Over the last seven years I have gone from a skinny soccer playing 130lb, to a 200lb semi-chubby weightlifter, and now for the past three years a lean 160lb with 7% body fat – thats me doing the handstand. Each of these body types I developed with specific training and eating. I have learned through experience how to put weight on, take it off, and now maintain it. What I find interesting in retrospect is how similar everything is even when training for different goals. For example, I found that performance was always the best when eating real food and that the same basic movement like squat, jump, run, push, and pull were used in all the training protocals; the only thing that changed was volume, weight, and repetitions.

I want to share with you what has worked for me over the years so that you can more easily get to your fitness goals without having to sift through all the bullshit like I had to do.

Here are a few key points i’d like to make clear.

• I don’t take supplements, legal or illegal.
• I don’t count calories or measure my food.
• I workout 4-5 days a week for less than an hour.
• I don’t weigh my self or measure myself in any way.
• The only workout machine I use is a rower.
• I do not claim to be the originator of any of the Health and Fitness advice. I am only a practitioner of other peoples advice and I’ve organized it in a way that has worked well for me.
• I think leading a physical and healthy life is paramount to my happiness and wellbeing along side with giving me a better a chance of being functional and able bodied in my old age.
• I think only running, only biking,  only weightlifting, or only doing one thing is not a optimal way to move your body and that a 100% focus for too many years on any one exercise movement will not only lead to deficiencies in your physical capacities but also lead to overuse injuries down the line.

Goals

You will need to know you what you want to accomplish in the short term and longer term. This is essential. You will never get anywhere unless you know where your going. An example of a short term goal would be something performance related that can be achieved in 3-6 months like run a marathon or squat 2 times your body weight. A more long term goal is 1-3 years and would to be around your ideal body weight for optimal health. If your not sure what weight you should shoot for then check out this VERY basic estimator for a ball park number.

Eating

This is where we start getting into the nitty gritty details. I will offer this disclaimer now. If you have no intentions in changing your eating habits then this post will be of no use to you. The style of eating I use and has worked well for me is called Paleo. This is short for Paleolithic, which was a period in our history that was the era right before our agriculture revolution about 10,000 years ago. You can eat any food that would have been availalable to someone that lived in this Paleolithic era. If you can pick it from a tree, dig it up from the ground, or kill it with a stick then its fair game. This will include meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. This does not include breads, dairy, or anything processed. Here are some of the more finer details.

• Eat meat at every meal.
• If your working on loosing weight then limit your nut and fruit intake. Nuts are have a very a high caloric density and fruit though natural, is still loaded with sugar and will give you insulin spikes just like a soda.
• Eat veggies at every meal you can.
• Only drink things that have no calories. Water, black coffee, and tea.
• If you must drink alcohol, go for wine for straight tequila.
• Once a week have a afternoon or evening with a high amount of calories. Ideally this will be form healthy food but if you need to binge know that it will slow you down on your goals.
• Usually what you will need will be in the perimeter of the grocery store. The produce section and the meat section. For the most part, try to avoid anything in the middle of the store except for spices, nuts, and oils.

Training

Pick a training program that is consistent with your goals and stick to it. Don’t try to create your program. Not because it won’t be a great program but because you will be second guessing your self on the efficacy of your on work out routine. Here are some training protocols that I have used in the past or am using now. There are thousands of others that will probablly work, I am just offering these as options since I’ve used them with success.

• Crossfit. A very well rounded program that focused on weightlifting, gymnastics, and running all at high intensity. This is what I have been using for 4 years and plan to stick with it for a very long time. I highly recommend this if you are seeking general fitness.
• Starting Strength. If you are new to any sort of weight training then this is a good place to start. If you are planning on putting muscle mass on, eat paleo and drink lots of milk. Also, expect to put some fat on at the same time.
• Crossfit Endurance. Used this for two months to prepare for a triathlon.  Worked very well and if  I were to train for an endurance race again I would use this.
• Hal Higdon. When I went from 200lb to 160lb I followed the marathon training program on this sight. It took me 3 months to loose the 40lbs and ran a 4:20 at the Carlsbad Marathon. This is not the most ideal way to loose weight but it worked nonetheless.

A typical day for Nutrition and Training

5:30: Wake up

5:35: It takes me about 7 minutes to make breakfast.

-3-4 eggs scrambled eggs or some barbecue meat from the day before.

- Maybe some bacon if I want to spend the time to cook it.

- Piece of fruit or berries.

- A beautiful cup of coffee from the French press. No milk or sugar, just black. Perfection.

8:00 to 9:00: Sip on coffee or tea.

10:00: I usually get a little hungry around this time so I’ll nible on some trail mix or beef jerky.

1:00: I like to eat 3-4 hours before my work out so I usually have lunch a little later.

- Piece of chicken or fish. I like to have  a lighter meat in the afternoon.

- Some steamed veggies

- An Avacado or big handful of nuts.

- Water

5:00: With my work schedule right now I work out around this time. I really like going to the gym around noon and then have lunch but this is what I have to work with until the end of summer. A typical training session will have weightlifting for about 20-30 minutes and then a metabolic conditiong type work out. Here is my gyms blog. The workouts are at the bottom of each post.

6:30: Dinner time

- Usually Steak, Fish, or Chicken.

- Steamed veggies.

-  A few nights a week  I will have a glass or two of wine.