simplify.

What do you do when your 'to do' list gets to long?  I'm starting to realize that my list isn't really a list at all.  It's a cluttered BOOK of chores, some i've started and some I probably wont get to for months.  I'm tired of feeling like I accomplish so little (although I seriously do constantly check things off the list).  I want to feel at ease. My desire: to simplify my home, my life, and my mind. My list was my way to feel that I already am 'simple'. I need to re-simply my definition of simple;  I need to restructure my way of living.


So now what do I do?  I go to my friend Mr. google.  I always search through google and so why change that now?  So I plug in 'how to simplify' and redirect myself to zenhabits.net to view the article 'Simple Living Simplified'.  The writer has published a newly structured list of 10 Things to simply your life (compiled from his original list of 72).  Ten, I can do that.


So what are the ten?
(I'm going to summarize)


1. Make a short list. Make a list of the 4-5 most important things in your life. What do you value most? What 4-5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying starts with these priorities.

2. Drop 1 commitment. Think about all the things in your life that you’re committed to doing, and try to find one that you dread doing. Something that you do each day or week or month that you don’t really want to do. 

3. Purge a drawer. Or a shelf, or a countertop, or a corner of a room. Not an entire room or even an entire closet. Just one small area. You can use that small area as your base of simplicity, and then expand from there. 

4. Set limits. Set limits for things you do regularly: email, tasks, items in your life, etc. And try to stick with the limits. Today, all you have to do is set limits for a few things in your life. Tomorrow, try to stick with them.

5. Simplify your to-do list. Take a look at your to-do list. If it’s more than 10 items long, you can probably simplify it a bit. Shorten the list. ( I think this to me is the same as no.1)

6. Free up time. Free up at least 30 minutes a day for thinking about simplifying. Or alternatively, free up a weekend and think about it then. 

7. Clear your desk. Clear everything off your desk and put it in a pile. Process the pile from top to bottom, one item at a time. Be sure to get rid of any knick knacks. Your desk should have your computer, perhaps a notepad, and maybe a family photo. From now on, process it in the same way as above.

8. Clear out your email inbox. This has the same psychological effect as a clear desk. Is your email inbox always full of read and unread messages? That’s because you’re delaying decisions on your emails. Each time you check your email, process to empty. 

9. Move slower. We rush through the day, from one task to another, from one appointment to another, until we collapse on the couch, exhausted, at the end of the day. Instead, simplify your life by doing less (see Items 1, 4 and 5) and doing them more slowly.Eat slower, drive slower, walk slower, shower slower, work slower. Be more deliberate. 

10. Single-task. Instead of multi-tasking, do one thing at a time. Remove all distractions, resist any urge to check email or do some other habitual task like that while you’re doing the task at hand. Stick to that one task, until you’re done. It’ll make a huge difference in both your stress level and your productivity.


Starting my simplification:

There really are only 7 items on this list that I need to do since I feel no.1 and no.5 are the same and I don't have any commitments I need to drop (no.2). I cleaned out my email a week ago (from over 300 in my inbox) and man did it feel terrific. I'm back up to 36 items, so I will need to do this again, but it will take much less time than before.

Let's see what I can do in a month, if I use this list. Here's to simplifying!