A simpler life means fewer commitments. This is difficult, as commitments accumulate over the years just as much as possessions do, and the result is that we have no time in our lives for what really matters. Getting out of the commitments you already have is the painful part: it requires saying ?no?
to people, disappointing them in some way. In my experience, they?ll live, and life will go on. And when you?ve eliminated many of your commitments, you?ve freed up so much of your time for things you truly love.
A simpler life means less distractions, less busy-ness, less clutter ? and more space for what matters most to you. You free up time for work you?re passionate about, people you love, hobbies that make you happy. Time for solitude, for thinking. And that?s a good thing.
Simplifying your work
Simplifying work is very similar to simplifying your life in general, but a bit more ?productivity? oriented of course. Let?s start with this question: what does it mean to simplify your work?
It can mean a lot of things, including:
» Clearing the clutter of your workspace, to give you a distraction-free and more soothing space to find focus.
» Focusing less on busy-work and more on important work that has a high impact on your career and business.
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» Working on fewer projects and tasks so you?re less busy, and more focused.
» Narrowing the scope of your work so you do less but do it better, offer less but offer better things.
» Eliminating streams of communication, news, distractions.
» Creating the work life you want, rather than one that is a reaction to requests and needs of others.
For me, that means waking in the morning and deciding on one thing that?s most important for me to work on. It means spending less time on email and other distractions, and more time on creating and important tasks. It means having a distraction-free workspace and time and room for thinking. It?s a work life that I love, and recommend to anyone.
A simplified work life can be difficult for a couple of reasons, though: 1. 1. You have to learn to say ?no? to others. By saying ?yes? to every request from others, you allow all your time to be taken up by tasks that are important to others, not necessarily to you. Saying ?no?
means being tough, and valuing your time above all else. It can be uncomfortable to say ?no? sometimes, but the result is more room for what?s important, and less busy-ness.
2. 2. You should also try to learn to do less. This is difficult for most people, because we?re taught that doing more means we?re more productive, and if we look busy, people will think we?re productive and important. And yet, it?s not true. Being busy doesn?t mean a thing, other than we?re stressed out. We could be busy doing meaningless tasks. Doing important work is what true productivity is all about, and that doesn?t necessarily mean we?re ridiculously busy. Focus on fewer but higher-impact tasks.
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How to get started
With all of this clutter in our lives to simplify, it can be overwhelming, daunting, to even get started. Don?t let that stop you ? getting started is more important than doing everything at once, or starting in exactly the right place.
There are two things I?d recommend you do to get started ? and you can choose which one to do first, as it doesn?t matter really where you start: 1. Pick your life?s short list. It?s crucial that you take a step back and figure out what?s most important to you. I suggest taking half a day off, or even just 30-60 minutes. Get outside and take a walk, or go to a coffee shop, and allow yourself to think. Big picture stuff: what do you love most? Every person?s list will be different ? my list was: spending time with family, writing, reading and running.
