OK, so today I’ve been struck by this urge to share my thoughts on how less can help me do more. The ignition of this urge originates from my thirst for productivity, optimization yet simplicity and minimalism.
So, what does Less mean?
- Less means carrying only the necessary with me.
I try NOT to carry what I MAY need. This improves mobility. Lighter equipment. Less to handle.
- Less means having less to keep track off and manage.
This actually improves management as you have less to deal with and reduces stress as you have less to worry about too.
So, how do we ACTUALLY keep less?
- Replace many with one.
Ugh, if there is one thing I hate is duplicates. Don’t get me wrong – I love spares (and twins..) but I don’t like having stuff of one purpose scattered around in many places nor do I like having the same thing multiple times in different forms. I like to keep as few as possible of the best of something.
- Group common.
If we can’t replace many items with one we can at least group them. Organization methodology which deals with how we group stuff in order to optimize performance is another subject which we can elaborate later.
- Lite and simplistic alternatives.
If a task can be done with lighter and more simplistic tools then that’s the ones I’ll be choosing. If I only need a screwdriver I won’t be carrying the whole toolbox but I’ll definitely note I got one thing out of its place to return it back as soon as I’m done with it. This also wipes out the possibility of opening new pending task.. and no, I’m not referring to the screwdriver, it’s a metaphor.
- Start first, End first.
Order. I can’t stand it when I start doing something and something else interrupts me assigning me yet another task in the middle leaving the first one pending and incomplete. So I try as much as possible to close a pending issue as soon as I start dealing with it and I log my progress to not get lost in the process.
- Log.
First of all, I like to keep one log. It’s how you tag your log that will help you filter afterwards upon need and this goes right along with “Replace many with one” & “Group common” 🙂 Now, logging will get you out of worrying of what is pending and what is not and keep you informed about past events and info you may forget as well as provide the possibility of statistics, if done properly.
That’s all for now. Enjoy your less heavy and more simplistic, lighter life!
Love & Peace, Demetris
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