Less ... Clutter. Distraction. Excess. Media. Over-stimulation. Stress. Technology. Busy-ness. Mindlessness. Overwhelm. Discontent. Consumption. Quantity. Wanting. Stuff.
More ... Intention. Mindfulness. Fulfillment. Passion. Time. Quality. Health. Purpose. Meaning. Connection. Freedom. Happiness.
Alex and I were recently inspired by The Minimalists - not inspired to model our lives after theirs, but inspired to discuss and explore what changes we might see in our own worlds if we stripped down, bared ourselves, and showed a little more skin. We are curious what it, we, might look like and feel like with a little less distraction and lot more intention. This isn't so much about paring down our belongings, moving into a tiny house, or subsisting on restaurant industry scraps, but more about refusing, reducing, or reflecting on the things in our lives we suspect get in the way.
This blog post is one way for me to say - "check ya lata, Insta;" "catch you on the flipside, Facebook," as both Alex and I will be logging off social media, among other things, for at least the next month. But this post also serves as the first of (hopefully) many to document our own personal experiences with less. Here I outline the rough, preliminary plan for the types of activities, pastimes, and behaviors that as individuals and a family we are avoiding, minimizing, permitting, or encouraging in the month of February.
In a nutshell ...
NO TV, movies, Netflix, Hulu
NO Instagram, Facebook, other social media, general Internet usage
NO shopping, consuming, buying
NO weed, alcohol overconsumption, mindless junk food pigouts
YES hobbies, art, creating
YES text, phone, email, work-related Internet use
YES social, community, activities, adventures
YES books, music, hobbies, crafts
YES games, sports, exercise, playing
YES writing, reading, reflecting, meditating, journaling
YES books, libraries
YES fresh air, nature, outdoors
YES chores, cleaning, house projects, cooking
We are following no prescription or even a static definition of "minimalism" in the next month, instead allowing ourselves to be guided by our own instincts and desires. That alone is a concept that often gets lost in the mix of "real" life, at least for me. My mind and my heart and my body are all on such different playing fields I have to deliberately remind them that they reside in the same house. I liken this "Month of Minimalism" to more of a "mindful eating" practice than a strict adherence to the Atkin's Diet, for example. We are fully open to this being a dynamic process, and will allow plenty of room for slipups and errors in judgment.
Although we aim to reduce our use of the Internet, media consumption, and our technology use in general, we have tentatively determined some parameters. For example, I won't be joining the fight on social media platforms or be up-to-speed on all things Internet, but I do still plan to espouse my thoughts and feelings and keep a cyber-record of my family going-ons right here on this Internet-based blog; I'm a hypocrite like that. Alex and I will continue to heavily rely on our iPhones, as we agree that the devices themselves are not a problem, but the issue lies in how we tend to use them. Checking. Scrolling. Liking. Checking again. Posting. Texting. Checking. Reading. Emailing. Checking. We are restricting use of "non essential" or "non joyful" apps, but will continue to text, FaceTime, and make the rare phone call - we want this time to focus on nurturing our human connections, not hurt them. There truly are so many positive components, technology improving our lives, and I would name the frequency and ease of contact with my close family and friends from afar as the number one benefit of tech today. We will also continue to use smartphones applications such as Maps, Notes, Mail, Pandora, Podcasts, Hoopla, Calendar, Clock, Contacts, etc. We will approach this aspect of computers and smartphones on a case by case basis. We're not aiming to be Amish, after all.
When we decided we would give simplicity a try, I made a list of specific distractor-type things to think about and plan for. There are sure to be plenty more where that came from, and we'll determine parameters as we go, whether in the form of time limits, environmental restrictions, or simple trial and error.
NO:
- TV, Netflix, Hulu, movies (with the pre-ordained exception of Superbowl Sunday and the Academy Awards)
- Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn or any other social media
- General Internet (essential work-related use is approved; there will likely be many exceptions made as we go along, presumably when the Internet usage is intentional and cannot otherwise be addressed via social support or a library book)
- Google (it will be a hard habit to break)
- Shopping, Target, Amazon, Powell's
- Weed
- iPhone "non essential" use, like reading the news, playing games, or otherwise unimportant apps
- Porn, masturbation (I just threw that in there for fun; we didn't explicitly discuss this, then again, maybe we should have?!?)
YES:
- Books, magazines, audiobooks, libraries
- Computers for writing/journaling
- Work-related tech use
- Sex
- Crafts
- Cooking
- Sewing
- Woodworking
- House projects
- Chores
- Music (streaming, CDs, radio, and playing guitar/uke)
- Exercise (including our elliptical machine), sports
- Board games, puzzles, pretend play
- Sports
- Nature, outdoors, adventures, structured/intentional activities (even if they cost money)
- Any other hobbies
- Therapy
OK:
- Newspapers
- iPhone:
- Maps
- Pandora
- Voice Memos
- Insight Timer (guided meditations)
- Clock/Alarm
- Calendar
- Messages
- FaceTime
- Phone
- Banking
- Contacts
- Camera/Video
- Hoopla
- Notes
- Weather??
- Google Docs
- Blogger
- Kindara (period tracker)
- New York Times/Oregonian (within news reading guidelines)
- Computer
- blogging
- banking
- Google Docs
- work-related business
- photo/file organization
- Shopping/buying gifts
- Parking
- Activity fees
- Gas
- Bills
- New York Times online (with time parameters, like 20ish minutes at breakfast, or while taking a dump)
- Alcohol (within reason, for GWAC, more guidelines TBD)
- Grocery shopping
- Junk food (TBD; making food rules might tease my long-dormant ED beast)
YES/NO/MAYBE SO:
- Shutterfly, Blurb for photo, blog, and family yearbooks?
- House project supplies?
- Coffee out?
- Eating out?
- Movies in the theater?
- Video editing?
- Emailed links to Internet articles?
- Face and nail picking?
So on that note, goodbye and good riddance! Just kidding. Kinda. But seriously, you can access either of us by email at johartmanclose@gmail.com or agclose@yahoo.com, or via telephone/text. And if you, too, might be interested in aspects of the minimalist movement (by no means a new idea or practice), or even if your curiosity is piqued in a voyeuristic way, consider watching the movie, Minimalism, which streams for free on Netflix. Then again, there's also a lot of criticism, so you can explore that side of the story, too, like in this NYT article from last year or this piece in the Atlantic last Spring (in response to the Marie Kondo life-changing magic of tidiness craze).
Good for you, I will miss your insight but I admire you for taking a break. I attended a meeting with West Linn residents forming the inclusion alliance and was happy to know of Alex and his thoughtful recommendations to the group.
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